In the last two weeks, I’ve faced novel Baby-life challenges: one-planned (a week long trip out of state) and one-unplanned (a big but brief sickness for our little man).
So, with my limited experience , I am compelled to share my tidbits learned when traveling and dealing with a sick little one.
Quick Travel tips- A,B,C
A) AHEAD- pack at least a day in advance after completing all laundry prior to the pack day. Between diapers, clothes, high chair, stroller, carrier, pack-n-play, baby bath and all those nitty gritty little necessities such as powder and emergency medicine- you will remain much calmer if you take your time with the process before departure, especially on longer vacations. Also, I recommend planning or figuring out how to do some laundry in the middle of the week if your small guy spits and loves messes as much as mine.
EXTRA CHILL TIP: there are grocery stores where cough syrup, wipes, or diapers can be purchased- just don’t forget a card or some cash!
B) BE FLEXIBLE- at home, I keep a pretty tight eating and sleeping schedule because my son thrives under predictability. So with some aspects of his little life, i.e feeding schedule, I strove to keep on track. My family and I centered our adventures with thoughtful planning to find ideal locations for me to breastfeed or give him solids. However, when traveling I let go of his daytime nap schedule. This became a necessity when I tired to get him to nap in our Air BnB one afternoon and the owner‘s yappy dog scared him awake. So, without the comforts of home with his nice nursery bed, my little man became a professional and sporadic napper: sleeping in car seats, strollers and carriers on the go.
EXTRA CHILL TIP: the best purchase for eating on the go- because high-chairs, especially in State Parks, aren’t always available is a foldable, easy to carry high chair like this one we ordered off of Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078K1W9B3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7Oy0DbG5401DD
C) CREATE BOUNDARIES: To assure my baby could sleep through the night, I created a series of rules in the evening/mourning. With four adults and one baby (my parents, sister, baby Matt and me) squeezing into an apartment designed for two, creating an ideal and possible sleeping environment a challenge. As my wise husband reminded me, my family does not live with small humans anymore, so needed a refresher course. After dinner, I strongly encouraged my family to remove all evening coats, PJs and other personal sources of entertainment into the hallway/ bathroom. Also, I banned coffee making while baby slept in the evening/ morning since the kitchen attached to the bedroom. I created a baby-lamp (a side table lamp with a burping cloth on top) to allow for a little light, while forbidding any other lights turned on. Finally, for his nightcap breastfeeding and 20 minute nestle time, no one was allowed to enter the bedroom. Though assisting on such rigorous boundaries may have seemed rude, I taught my family that a baby with a good night sleep allows for everyone to have a good night sleep especially in a one bedroom situation.
EXTRA CHILL TIP: you are your child’s advocate, so don’t be shy to set down and inform your travel-mates what needs to happen to assure a good trip for your child and everyone.
The 1,2, 3 Rs of caring for a sick child
Friday evening, our little man threw up and proceeded to dry- heave every 30 minutes for the next 3 hours.
1) REMAIN CALM: listening to our little man painfully empty his stomach contents, absolutely freaked me out. A life-long worrier, I feared the worst- losing my baby to some strange disease. I literally started to panic sweat which I noticed later when showering off that stench. But, then I remembered fear renders me useless and that I will always fight for my son. So I breathed deeply and began more positive thoughts such as “My son will survive, grow up and become the man God intended.”
2) REACH OUT: This worried momma remembered that my husband and my mother ( who came over to babysit so that we could have a night out with friends), also care about my son’s life. I remembered that I am not alone, that our village was there to comfort and help. So I also texted close friends to pray for our son because disease is definitely a God-intervention-cure; not a limited-knowledge- momma -fix-it situation. Finally, I called the nurse hotline to go over his symptoms and determine the next step.
3) Get REASSURANCE: Because of the regular frequency of his dry-heaving, and the young age of the little man, the nurse recommended getting help. Since by 9pm all urgent care centers were closed, we trekked down to the closest Pediatric Emergency Room at Kennestone Hospital. After an hour wait, they checked his vitals- all normal. Another hour later the doctor concluded no signs of infection and no x-rays indicating he swallowed a dangerous metallic object like a magnet. Of course the entire time, Matt didn’t dry-heave or vomit. By midnight he could nurse and keep down the milk with no issues. The next day he ate food just fine as well! Though, the late night adventure felt highly unnecessary- my husband and I were grateful to get the medicial reassurance.
Of course if we didn’t go to the hospital, our baby would’ve kept throwing up.
These challenging experiences with their corresponding simple ABC and 123 Rs lessons really demonstrate this truth: mothering starts internal and then external. How we think affects our actions. So choosing when to let go and speak up over resentment and misunderstanding; choosing calm over panic matters. Who we are affect our motherhood. We cannot control challenges thrown our way but we can choose to challenge our responses.
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