Sad Mommy Here!

just give him the pedialyte and water until he stops the vomitting and diarrhea. I know you feel like a bad mommy but you are not. The formula will not sit right in his tummy and will come back up and I would think that Karo would make his diarrhea worse (we gave karo syrup to my son for constipation, if we are talking about the same thing). Trust me on this, if you rush food or formula too fast, you will be sorry. My son had a horrid virus last month and I thought he was finally over it, well my husband let him eat everything in site, and boy did we pay the price. When I had a stomach virus once I thought that a milk shake was the right thing to drink. Only then did I learn that stomach bugs and milk based products did not mix.

I know as an adult when I'm sick all I want is something very light. I have fed my son when he is vomitting nothing but pedialyte or gatorade since my son no longer likes pedialyte. He needs the electolytes from the drink, he'll be getting calories from the drink too, so you aren't starving him. The electrolytes need to be replenished if he has been vomitting and diarrhea. My son has had diarrhea all the time and on his REALLY bad days, all he would get was ped and I never had to take him to the hospital because he was dehydrated.
**Added- you can do most of his meals be ped and then some of the bottle. I did that too. But I would stick mostly to ped.

So I'm assuming your pediatrician went to school for 8 yrs and more, and now oversees the medical & health care for a few hundred children. Now consider your sister's nanny's education and experience with how many children? OK - so who should you listen to? You already know the answer.

Unless baby is lethargic and showing signs of dehydration just go with the pedialyte. My kids would never go near it - so good luck!

His lil system needs time to heal. You are being a good mommy by just giving him liquid while he recovers. It is hard as moms bc our instinct is to feed!! But imagine if your body was in puke mode and someone was trying to make you eat. That is what I do, I imagine someone constantly putting food in my face when my stomach is off and it helps me realize that I am doing the right thing. Hang in there mama :D

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Doctors don't like to see their patients hospitalized. Your little one's innards are really bugging him, and if the pedialyte is what helps him, then you're doing the right thing to give only that to him. The idea is to get him over this hump as soon as possible, so that he'll get well and can go back to other foods. Hang in there.

Next time you talk to your doctor, you can ask him about the rice water business, out of curiosity. You might learn some good things.

Hope your baby will be well very soon! It's just no fun for anyone when there's illness in the house.

Listen to your doctor. My baby had a stomach bug at only 5 or 6 weeks old that she caught from her sibs :( We had to take her to the ER because she wasn't keeping anything down. She was mainly observed and only had pedialyte. She got better in less than 24 hrs. We were then able to give her diluted formula for a while. When she did ok on that, we were able to increase the amt. of formula a little at a time.
The reason it is important to NOT give formula and only pedialyte is because his little tummy can't handle formula- it's too hard for an upset tummy to digest. It needs REST. The pedialyte helps replace the electrolytes that were lost from the vomiting and diarreha and helps prevent dehydration. This is so important because babies dehydrate a LOT faster than children and adults.
My parents came very close to losing my brother when he was a baby from dehydration. The docs said if they had waited another 30 min., he wouldn't have survived.
BTW- we were told to give our 1st baby Karo in his formula when he was constipated- worked great, but since your baby has diarreha? I wouldn't do it.
Besides, I'd rather give my baby Pedialyte than corn syrup- which is really all Karo is. Hope your baby feels better soon! I know, it's so hard to see them suffer. But I would strongly advise listening to your doc like you always do. Hang in there Mom!! :)
Added:
Maybe he sleeps ok when his stomach is emptied out. I know I feel better after throwing up. I've never heard to teething causing vomiting and diarrhea- I don't think that's it. If you follow what the pedi told you tonight and tomorrow, and he's still not better, call the doctor Tues. morning. If you think he may be showing signs of dehydration, even if it's the middle of the night, call the pedi's service right away.

You should follow your pediatrician's instructions. Infants under the age of 1 year are vulnerable to water intoxication--which can lead to brain swelling and death. Infant kidneys are too immature to process water and juice out of their body. That's why your suppose to give infants only formula & breast milk. Pedialyte should keep his electrolytes in check and not cause water intoxication.

I definitely would not give him rice water or corn syrup. Google 'water intoxication, infant' if you need more information.

Is it possible that he has some sort of stomach virus and anything other than a clear liquid like pedialyte is all he can tolerate right now? My doctor and a friend of mine who is also a pediatrician always suggest what your doctor prescribed above. Start with 5 ml of pedialyte in a syringe and see if that stays down. Do this at 20 minute intervals for 3-4 hours. If he can keep the pedialyte down during this time then I would try things from the BRAT diet or your rice water concoction. I know it is rough on us moms when our little ones are sick, but the pedialyte will help keep him hydrated in the mean time. Good luck!
A.

You got some great advice so far, I just wonder why are you feeling guilty giving him pedialyte?... it is basically like gatorade, just safer and designed for kids. Rehydrates him and replenishes his electrolytes. It's an awesome rehydration solution for kids. The only reason it says on the bottle to consult a doctor for under a year is cuz they want to make sure you get their opinion on how much to use and for how long and to assess what's wrong.

Dairy and sugar (milk of any kind, and karo syrup) are the two singlemost WORST things you could give an infant with diarrhea and vomiting. The sugars will draw more fluid into the stomach and cause faster dehydration. The dairy is hard to digest.

He isn't a newborn... he can go a day or two with NOTHING but pedialyte. It's like you drinking a gatorade when you've had a bout of stomach bug. You wouldn't start sipping on a milkshake (dairy and syrup). Pedialyte is perfect for what he needs right now.

