Well here we are on day 2 after our daughter got food poisoning. All I can say is WOW! Kids are RESILIANT! We really don't give them enough credit for what they can accomplish.

Last night she had another wet diaper, which let me know she was still hydrated, the #1 concern when a child is vomiting or having diaharrea. She threw up one last time at about 11pm (she slept on the couch on a towel last night while I slept on the floor beside her just in case). This morning she woke up at 9am, had a PediaLight freezer pop and proceded to do exactly what she usually does which is tear up the house. THANK GOD!

So what are the lessons I learned yesterday going through this for the first time and seeing her come out of it OK?

1. The human body is an amazing machine. It knows what it is doing even when we don't and if we give it the time it needs (even if it is very very messy), it will usually right itself. If I had tried to prevent her in anyway from taking the water for fear of her throwing up and making more of a mess she would have become dehydrated and had more problems.

2. While none of us like throwing up, and children are no different, if you give them comfort and support then they know they will make it through. This means that you WILL get vomit on you over and over again. I found preparing for it made it not so bad when it happened. They have to get it out and at least our daughter was too young for me to try and direct her anywhere she wanted to be held when she threw up (and I don't blame her a single bit!) so that is what she got.

3. Start laundry when you get a load. Don't wait until the end of this episode to clean the laundry, you will run out. Over all she threw up over 20 times yesterday, each requiring its own towel, and a change of at least shirts for me. We have 10 regular towels, I cycled them through with my clothes, so every fourth time I was switching out laundry. This allowed me to always have something to clean up with.

4. Lay the towels out under them, don't have the child lay on you (unless that is where they want to be). We found that when we moved it would throw her off and she would get sick again from the movement. Try to let them get comfortable somewhere that does not depend on your comfort or stillness for them to maintain the balance they can find themselves.

5. Don't make a decision out of fear that you would not make under normal circumstances. While this entire episode was VERY scary for me, after all the threw up violently for 18 hrs yesterday, it was not life threatening to her. As long as she was hydrated which she was, this is NORMAL when there is a bug in their system. Be it from food, or just a regular bug.

6. Do call the medical people you feel you need to call, but weigh what they are saying in making your decisions. If you feel it is life threatening, truely life threatening then take the steps you feel you need to take. BUT if it is the body's way of dealing with things, while not encouraging, or fun, she was not in danger. Discomfort yes, but not danger. Discomfort is our body's way of telling us something is wrong. If we cover or mask it with medications we are only HIDING what is in there, not allowing the body to get rid of it.

I hope this helps and if anyone has any other tips please add them in comments and I will put them through!