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If a baby throws up on shabbos



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PeanutMama




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 4:17 pm
What can we do?

My son threw up chunks of eggs and other stuff Friday night probably bc we probably gave him too much food and he ate it all. He’s that type to eat and eat without showing any signs that he’s full
Only thing that we do know is that he gets restless in his high chair so we take him off
He has normal wet and dirty diapers so I don’t assume anything is off

We weren’t sure what do do at that time, so we literally ALMOST broke shabbos

I wiped him down and then I gave him a bath (with a bit of soap) with hot water from the urn mixed with the cold (I’m not sure if we were supposed to do that....) and my son was SCREAMING! I felt so so bad!! I guess the water wasn’t hot enough— it was warm, but he likes his bath water hot but definitely not scalding. When I first found out about this through my husband I freaked out because every baby book I’ve read said don’t give a baby a bath in hot water

He screams bloody murder if the water is not to his liking.

What could we do it was shabbos and we also needed hot water for his milk and my husband drinks tea after the meal

Nevertheless it was a short quick bath, not the long one he is used to— on a weekday he takes a long 5-10 min bath.

After the bath we dressed him up and I went to take off the sheets to put in the washing machine motzai shabbos

Luckily I knew that the washing machine is not allowed to be touched on shabbos.

But then it was all for nothing bc he threw up again but not as much as the first time during the meal.

We can clean a toddler that’s dirty in vomit, no? Would that be an issue with lathering (because his hair stank of it but I rinsed it off, and I wanted to rub soap in his hair)

I’m not even sure if that’s allowed or not allowed. So I’m asking here.
Mommies, what do you do with a child who vomits on shabbos??
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Reality




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 4:38 pm
You are not allowed to mix cold water into hot water from an urn. Please don't beat yourself up. You didn't know. But try to learn from your mistake and try to brush up on hilchos shabbos. It can be very complicated.

When my babies threw up on shabbos I cleaned them up as best as I could with cold water. No bath at all on shabbos. It's too complicated drying off with a towel and not squeezing the towel.As soon as shabbos was over I would give them a bath.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 4:41 pm
One may add hot water to cold water. Not the other way around as far as I understand it.
Some might use a keili shlishi.

This is how a hefsek tehara is done on shabbos.

Refuah Shelaima to your son!!


Last edited by ra_mom on Sat, Nov 21 2020, 4:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
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amother
Seashell


 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 4:49 pm
I use baby wipes when that happens. Doesn’t work very well, but good enough.
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amother
Wheat


 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 5:07 pm
Always a good thing to review!

In this case, hilchos bishul and refuah.

Here something from chabad.org

It is, generally speaking, not permitted to bathe a child completely on Shabbat. However, a non-Jewish nurse may bathe a baby during its first few weeks, or you yourself may bathe the baby if it is very uncomfortably hot in summer or if the doctor believes it necessary to bathe the child. When doing so, the baby should be bathed using only your hands and liquid soap. Sponges, damp cloths, cotton, brushes, and solid soaps are not permitted.24 It is always permissible to wash each limb separately with water warmed before Shabbat or to sit a baby in a tub with water warmed before Shabbat, as long as the water covers no more than the legs.25 Since squeezing water out is not allowed, the baby's hair should not be washed.26
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Frumme




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 5:09 pm
Ask a Rav for specifics, but there are halachically acceptable ways to shower on Shabbos in certain circumstances. E.g. using watered down soap to wash hair and body, pat drying with a sheet instead of drying off with a towel, etc.

From what I understand, it is acceptable to mix hot water with cold if you use a Kli shishi, like one would do to add ice or milk to tea or coffee on Shabbos. I'm not sure if you're allowed to use the mixture to bathe with outside of a hefsek tahara, but it's possible in a situation like this it might be okay.

Regardless, the baby needed to be washed and you did the right thing with the limited information that you had.
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amother
Wheat


 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 5:10 pm
One more thing,
A medical parenting tip, nothing to do with halacha, that many young mommies don't know. Don't feel bad for not knoeing. You learn on the job

After a child throws up, do not give them anything to eat or drink for another 2 hours, because it will make them throw up again. Which is probably what happened.

I've heard this from 2 pediatricians.
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bnm




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 5:35 pm
I would have put the hot water into the bath tub and waited till it cooled off enough without adding anything to it. Hair- lathering is questionable, so its using a towel to dry it. I would have just put on a glove or plastic bags on my hands and taken the chunks out and poured water on the rest.
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PeanutMama




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 7:59 pm
Yes I used one of the basins my husband uses for negel vasser clean definitely not dirty and I used another container that the hospital gave us when we were going home from the hospital. It’s this blue bowl shaped thing

I put a drop of baby bath liquid soap not a lot so it comes out soapy

I just rinsed and rinsed and rinsed with the water. I didn’t use a sponge or anything.

But before the bath I did get a wipe and wiped off the chunks off him. Was gruesome lol but had to do what I had to do

Motzai shabbos we did give him a nice long bath that he definitely deserved and needed.
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BH Yom Yom




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 9:09 pm
Refuah sheleimah to your baby!
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amother
Indigo


 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 9:21 pm
I put my kid in a shallow lukewarm bath and wash them just with that water, using my hands. I dry them with a towel. I don't wash long hair, but if it's just short baby hair I may wash it just with water.
Obviously this is only if necessary.
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amother
cornflower


 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 9:59 pm
Hashem_n_Farfel wrote:
Yes I used one of the basins my husband uses for negel vasser clean definitely not dirty and I used another container that the hospital gave us when we were going home from the hospital. It’s this blue bowl shaped thing

I put a drop of baby bath liquid soap not a lot so it comes out soapy

I just rinsed and rinsed and rinsed with the water. I didn’t use a sponge or anything.

