Would I stay calm or will I cry with my baby?
Our baby had a nasty stomach flu last Christmas, and 'duh it happened on Christmas Day 2008. Luke vomited and pooped so much that on the next day we ended up going to the ER, he was treated for dehydration. It was heartbreaking to see the nurse poked him repeatedly to insert the IV needle.
"Why do the trips to ER always happen in the wee hours?" I complained.
Does it really have to happen in the holiday season....That holiday season I had so much things planned, we wanted to go to Las Vegas. Luckily, thanks to our procrastination habit, no hotel rooms were booked. We also planned to go to Disneyland to see its Christmas decorations, it would have been Luke's first time to the happiest place on earth... instead we were in the cold emergency room, watching the nurse poking poor Luke. My poor baby was screaming his lung out. Tears were streaming down my cheeks and my husband tried to be strong for all of us but I can see that he's fighting back tears too.
Finally the IV fluids entered his little weak body and Luke started to calm down. He slept a little. After what seemed to be eternity, the ER doctor finally came. Yup he said it's stomach flu. Luke probably got it from me since I had a nasty stomach flu a few days prior.
We went home around 2AM, there were tons of laundry and large areas to mop, to vacuum at home. There were vomits and poop all around the house, it was like a war zone... oh well, you got to have some sleep after a long day.
Lessons learned:
- Be flexible: when you got kids especially babies it's important to have flexibility in your planning, sure you got plans and all but be ready to tweak it and set your expectations low so that you won't get too disappointed if it's not going to happen.
- Stay calm: babies pick up emotions quickly, they pick up cues from their parents and tune in to your facial expressions, body language and the tone of your voice. Try to stay and look calm in the time of crisis with reassuring voice.
- Be nice: sure you feel like yelling and screaming for having to go to the ER and having to wait for sometimes before getting treated. But being nice to the nurses teaches your kids the example of being nice to others even at times of crises.
References:
The Emergency Room Guide: How to Prepare Before You Go
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