8 Tips for adventures with a carsick kid

This time, I was armed with three changes of clothing, wipes, plastic bags, and a roll of paper towels before setting out for our trip to the specialist. I remember the last trip with horror and refuse to go through THAT again. Pea’s specialist is a good hour and a half away. And the carsickness is real folks.

She used to get carsick all the time. Her record is 5 times in two hours on the way to Disney a few years ago. My carsick kid used to get sick in the 5 minutes to get to her daycare. Like a boss, I expertly positioned her to catch the vomit on my coat when pulling her out of her carseat so it wouldn’t land in my truck! I would pray she would upchuck before we got into the parking lot so I could change her in the car and not have to argue that she wasn’t “sick” to the daycare. But that stopped almost two years ago.

The return of the carsick kid

So imagine my surprise, and my complete lack of planning, when she got sick on the way to the specialist that last trip. I had no wipes because she’s been potty trained in forever. No bags and no clothes for her. I had to run into a drugstore and buy a pink, adult sized,  “Welcome to Florida!” T- Shirt that she wore like a hobo dress. My husband calmed her down and cleaned her with tissues while I dashed into the drugstore for supplies.

This time, I was going it alone. The hubs was away for work.  I’m without back up to help clean up the mess.

I packed up a bag with wipes, clorox wipes, plastic bags and three changes of clothes. (I was the idiot that put her cutest outfit on her before we left the house last time.) I also set aside the dramamine to give her before heading out. Which I forgot to do last time, of course. I got distracted by the loud rrrrrrrriiiipppppppppp that my jeans made when the stress of me climbing into the truck to buckle her carseat in was too much for the fabric stretched across my crotch to take. After I fixed my wardrobe malfunction, I forgot to grab the dramamine in my rush to get on the road.

We weren’t even past our local grocery store when she told me she was sick and stuck her face in a plastic bag. I pulled into a parking lot and took the bag for her as she shoved it at me and cleaned her up. Like she said, “I got most of it in the bag. The rest is on me.” I changed her and bought some dramamine.

My recently cleaned interior now smelled faintly of spit up soymilk.

But we got to the appointment in time.

So things I learned for next time:

1. Pack the bonine or dramamine in the bag with the clothes (I bring three outfits.)
2. Pack more plastic bags. Ziplocks are better than grocery bags because they are less likely to rip and can be zipped.
3. Clean out the car for the valet but don’t go too crazy scrubbing because she is just going to puke anyway.
4. Pack a kid travel toothbrush and toothpaste
5. Don’t clean the carseat until after the appointment.
6. Pack a pillow and receiving blankets. Pea cuddles with them and they catch a lot of the vomit, saving her clothes.
7. Bring extra bottles of water to help with clean up.
8. Always pack wipes.
9. Old towels are good to have on hand.
10. Don’t tell the kid that they have throw up in their hair…

I use a blend of essentials oils in an air freshener that is working wonders for us and making my car smell delicious.

Do you have a carsick kid?  Any tips that I can use next time?

Better to be prepared than to be taken by surprised!  Here are some other tips on preparing for a sick kid!