*UPDATE* and a Question - They Get Dehydrated Quickly! Need Advice...

[randomkid]

DD is doing much better, although yesterday was pretty rough. She actually stopped vomiting Friday night, but wouldn't take the oral electrolytes other than a little Pedialyte Freezer Pop. We tried diluted Gatorade and she refused that as well. All I could get her to take was water which I figured was better than letting her get dehydrated.

I think she was mildly dehydrated (matches the symptoms from the Dr. Sears link). I just kept pushing fluids and I know that I gave milk too soon. I switched back to water and had to give it to her in a bottle for her to take it. She was just puny all day and I could tell she was nauseated - wanted to eat, but would spit out food once she put it int her mouth. She was very gassy, then finally had a nasty diaper. After that, she felt much better, perked up and started signing for food! I stuck to bland foods and she tolerated them well (crackers, etc.).

Today, she ate bread, cheerios and applesauce for breakfast. She did well, but I think it still bothered her a little as she was rather quiet for a little while after she ate. Now, she is whiny because she wants her milk. When can I reintroduce milk and how? I'm willing to deal with the whining so she doesn't get sick again, but I'll give her milk again at some point. I just don't want to make her sick again. What have you found works for your DC? Keep in mind that it's not whole milk - she is on toddler formula as we transition from Nutramigen. Incidentally, we were ready to try whole milk, but now I think I'll wait a couple of week on that.

Thanks for your help!
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Just wanted to share my experience for anyone who hasn't been through this. Also looking for some help from anyone who has.

DD started vomiting Friday afternoon, but stopped by 1:00 in the morning. Saturday, she did well - no vomiting, eating bland food and drinking water. I didn't give her milk and she wouldn't take the Liquilytes. She did eat a little of the Pedialyte pops I had for her. By Sat. night, she was so much better that I thought she could handle some milk. She had a total of 3 ounces by bedtime. She slept all night (11 hours) and I just let her sleep since she had been so sick.

Cut to this morning (Sunday)- She woke up at her usual time, but was really crying. I held her and she started going back to sleep. In fact, she was having a hard time trying to stay awake. Her diaper was wet this am and she had tears when she cried. I gave her water, then she wanted down. She could barely stand up. I noticed that her lips were chapped and dry. I gave her more water, she ate bread and Cheerios, then more water and some milk. She just laid in the floor and fell asleep. DD never falls asleep on the floor. I let her sleep, then when she woke got her to take some more milk. I just tried to give her a snack, but she wouldn't eat it. She was very sleepy, so I just put her to bed for her nap.

I'm very conceerned about her as she seemed fine yesterday. Now, I think she became dehydrated overnight and she is just not doing well today. I'm thinking of taking her to an after hours ped clinic, but I'm not sure if that is necessary. Now I know that I should have woken her up and given her fluids during the night.

If you have experience with something similar, can you give some advice? Is this lethargy normal even though she didn't seem dehydrated (wet diaper, tears, etc.)?

[dr mom]

It sounds as though your DD may be dehydrated, in spite of your efforts to keep her drinking. Young children can become dangerously dehydrated very quickly, particularly if they are vomiting or have a fever. A 15-month-old just doesn't have much of a reserve to fall back on.

Red flags to me include the fact that she has not been taking in many liquids, her mouth is chapped and dry, and she is now lethargic. That definitely merits a phone call to your pediatrician. Even children who are vomiting can usually tolerate a sip or two of pedialyte every 5-10 minutes, and that will help them stay caught up with fluids.

Dehydration is a vicious cycle - the more dehydrated a child gets, the more likely they are suffer nausea and vomiting, and then become even more dehydrated.

[SeekerMage]

I agree that you should call your ped. That and stop giving her water...water actually induces vomitting in children and frankly does nothing to help other then hydrate a little for the time being. also keep her away from milk products as they can upset the bowls and be to hard to process while sick...the bad germs feed off it basically.