But before the bath I did get a wipe and wiped off the chunks off him. Was gruesome lol but had to do what I had to do

Motzai shabbos we did give him a nice long bath that he definitely deserved and needed.


I sounds like you did the right thing.

Either way, these things ate good to learn before the need arises so that one knows.

I e, I recently learned that one is not allowed to sweep the outside deck/path if the majority of your property is grassy.

Also, that one should not put a chair on the grass ans sit on it. Only on the path/deck/driveway...

Who woulda thunk???
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WitchKitty




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 10:09 pm
Hashem_n_Farfel wrote:
Yes I used one of the basins my husband uses for negel vasser clean definitely not dirty and I used another container that the hospital gave us when we were going home from the hospital. It’s this blue bowl shaped thing

I put a drop of baby bath liquid soap not a lot so it comes out soapy

I just rinsed and rinsed and rinsed with the water. I didn’t use a sponge or anything.

But before the bath I did get a wipe and wiped off the chunks off him. Was gruesome lol but had to do what I had to do

Motzai shabbos we did give him a nice long bath that he definitely deserved and needed.

Sounds like you actually did great!
As mentioned, the hot water is supposed to be kli shlishi.
The soap is, like you said, supposed to be liquid. Some are more makpid and mix liquid soap with water (like you did)
Hair is really complicated because of schita. It's been a while since I've learned that part, so maybe someone can chime in. I do remember that men who go to mikva on shabbos are cautioned to just put a towel on head and not squeeze it, so I'm guessing that the water on hair itself isn't a problem, just the drying it off. Don't take me word on this.
Taking a bath on shabbos is assur because of שמא- so that you don't forget and accidently heat water. Since it isn't an issur in itself there are some ways around it when needed.

Nobody remembers all of hilchos shabbos at once (except for the rav who taught me dinim in high school Smile) There's just too much. You learn it again, and again, and again, and when you have a question you go look it up or ask. (I like this sefer. Has everything in it. Never knew it was that expensive though)

Amother seashell, I know that you might hold that baby wipes can be used on shabbos, but I would think that knowing OP, in her kehilla it would be frowned on as issur sechita.
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amother
Lime


 

Post Sat, Nov 21 2020, 10:49 pm
ra_mom wrote:
One may add hot water to cold water. Not the other way around as far as I understand it. !


Wait, what? I always put hot water into my baby's bottle, followed by the cold water after. I do use a cup to pour the water from the urn into the bottle. Should I be putting the cold water first? But that causes the formula to clump together....
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Nov 22 2020, 4:38 am
amother [ Lime ] wrote:
Wait, what? I always put hot water into my baby's bottle, followed by the cold water after. I do use a cup to pour the water from the urn into the bottle. Should I be putting the cold water first? But that causes the formula to clump together....

According to the Star-K, baby formula powders are pre-cooked in their processing, and may be mixed with hot water on Shabbos.
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imaima




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Nov 22 2020, 5:02 am
Hashem_n_Farfel wrote:
What can we do?

My son threw up chunks of eggs and other stuff Friday night probably bc we probably gave him too much food and he ate it all. He’s that type to eat and eat without showing any signs that he’s full
Only thing that we do know is that he gets restless in his high chair so we take him off
He has normal wet and dirty diapers so I don’t assume anything is off

We weren’t sure what do do at that time, so we literally ALMOST broke shabbos

I wiped him down and then I gave him a bath (with a bit of soap) with hot water from the urn mixed with the cold (I’m not sure if we were supposed to do that....) and my son was SCREAMING! I felt so so bad!! I guess the water wasn’t hot enough— it was warm, but he likes his bath water hot but definitely not scalding. When I first found out about this through my husband I freaked out because every baby book I’ve read said don’t give a baby a bath in hot water

He screams bloody murder if the water is not to his liking.

What could we do it was shabbos and we also needed hot water for his milk and my husband drinks tea after the meal

Nevertheless it was a short quick bath, not the long one he is used to— on a weekday he takes a long 5-10 min bath.

After the bath we dressed him up and I went to take off the sheets to put in the washing machine motzai shabbos

Luckily I knew that the washing machine is not allowed to be touched on shabbos.

But then it was all for nothing bc he threw up again but not as much as the first time during the meal.

We can clean a toddler that’s dirty in vomit, no? Would that be an issue with lathering (because his hair stank of it but I rinsed it off, and I wanted to rub soap in his hair)

I’m not even sure if that’s allowed or not allowed. So I’m asking here.
Mommies, what do you do with a child who vomits on shabbos??


I think you did everything right. You didn't warm the water, you used the water you had.
You need to change and wash the child as many times as necessary. If you run out of hot water, rinse him off real quickly with the cold or wipe him (not sure with what, depends on the situation). Not only you can - you are obligated to clean him.

ETA: I have a book Children in Halachah for these situations.
Also, if your child vomits and you want to avoid that but also avoid dehydration, give them 5 ml of water, then wait 10 minutes. Then again 5 ml of water and wait 10 minutes. Etc. This way the little liquid will absorb without overburdening the stomach.
If you nurse, then nurse 5 min, wait 10 min, etc.
Yes the child might be screaming in these 10 min breaks because thry are hungry/thursty, but this is better than the alternative.
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jflower




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Nov 22 2020, 5:42 am
https://www.shemayisrael.com/p.....2.htm
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