Public Service Announcement: How to avoid a $200 auto detail bill due to child's EPIC vomit

R has a weak esophagus. At least that's the official diagnosis as to why he has the ability to vomit on a dime. So after two crazy vomiting episodes in the past two weeks, I thought I should share some tips of how to deal with the mess.

1. Get a cover for the back seat of your car. I don't know why other moms didn't tell me this the minute I became pregnant with H (oh wait, we didn't have a car in Manhattan) but if you have a child that is in a child safety seat, get a waterproof pet cover for the entire back row and put the seat on top of the cover. Look at this one on Amazon for $32. It is padded and waterproof. I did find one that is not padded that is less than $20 but if you have older kids who will be sitting on top, I think the padded ones are nicer.  And it's really funny because the minute you switch categories from a pet car cover to a child car cover, the same exact cover goes from $20 to $80. Sorry, I'll save my money and go with the one for Fido. Anyway, this means if your child vomits or has a diaper blowout or decides to put her leaky sippy cup spout side down next to her, at least you can just wash the cover and not have to pay $$$ for a car detail.

2. But if you experience a R-size vomit incident where the vomit is dripping down the insides of both seat belt openings into the insides of the actual stuffing of the car seat (not just the child safety seat) because you don't have a car seat cover and you don't want to pay for a detail since it's going to happen again, then there is another product that I love and have used for many many bodily fluid accidents in the car and on their beds. The name is totally awesome--Urine Destroyer. Believe me, when these accidents happen, you definitely feel like destroying something or someone (under 4 ft tall!). It actually is an enzyme that will kill the bacteria causing the horrendous vomit or urine odor in your car. I've also used it on carpet, very effective on smells, not effective on pink sharpie.

3.  Of course, the best way to avoid the accidents all together is to stop your kids from eating and drinking too much. R doesn't have the best self control when it comes to food so I have to remind him if I notice that he's been eating nonstop for an hour. or two. or three. which happens at Cub Scout camp if your camper doesn't like to hike or do outdoors stuff. Why is he in Cub Scouts? But if you're too late and your child has over-indulged, then make sure you have sick bags on hand. You can get them for free when you go to a dr appt, ask the nurse for a few. If you exhaust that supply, they are also available at most pharmacies.

Please, new moms out there, save yourself some aggravation and get the car seat cover. Isn't it nuts that I'm on kid #3 turning 4 this year and I only figured this out now?  Absolutely no payments were made for this post and all opinions are my own, but if you have any airplane vomit bags, please send them my way. THANKS!