As part of our new content series, we will be posting stories from mamas making their mark on the world in “Werk It Wednesday.” We all know that balancing work and family life is super challenging, so parents across the globe are getting creative, thinking outside the 9 to 5 box, and building businesses or inventing products inspired by their parenting experiences. We launch this series today with a story about Barf Bucket, the genius idea from Jamie and Colin from Salt Lake City.
After an exhausting day of work and Mommy-ing, getting our three daughters to bed felt like a victory of epic proportions. The hubs and I were finally free to put our feet up and binge watch Netflix while enjoying some ice cream. Envision each of us relaxing on a couch with a tub of ice cream on our laps while staring at the TV like zombies. We were in pure, pathetic, parental bliss. While shoveling ice cream into our mouths, all of the sudden we heard the sound every parent dreads…splattering.
We ran into our kiddo’s bedroom just in time to see the vomit coming out, looking like clam chowder and smelling like acidic Cheetos. The repulsive, chunky, liquid propelled into the air, splattering our five-year-old daughter’s bed and carpet. My husband grabbed her and quickly took her to the bathroom, where she sat on her knees and finished launching projectile vomit into the toilet. My husband was so sweet; rubbing her back, telling her everything was going to be alright and holding her puked-on hair out of her face.
While surveying the mess, the stomach-acid stench of vomit filled my nostrils. After I got my gag reflex under control I started stripping her bed. She managed to spew all over the carpet and every single piece of bedding: I’m talking pillow, quilt, sheets, her “soft” blanky that she’s had since she was a baby, and the majority of her stuffed animals. I wanted to weep and wail and moan, but I also wanted to be sympathetic; after all, it wasn’t her fault she got sick and threw up. After cleaning her up, and giving her sufficient hugs and kisses we put her in a different room and tried, in vain, to wedge a Tupperware bowl between the nightstand and bed, so if she needed to throw up she could aim for the bowl instead of spewing it everywhere.
After spending what felt like hours, wiping the chunks off of her bedding, washing her sheets, scrubbing the carpet, and wiping down her beloved stuffed animals, we finally went to bed. We laid there, tired and slaphappy while my husband joked about getting rid of that Tupperware bowl if she puked in it, even though it was one of my cherished, used-for-everything bowls. That’s when the Barf Bucket was born.
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The barf bucket is our ‘go-to’ designated vomit bowl. No more looking at our Tupperware bowls in disgust after a bout of sickness. When a child is feeling nauseous, the Barf Bucket has become an immediate request in our house. Our girls know exactly where to find it and how to set it up – our five year old can do it without help. It’s quick and easy to attach to your bed or couch. The rim around the bucket glows in the dark, so you know exactly where to aim if you happen to be sleeping in a dark room. We never want our fellow parents to have to throw their sheets in the wash or spend all night scrubbing carpet, mattresses or stuffed animals again. The bowl is simple to wash, and is dishwasher safe. It’s also conveniently collapsible so it can be easily stored just about anywhere. But the best part is that we don’t have to talk about what to do if one of our girls is feeling sick. We don’t have to pick a sacrificial bucket that will permanently be viewed as the bucket that no one wants to use – no matter how many times it’s been washed – since acting as the companion to a nasty flu or bout of food poisoning.
Our project is now live on Kickstarter, and we hope you will join us in saving Tupperware everywhere.
To get your Barf Bucket, click HERE!
Saralyn Ward is an award-winning writer, wellness advocate, and mountain mama. She is the founder of The Mama Sagas, writes for several publications and hosts a regular parenting TV segment on Colorado's Everyday Show. When she's not huddled over edits, you're likely to find Saralyn climbing peaks or skiing down them, and reminding herself that the two little girls that call her mom are not the boss of her.