my 8.5 month old was down with the stomach flu for a week and a half and inconsolable. Up all night, constant diaper changes, sever crankiness - he had it all. How do the moms here stick to their plan when in such a difficult time?
I didn't have time to make food, no less shop for healthy stuff.
We ordered in every night - and while I still ate small portions (except for one night when I overate until I felt sick on Puerto Rican Pernil and Beans and Rice), I ate just a few veggies all week.

Any advice?

Thank you.....

It is hard to be a mommy and it's very hard to stay on plan. I keep emergency food in my pantry and freezer that is on plan--quick foods. Normally, we eat a lot of fresh fruit, veggies and lean meats so I don't feel a bit guilty if I make a quick mexican meal with canned beans with corn or a meal on plan that I froze.

When my kids were little, my husband would watch them while I cooked and froze meals and even better on other nights I would watch a movie while the little ones napped and he would cook some meals to freeze

Look at my stats. If you don't lose it now, you may end up at my weight. Beware You can do this. Make a plan for dealing with tough times when your baby is healthy and you have time to act on it, and don't let some time off plan force you to give up on your goal.

I never ate when I had a sick baby. It just wasn't worth the effort. :P

I agree with keeping stuff on hand. You may also want to pick up some microwave dinners or lunch kits.

thank you so much. you are so thoughtful and generous with your time to take a break from your busy lives and offer up this advice.
i actually went out and got a bunch of quick packaged meal deals.
what i forgot to mention is that i also run my own business full time so i take care of the baby during the day and then work each night until about 2/3am. not much time to cook. and if there is time, i want to spend it relaxing for an hours or so.
oy, it's tough.

thanks again.

Hey! In my opinion, no one should feel guilty for using frozen meals and vegetables. I recently read that frozen veggies sometimes have more nutrition than fresh, because companies freeze them not long after picking, whereas fresh on a store shelf may sit there awhile.

Many lower calorie frozen meals, like Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, etc., are made with no preservatives and no trans fats. I like to add another vegetable and/or a salad on the side.

Busy people have to make the food part of their program work for them, and not burden themselves further with having to have everything fresh, cook a lot, etc.

Exercise works the same way--in your case, vera, you might want to check out some exercise videos at your library, like Walk Away The Pounds. Then you can decide whether you want to buy some. That way you can get some exercise in while your baby is napping, etc.

Good luck!

Jay

Hopefully my experience counts...I have three kids 9 and under, the youngest is 1.

I think that whether you have a sick baby or not, that you should ALWAYS have some healthy convenience food in the house. Something that you can grab and go-it can be something like a Lean Cuisine, or a bag of SteamFresh frozen vegetables (I LOVE these, they steam in the bag in the microwave in about 4-5 minutes!), or fresh fruit.

I work 2 jobs, have three kids, and a million things inbetween. I wouldn't make it if it weren't for having quick meal items in the house.

So, yes, I still do try to eat well when I have a sick kid, or when I am on the run, when I am traveling for work, etc.

Hi there! Just wanted you to know you're not alone, I have a sick 9.5 mo a 3 yo who just had surgery on Monday and a "hundred-mile-an-hour" 4 yo and DH and I have our own business ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
When things get nuts (when aren't they??) I have frozen dinners ready to go, and I also know which take out meals fit into my plan (I'm doing weight watchers) in case I just need DH to pick something up on the way home from the office.
It's awful when your baby is sick I hope he's feeling better.

It's incredibly hard to care for yourself when you have to care for your sick baby. I have a 3 y/o and a 1 y/o and I don't know how many times they've had the flu together. I'd be up for days constantly cleaning up and doing laundry and giving baths everytime they got sick. To me those experiences are just another notch in my belt. I can catch throw up in my hand without getting a drop on the floor, haha!! I usually just send my DH to the store during those times for gatorade, crackers, and soup for all of us. Just remember you'll get back on track once your baby is well, but that doesn't mean splurge, just do what you can with what you have.

My boy has been sick several times this winter, although he's not a baby anymore I can't seem to stay on track when either of us is sick, yet I'm just not trying to gain weight by eating junk. I too keep emergency soups and frozen meals on hand now, learning from people on this site some tricks to the trade. I figure Lean Cuisine is better then fast food, as is some canned soups. Also I checkout out from the library some of those recipe books with quick ideas, and I've got a file of them. Tricks like having grilled chicken strips in the freezer is easy, you can quickly mix with fajita seasoning, stir fry, etc. Also don't forget smoothies and having some meal bars around.

I remember being in tears once when my boy was about 6 months old, I was so tired from being up all night, finally I took him to the dr and I knew meds wouldn't work. This reminds me of "those days"... it's nice when they are older and understand when they are sick, rather then just crying all the time. It's hard and tiring. I worked at home and it was nearly impossible during those times. Now at 3 my boy understands that he's "sick" and it'll go away soon...

echo what the above posters say about frozen meals, veggies and cutting yourself some slack!

Soup is a life saver. Make healthy soups for dinner when you have time to cook and freeze extra. Never make one meal when you could make 3 and freeze. Dont grill 2 chicken breasts, grill 10 or whatever fits on your grill (for me its 6 on my indoor grill, a costco bag on the outdoor grill). Build a freezer & pantry inventory of healthy emergency food that you can thaw & nuke.

The other thing...you are in NYC..check to see about grocery stores that deliver or at least do the order online & pick up. I know there is a chain out there that does that. It is a little more expensive, but not as much as carry out. You can get prebagged salad, frozen veggies & meals, roasted chicken, lean deli meats and canned soups. Not perfect but better than order-in.

Last resort--now when you have a chance...look through all of your order in menus in the drawer and circle the healthiest option and make notes about special requests you can make to make it better. When I am rested and sane I can look at the menu and say "grilled chicken salad, no mayo, no dressing, no cheese and can you throw in some extra veggies?" When I have been up all night wth screaming vomit fest its "bowl of lard with extra cheese and extra chips". Make the sane decisions now written across the menus, or make a list of restaurants, phone #'s and what you will order and throw out the menus.

And when you go for pizza, at least do the thin crust dieter's pizza at Pizza Hut, I ate too much pizza when my boy was really young - the thick crust, extra meat type.

You can grab those soups at the grocery store too, the cooked today ones...