Child vomiting and I’ve got a huge meeting tomorrow

[MammothyGoodness]

So my youngest has started vomiting. It’s like the exorcist, walls, carpet, bed etc. not the best news but normally I can manage. Except tomorrow I’ve got a huge meeting, massive. I’m Meeting some potential investors, taking them on a tour of our offices, showing them how our product works and then presenting in the afternoon. Others could probably do some of it, but I’m the point of contact, I’ve worked my ass off on this for months, and now I’m stuck. School won’t take her if she’s thrown up. I don’t want to send her in if she’s sick. I’m a single parent. Family are away, I’ve literally got no one who can help me. I can’t leave her, which means I can’t go in. So now my meeting is ruined and I could just cry

Hope you both feel better soon. x

Oh OP I'm so sorry. There are so many events that seem to get ruined by a small vomiting child. It's like magic the way it always seems to coincide with something important. Sending you iron stomach vibes to get you through your presentation. Good luck 🌷

So sorry OP. Hope the online meeting goes well regardless - please update!

Thanks for the lecture but as a FT working mum to 3 kids under 5, I spend my life wrestling with what’s more important? My career (I’ve worked my ass off to get to the managerial position I do in the city of London) or my kids. My kids always win the mental argument as there are other jobs out there, my kids are only little once.

I was actually trying to help OP but thanks for being so delightful on a Monday morning. Have a great day :)

Thanks again for the aggressive tone. FYI, I had crippling PND after all 3 of my kids. 200mg Sertraline, under the care of the perinatal mental health team, after the 2nd baby, I was nearly admitted to a mother and baby unit as apparently I was so poorly. Oh and I’ve had CBT after each baby to get my head straight. So, I wasn’t levelling at anyone, I was actually trying to be nice to OP. Thanks for coming at me though, I hope you and your anger issues have a great day :)

Cannot believe the selfish, disgusting attitude of some mothers who think work trumps absolutely everything, even a violent stomach bug.

Send her in? And you’ll get a call before 10am telling you to collect her FFS.

OP, I’m sorry you’ve got it too. Absolutely horrible timing. I hope you get through the Zoom call OK and everything turns out well.

I imagine the vomit flying everywhere is more the issue. Children often feel better once they've been sick then a few hours later they're throwing up again.

Sending best wishes to you OP, I get your frustration and disappointment, but please go easy on yourself.

Unfortunately bad luck can visit us all, hopefully if you are honest with your investors a few will recognise the scenario and may have experienced similar situations.

Give yourself some credit for doing for the right thing, your child's wellbeing and welfare always come first and you have recognised that.

Hope the presentation goes well and you can get through it.

Hope you feel better. In future the Bubble app is great for last minute emergency babysitting

Nobody is indispensable at work, but a child only has one mother. Sorry this has happened but you're just going to have to suck it up. Think about setting up some fall-back childcare to prevent a situation like this recurring in the future.

I don’t think you’ve read the whole thread. OP has updated and has managed to sort out her meeting, whilst keeping her child with her. So telling her to ‘suck it up’ at this point is a little redundant - she’s done amazing to sort this all out.

Are you able to join by video conference? If 5yo is feeling well enough to be tucked in bed with paw patrol on the TV while you take part?

Flipping heck, the amount of posters saying ‘send her in’ my god! No wonder bugs are rife in schools and nurseries when parents like you exist. It’s selfish to send your child in before 48 hours have elapsed, it’s vital to break the chain of infection. My poor baby (10m) has had two back to back sickness bugs which her big sister has brought home from nursery (even though I’ve kept her off when she was vomiting) it’s a pain and inconvenient but it’s part of having children and o would 100% judge a parent who sent their kids in knowing they are sick.

Good luck OP. I hope it all goes well. Life’s a roller coaster eh? 🤷‍♀️Especially as a good single parent which I am sure you are <hug hug>

I would.

Any neighbours you could ask?

People like you are the absolute height of selfishness. I work in a care home in a job which is just as important if not more than any corporate job l, it’s just not recognised as such ir paid as highly. I’ve unfortunately had norovirus twice in the last theee months probably because of completely selfish people like you carrying on as normal when infectious. The consequences for my residents could literally be fatal. And your wrong by the way about the infectious period being up to 48 hours as numerous studies have shown.

I'm so sorry for you. I hope the zoom meeting goes well and you're both feeling well again soon.

Not those of us who aren’t selfish arseholes. And I’ve raised four children before you claim I’m childless.

If you were my friend or neighbour I would help you out. Some people do have friends / neighbours that are prepared to help others in times of need, despite what the frothers and spitters on this thread might otherwise suggest.

Sorry you have caught it too. Hope you manage to get through the presentation ok.

I am sorry to hear you are both sick. When you are better, take this one as a learning experience. It is unlikely to be a single time that it happens, and it often is exactly when the stakes are very high for you that these things cannot be controlled.
How would you have handled it if you had sent in your child and the phonecall from school to collect due to illness had come, 10 minutes into the very important presentation? Unfortunately this would have been a very likely scenario. If this is left to being lucky, you may need to think about possible options for future care in emergencies. Sometimes it may not be due to illness at all, but something else like a major flood or power problem in school buildings that means there is a need to get the kids offsite.

Exactly how is this helpful?

The nature of emergencies is you do the best you can, at the time.

I'm not sure how exactly OP can be more prepared in the future? If her DD was sick again, and so was OP, as today, I imagine she'd do exactly the same as she did.

Regardless you cannot send a sick child into school. You’ll only get called back anyway.

That vomiting often happens just before smth big and important at work IME. I have couple of trusted babysitters I bring on when I need someone stepping at a short notice.

Exactly how is this helpful?

Because the plan B was to ignore the 48 hour rule and send a 5 year old into school, when the 5 year old got inconvenient for the following day's plan. May have promised to be lucky for the work situation (though not for many others in the mix), but if 5 year old had been sick at school and school rang up to get parent to collect her because 5 year old couldn't stay in school, then the disruption wrought on the OP's work would be the same. I'm saying that this is not all that exceptional, and timing is often bad, so thinking it through and investigating options for care that can be given when neither school nor other family are a suitable options, before you are in dire need of it next time, is a good idea.