The “Sick Bucket”
The dreaded Gastro. There’s talk it’s doing the rounds, you hope and cross every finger, toe and hair that it won’t hit. And then you hear the cry around midnight that you just know means, "it’s here". But try not to panic, I’ve got a super handy tip I learned from the lovely Penny at Sick Happens, to help you navigate through with your sanity (and hopefully, gag reflex) intact.
Behold, the “Sick Bucket”.
11L bucket from Bunnings
Now, I know this isn’t a new mum hack. It’s certainly been around for a while that I’m aware of. But for whatever reason, it took me ages to act on the knowledge, and create our family's “Sick Bucket”, and once I did, I kicked myself for not doing it sooner.
So, what do you need?
Head to Bunnings (or your local hardware or variety store) and pick up a sturdy plastic bucket… with lid! (do not forget the lid).
Gather your contents:
Disposable gloves
Face mask
Terry cloth nappies/ small towels, x2-3
Emesis bags x3
Bottle of water
Tin of mints
Pack of glow sticks
Pack all contents into the bucket, label the bucket - you can get as creative and fancy here as you like, I’ve opted for the very original Sharpie on the side, “Sick” - then pop the lid on and store in a handy location
A few notes on why some of these items are essential inclusions…
Disposable gloves and face mask - I feel like these are pretty obvious, but if not, here goes. When your kids are sick, they want mum or dad nearby for comfort. But neither mum or dad actually want to get get sick either. So pop the mask and gloves on and snuggle away.
Terry cloths - a small sized towel to clean up small spills, wipe a mouth, wet down and sponge a feverish babe. The opportunities are endless.
Emesis bag - again a little obvious, but perhaps some may wonder why bother, when you have the bucket right there. The firm collar around the bag opening makes it so much easier to aim appropriately and sometimes, if you need to move from, say, the bedroom to the bathroom, it’s a little less cumbersome than the whole bucket.
Glow Sticks - I hand all credit for glow sticks in the Sick Bucket to Penny from Sick Happens. Crack the glow sticks when the Bucket is needed in the middle of the night and pop them in the bottom of the Bucket. Now you have a lit up, easy target for your babe to aim for, without needing all the lights on, further disturbing their sleep. If you feel funny about fishing the sticks out the clean the Bucket, you could pop a clear bin liner in over the sticks and just dispose of the bag each time - I’m not fussed by it, I fill some water in, swirl it around and down the sink then pick up the sticks, rinse them off and pop them back in ready for the next wave.
Now, when the dreaded middle-of-the-night shout rings out, you can confidently grab your Sick Bucket.