The Vomits

So we've had a little sickness in our family the past week or so - West was down with a vomiting bug for 4 days last week...he threw up in the toilet, in his bed, at the dinner table (before we realised he really WAS sick), in the pram at the shops, some more at home and then finally at the front gate at kindy when we were picking Madson up!??! I guess I just didn't want to believe that he really had a serious bug and just thought it was more of a 'I've eaten too much bad stuff' kind of bug, so I have to admit to not being the best parent with keeping him down and out. Not that we did too much, but it seemed any time we moved it was too much. sigh.

Well, anyway, Madson came down with it yesterday. A whole week since West had it. Boom. We walk in the door yesterday after picking Ystyn up from school and there it goes, all over the loungeroom floor. Thank goodness I had to teach piano and didn't have to clean it up - after all the cleaning I did last week I was more than happy to reliquesh the task to Ystyn (thanks honey - you are awesome!!!). So my big little man is lying around lethargically, wanting to eat stuff he shouldn't (like the gourmet yoghurt Ystyn got on sale), and enjoying the 'sick people's juice' - lemonade. Last week when West was sick Sister Guy brought over a whole heap of 'gastro supplies' including paper towels, tissues, disinfectant, wipes, gatorade, lemonade and banana's. She had even printed out all this information from the internet on how to treat gastro in kids (THANKS SISTER GUY!!!!!) - there was this one section that talked about vomitting being a by-product of an unhealthy diet - something Ystyn and I both need to address not only for ourselves but for our kids. We've been rather relaxed, always making sure they have plenty of fruit but not forcing down the vegetables just yet, hoping that by the time they get a little older all the gentle pursuasion and encouragement might somehow sink in. Madson is great - he will quite happily eat all of his dinner now including all the green and orange and yellow stuff on his plate. West - you can forget it!!! West doesn't like to eat anything that doesn't come in the form of a sandwich. Often he will go to bed without dinner because he DOES NOT want what is being served and I refuse to let him select what else he wants. Occassionally he's allowed to have a piece of fruit if he is really hungry, but that's it. It is such a struggle trying to get him to eat anything he doesn't want to. And McKinley, precious McKinley - depends on her mood. Sometimes she'll watch Madson and eat everything on her plate. But if she's sitting next to West and watching him refuse his dinner she'll take a bite and push it away.

The point - up till now I've been pretty relaxed with letting them decide what they will or wont eat at dinner, but perhaps its time to take a firmer stance??? I'm not sure... we will have to see where we go with that one. One thing is for sure - we need a menu and a balanced diet - hopefully that way we'll all be less prone to the  dreaded vomits!!! hehehehe