She is probbaly so lethargic because she has no electrolytes...give her pedialyte, gatorade, or warm jello water or frankly anything with some sugary type stubstance to give her some energy (even water with sugar and salt added) If she still has tears and wet diapers thats a good sign, but the mouth being dry isnt the greatest of signs....try and constantly get her to drink...little sips at a time constantly. Popsicles etc are good too. Her sleeping isnt such a bad thing, just as long as you are able to get fluids into her inbetween the naps etc. Let me know if you need any more advice....we battle a nasty bug a while ago and got some really good advice. Hang in there mama...hope she is feeling better soon

[dhano923]

Don't give her milk -- it can be harsh on an upset tummy. Give her Gatorade, or 7up or Sprite. The sugar is good for her right now. If she doesn't like carbonated stuff, you can let it sit out for a bit to "flatten". Room temp drinks are also easier for sick kids to drink too.

I would keep waking her up every hour or so to take a few sips. If she's really refusing, I'd even put it in a baby bottle as a comfort tool just so she'll drink. You don't want her to keep rejecting liquids.

If she won't drink or can't keep anything down, take her to the ER so they can give her fluids via IV.

good luck!

[karolyp]

Kim, how's little Grace doing? Did you end up taking her to the ER?

I really hope she's feeling better.

[cmdunn1972]

When DS had gastroenteritis from rotavirus a few weeks ago, he wouldn't take the electrolyte solutions either. I fixed the issue by giving plain electrolyte solution diluted 1/2 and 1/2 with water so that it was palatable for him. Give small amounts at frequent intervals (staring at 1 or 2 ounces every 15 minutes or so). Increase amounts and frequency gradually when you verify that your DD is keeping it down. Don't give eletrolytes for more than 12-24 hours, however. If you are BF, continue to do so. (DS is FF, so when I reintroduced formula, I first diluted it with water and gave him small amounts at a time.)

Be cautious about giving cow's milk and too much sugar. Excessive sugar can aggravate diarrhea, and therefore hasten dehydration. Therefore sugary sodas, sugary juices, and gatorade should only be given as a last resort, if at all. Also, lactose in cow's milk is hard on baby's tummy. (Our ped said the ability to digest lactose is one of the first things to go and one of the last to return.)

Here's a webpage that talks about gastroenteritis. Among other things, it lists a plan for getting your child better, and it lists syptoms that would alert you to call your doctor:

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/treatmentguides/gastroenteritis.html

ETA: Here's a similar page from Dr. Sears' site:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T081300.asp

[Rachels]

Abby just went through that same thing-- sick, well, sicker, dehydrated, sick, sick. It was awful. I didn't take her in as long as she was making tears and urine and the inside of her mouth was wet. I offered anything she'd swallow: popsicles, juice, jello, grapes, flat ginger aler, Gatorade, sport water. It was touch and go for about three days. Yuck.

-Rachel
Mama to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
Nursed for three years!

and Ethan James
10/19/05
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/bf.jpg


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya

[cmdunn1972]

Glad she's starting to feel a little better.

When we reintroduced milk to DS, I diluted it with water first. (I did the same with formula as he was at about the age where we were starting to feed him milk. DS is just a year, and we started him on whole milk at around 11 months or so.)

I think the trick is to not overdo it. Take your time and be gradual so that her tummy isn't stressed while it heals. Just give her a little bit and wait to see if she keeps it down. If she acts like she doesn't want any food or milk, don't force her. If she's hungry, that's a good sign!

As a PP mentioned, if she's still showing any signs of dehydration (chapped lips and lethargy), please call her doctor, especially if she's refusing fluids.

HTH!

[elephantmeg]

Our pediatricians recommend avoiding lactose containing products since the villi in the intestines that secrete lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose) are damaged by the diahrea etc. Soy milk/rice milk/lactaid or even her old nutramagin (if you have some left) may be better tolerated than milk for the next 3-4 days or so or until the villi heal and start production again

HTH

[mamato1]

Glad she is feeling better!
Chris

Mama to Brendan (aka Boomer) 01/04


http://b3.lilypie.com/FnI6m5/.png

[randomkid]

I tried soy milk today and she just threw it down. I have to admit it tastes nothing like her formula and that's what she wants. I broke down and gave her 1/2 ounce mixed with 1/2 ounce water. I don't have any Nutramigen and I don't really think she would drink it.

