Whether you have kids or plan to have kids in the future, you should know that you’re going to clean up someone else’s bodily fluids and waste. It’s just a fact of caring for small children. In fact, you can almost guarantee that you’re going to clean up vomit that exits a tiny person’s body with more force than you knew possible. Is it fun? No. Does it help that kids are cute and just want cuddles when they’re not feeling well? Absolutely.
There are all kinds of tips and tricks to make your little ones feel better during cootie season, which can sometimes feel year-round. Some people swear by homeopathic preventions and remedies while others stock up on vitamin C. But outside of Pedialyte popsicles and keeping a bucket nearby hoping for the best, there’s not really a trick to surviving the dreaded stomach bug.
Except, maybe there is. A mom who runs the TikTok account @lovedthishatedthat may have just cracked the code to surviving those long nights when your kid has a stomach bug: an inflatable bed.
What?! This is absolutely genius. In the video, the mom gives a quick look-see at her child’s bedroom, complete with a perfectly made bed and a small inflatable bed on the floor.
“Ok, so if your kids have caught every single illness/stomach bug known to man this month, this is for you,” she says as she pans down to the floor. “This is an inflatable mattress that we got on Amazon.”
She explains that the bed was purchased for travel, but they haven’t gone anywhere. Instead, they use it as “the puke bed,” alternating it from their kid’s room to the floor in their room. Quite honestly, I’m impressed as a veteran mom who has yet to hack the stomach bug roulette. (You know, the game of “Will they make it to the bathroom or will I be up at 2 AM washing sheets and scrubbing mattresses?”)
This could be a game-changer for parents. You can line the bed with old towels or sheets, and if your little one doesn’t make it out of the bed to revisit their dinner, you can wipe it down with a disinfectant wipe. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
If there’s a shortage of inflatable mattresses on Amazon, it’s because of the video below.
@lovedthishatedthat How many illnesses can my kids catch in a month? The limit does not exist. The puke bed is saving me this sick season. #sickbaby #sickkids #parentsoftiktok #sickness #parenting101 #parentingtips