It’s amazing how fast things can happen in the world of babies.  One minute they’re helplessly lying on their favourite changing mat on the kitchen table (the only place that calmed Mabel down in some particularly tearful times in her early days) and the next they are sitting up on their own, without a care in the world.

Similarly, our Friday last week started out one way and very quickly turned into something else entirely.  We went for our swimming class (Mabel kicked and drank pool water like a pro), we met Mabel’s aunt for a picnic lunch in the park and then suddenly, we found ourselves in Urgent Care at Whipps Cross hospital.  I’m sure I barely blinked in between.

You see Mabel spent all afternoon and evening vomiting.  It started out as that cute, barely noticeable spit-up and transformed into Exorcist style projectile intensity all over the stroller, the house, ourselves, etc.

I’d like to think I am a calm person, so I didn’t panic and instead called Mabel’s grandma for advice who – naturally – blamed me first of all and then suggested I call 111.  The clinician said it’s probably a tummy bug, but he would like a doctor to see her in person and, as it was Friday at 5:30, off to Urgent Care we went.

A few hours and Mabel loving Dioralyte later, it was confirmed.  Mabel had her first tummy bug.  Side note: not just because I am her mother, but Mabel is one of the smiliest babies you could ever meet and even during this whole time, she didn’t stop smiling.  Yes, I’m boasting.  Isn’t that my right?

Anyhoo.

Mabel was very brave.  Her parents were not so big and strong when the bug then took them each down one by one throughout the weekend.  I spent one full day in bed and then so too did Daddy.

All of this is to say that we had to take a brief hiatus from solid foods for Mabel, and indeed as a family.  Resorting to milk only for Mabel and ginger ale only for parents.

So when we got back to it, we went in hard with broccoli.  Again simply steaming and very lightly blitzing for texture.  I worried Mabel would take time to readjust to life with solids, but no such issue.

We’re all back to full health and now we’ve had another rite of passage to go alongside – that of all suffering together through sickness and strife.