Should I try Lactaid whole milk or lactose free formula since she is on toddler formula? I want to give her something because she is so miserable without her milk. It's been over 48 hours since she vomited, but only 24 hours since the tummy upset from the milk I gave yesterday.

I go back to work Wed. and she has to go to the sitter. I need a plan so she isn't crying all day while she is there. When she is here, I can distract her or put more energy toward calming her, but the sitter won't be able to do that since she has 2 infants as well.

[randomkid]

Thanks...she is definitely not dehydrated. I've been getting her to drink water or even take ice chips. Her diaper was heavily wet this am.

Now, she is just begging for her milk, but I don't want to upset her tummy. I've read anywhere from 2-7 days before reintroducing dairy. I cannot go through this with her for 5 more days!

[amck]

we went thru the same thing here. i caved and gave DD her milk. it was the only thing she would drink! so i "rationed" it as much as possible to prevent her from chugging it and she did just fine.

[cmdunn1972]

Glad to help. :)

I would take the "2-7 days" thing as a range. If she's begging for her milk 2 days in, then go ahead and give it to her. That's what I did with DS, and he was fine. In hindsight, though, I might have thought to dilute the milk with water the first time, just in case.

My view is, it's a good sign if she's hungry and wanting food, especially if she's wetting her diapers. :)

For the solid foods, if I wasn't sure DS would take a full jar of baby food, then I gave him the stage 1 jars, which are smaller. When I did start solid foods, we began with bananas and carrots.

[cmdunn1972]

If you don't mind, I might caution you about being too quick to return to work if you're leaving your child in a situation where she'd be exposed to other kids, especially infants. I don't know how old your sitter's infants are, but dehydration in children under 2 months is a more serious matter than it is with older children.

Will your sitter take her if she's still contagious? If she's got diarrhea, than she may very well be contagious until the diarrhea is over if she has gastroenteritis from an infection. Rotavirus, in particular, is transmitted through the fecal-oral route (usually by not washing hands after diaper changes). If I was a sitter caring for multiple children and was babysitting a child with diarrhea, I might strongly suggest that the sick child be kept home for fear of transmission to the other kids.

[randomkid]

Trust me, I would not take DD into a situation with infants if I thought she was contagious. I keep her home even if she has a cold because I don't want her to spread it to the others that are there (even though the sitter will take them with colds). I just wish all parents were as considerate as I am. DD has gotten sick numerous times as the result of being exposed by kids at the sitter's (she used to have 6, but now only has 3).

Not only is it that I don't want to get others sick, but no one can care for DD the way I can when she is sick. If she is not eating or drinking well, I will not take her as I know the sitter does not have the time to put extra effort into it like I can. Besides, who wants to send their DC to a daycare situation when they are miserable? People do it all the time and I just don't understand it - you wouldn't send your school age child to school if they were sick, but I'm sure people do that as well.

OK...down off my soap box. Thanks for your concern, but as you can tell, I won't take her if I think she won't do well there. BTW, she doesn't have diarrhea and her vomiting stopped as of 1 am Saturday. I am so grateful for that, but she still just won't eat or drink like she should and she was begging for milk. I gave some to her and wouldn't you know it, she won't drink it! I'm actually relieved because I was afraid it would make her sick and, as of now, she isn't asking for it anymore! (Of course, she isn't asleep either - sigh).

[cmdunn1972]

Kim, thanks for clarifying. :) You never really know, and there are probably many parents who would go back to work and leave their child in a public childcare environment out of financial necessity or work pressure.

I hope I didn't sound preachy in my earlier post!

Anyway, I'm glad she's feeling better. :)