They say you’re really not a parent until you own a minivan and your child has thrown up in it. I always found this incredible gross to consider as the ultimate rite of passage to calling yourself a parent.
This past Christmas holiday we took a car trip to Legoland to have a little family getaway. It was going to be a quick trip so we could be back home in time for Santa’s arrival on Christmas Eve. Here we were all packed up and headed for the land of Legos when after a few hours in the car our son started vomiting in his car seat. It was everywhere. Guess we just passed our rite of passage into what has been called true parenting as an added bonus to reaching Legoland.
We stopped for supplies to clean what we could of him, the seat and van floors, walls and windows but there was no denying it he was sick. We were also having a tough time not gagging on trying to clean all this up while thoughts of how we were going to avoid getting this stomach bug passed between us. I mean seriously when you are stuck together in a closed up car when someone is sick, chances are you are also going to get some degree of being sick too.
On our stop to get supplies I picked up the normal things like Pedi-Lite drink to keep him hydrated, crackers, and a medicine to try and help him stop vomiting. It was getting late at night, stores were closing and I could smell vomit on me when I stood at the cash register trying to buy paper towels, wipes, and other things to help. It was a full on crisis we had never encountered before. The pharmacist suggested this drinkable medicine that was supposed to help slow and stop the vomiting. I bought it without question and gave it to our son first thing when I got back to the van.
While we were trying to clean things up that medicine of course resulted in another vomit session and it all now smelled of grape syrup. Our son complained it tasted gross so he wouldn’t drink it again. It is never fun when kids get sick but it is definitely not fun when it happens in the car and you have none of your normal things to help in this situation. Here we were in a parking lot somewhere in Florida after driving several hours trying to coax our child into drinking nasty medicine and trying to figure out how we were going to get back into the smelling van.
The other fun consideration was my husband and I knew it wouldn’t be long before this little stomach bug took all of us out. While the next day our son felt a lot better and we were able to go to Legoland and make it back home we spent Christmas in our pjs drinking ginger ale and taking turns in the bathrooms being sick. When your stomach is upset like this you know there is just not much else you can do but wait until all that bad stuff gets out of your system. I seriously cannot remember a time when all of us were this sick at the same time.
Stomach Protection
Our son still talks about that purple medicine he threw up every time we mention the word medicine. He says he’s not taking that stuff again. I just smile and agree because I too took it when I got this stomach bug and it was not helpful at all. I hear him loud and clear on that.
The best way I know to keep it from being needed is preventing us from getting stomach bugs in the first place. I know that is probably a far fetched idea because sooner or later we all get sick but if I can reduce the frequency then that’s ok too. Given how our short family getaway went and the stench of the van on the ride home, I think its worth a shot.
We often think of germ protection for our hands and skin, making sure things we touch are clean and so on. The real germ protection however is what we do to protect our insides, particularly the digestive system. The healthier this system is the less at risk it is for becoming weakened to stomach bugs. We however cannot just take anything for that type of protection to be effective. There are some daily prevention steps we can take as adults and children that will support healthy digestion processes and its immunity.
Pre and Pro Biotics
Pre and Pro biotics are all the rage these days. It is well known these enzymes help our digestive systems by creating healthy acids and supporting food processing. The enzymes work in both our stomachs and intestines. The problem is most pre and pro biotics are ineffective because they don’t make it pass the stomach.
As an example, a natural yogurt is typically high in natural pre and pro biotics. However, because someone can be lactose intolerant those enzymes never get a chance to work because our stomachs are dealing with the lactose in the yogurt and the enzymes never get to do their job. While we can get these enzymes in supplements the majority of the time they are not able to pass through the stomach acid to the intestines due to the acid tear down of the capsule. This renders the enzymes job half done at best.
What I have found is the doTERRA PB Assist+ and PB Assist Jr actually work. They are 100% natural so our bodies treat them like real food and the enzymes have an opportunity to not only support the stomach’s processes but make it to the intestines where the real work is usually needed.
Taking these every day helps support healthy digestive system operations and ward off the bugs that make us sick. It doesn’t mean we won’t ever be sick in the car again or encounter another rite of passage of gross magnitude like that but rather it means we are proactively doing all we can to prevent it.
Interested in more?
I’m happy to report our son hasn’t been sick since this time. I am making sure we are all taking our probiotics every day and praying the next time we take a family road trip it doesn’t include another gross parenting rite of passage. Who came up with that anyway?
If you are interested in more information about the digestive support products I am using through doTERRA or have questions about any of their oils and products please reach out.
amyk@dragonspitapothecary.com
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