Do what your doctor tells you.

you need to follow your mommy instincts on this one. you are soooo not a bad mommy!!!

With allergies - any dairy products will create more phlegm and create more coughing and possibly vomiting.

If he's not running a fever or a slight fever it could be one of two things - a cold brought about by allergies---spring is here!! or if he's running a slight fever with a TON of drool?....teething!!! cold wash rags to help the saliva go OUT of his mouth instead of DOWN his throat!!!

Best of luck!!

Just do the Pedialyte for 24 hours. Believe it or not, the babies really don't mind or notice too much. Their digestive tracts need time to rest and repair. We have all been through it before. After he gets better, I would take him off all dairy products and see if his asthma doesn't miraculously go away!!!!

If your doctor said to give him pedialyte, then that's what I would do! Pedialyte has a special balance of electrolytes that are lost during vomiting/diarrhea that are necessary to replace in young children so they don't become dehydrated or otherwise more sick...and that's what you need to do.

Formula, rice cereal, etc, while they may seem neutral and bland to you, can be more upsetting to an upset tummy. I would go with small sips of the pedialyte throughout the day. PLease do not give your child corn syrup.

He isn't superfine if he has been vomiting or has had diarrhea for four days. If he is doing this continually, he may be allergic to his formula or have some other sort of problem. I honestly believe you need to take him back to the doctor (of course, this is just my opinion, but it's what I would do.)

My daughter has a dairy allergy, and with her, it was just constant diarrhea, all day long every day until we discovered the cause. So, please ask about it!

I hope your little one gets well soon! Prayers for you and your family!

regarding the teething, i used to babysit a little boy who would literally vomit with every step he took while teething. so it's possible. why don't you try to use some baby orajel and see if that helps?

milk allergy maybe. Try a lactose free formula. My oldest daughter had the spit u bad and then a rash on her face from the milk formula. But first do the pedilite. It really helps stop the vomiting and diaherra. I felt bad too, but after vomiting they need the rehydration and electorlites reblanced. It usually only took a couple of pedialite bottles to make all better again. Then try the new formula.

Also, when you have a milk allergy or an intolerence it can cause flam or upset tummy. Milk used to do a real number on me; icky tummy, cramps, and then diaherra.

As for the rice in the formula it helps a bit with the spit up and keeping baby fuller but not if he is throwing up. Also, you might have to create a bigger hole in the nibble for the rice to get through.

Another idea is try a different bottle, i found out the hard way that if too much air was swallowed, that made my oldest gassy and spit up more. She has always had a sensitve tummy. She can do milk products now, but wont drink milk unless its with hot chocolate.

Finally, change docs if your not happy. Sometimes it takes a bit of shopping around so to speak, and the doctors understand that.

Hi, Im sorry to hear this! If youre comfortable with using soy formula, try it! I did and it worked wonders for our family... we had many issues with our youngest, and soy is easier to digest...and helps with diarreah so if you little one is not feeling good, than maybe try making 1 thing a little easier for them.. just a suggestion, I hope he recovers soon!
Lee

Karo syrup is not really ever appropriate for eating. It's corn syrup, pure sugar. Not good for your baby.
The most important thing with vomiting and diarrhea is rehydration, and pedialite will replace water and electrolytes. It's common sense advice.
I was breastfeeding and preferred to breastfeed rather than use pedialite, and the ped OK'd it, but said just an ounce at a time every hour or so rather than a full feeding and waiting longer. I imagine you could do the same thing with formula; an ounce at a time every hour and see if he can keep that down. but give him 24 hours on just pedialyte to rest his system. Is he vomiting every time he eats, and for four days? If so, just take him TO the doctor so they can see him. After hours if you need to. Good luck.

"You should follow your ped's directions." This is concerning to me. Why?? Because in December last year my 8 year old had a cough. I took her to the ped. He checked her lungs, everything "seemed" fine. I inquired about an antibiotic. He said no. January rolls along and she gets sick again but still the cough remains. February rolls along and she's fine but still has the cough. It's a wet sounding cough. I take her back to the ped and I INSIST at this point she needs an antibiotic. 10 day course of amox and the cough clears up. Coincidence? I don't think so. Sometimes you have to be aggressive ~ doctors are NOT gods. They make mistakes. You've already stated your mommy instincts are telling you otherwise. Either take your child to another ped...or take him to the emergency room. He could become severely dehydrated with vomiting AND diarrhea and he needs nourishment at 9 months. He cannot thrive on pedyalite alone.

Is your baby throwing up everything or just formula? If it is just formula it makes sense to try something else (Pedialyte, Gatorade, etc--try at room temp if cold won't stay down). If your baby isn't keeping much down it is important to keep them hydrated. I never tried rice water but plain rice water (no formula or karo) is probably easier to digest than dairy. Lots of people start babies on solids with rice cereal. If the baby keeps down clear fluids then rice water or cereal might be good as a baby version of the BRAT diet.

I understand why you are concerned about no formula since a 9 month old still gets most of his nutrition that way. Hopefully this is just for a few days. I guess it depends on how bad the stomach bug is. If it drags on more than a few days you will probably be talking to your doctor again soon anyway. My kids didn't get bad stomach upsets at that age. When my babies threw up once or twice in a day I let them have formula if they wanted it and also offered clear liquids. But for a baby that can't keep formula down at all, a different approach is needed.