This has been one of the worst weeks. My husband and all three of my kids have had the stomach flu. My boys had it yesterday/last night. The 22 month-old stopped throwing up at 2:30 AM and has just been crying, screaming, begging for his milk. He's a total milk-aholic. He's been getting a couple of sips of Pedialyte, then we have to take the cup away. It's heartbreaking to see him so upset. About an hour ago he was so worked up about not getting his milk that he was throwing himself into the furniture. He wouldn't let me hold him, so I put him in his crib and he fell asleep. This is going to be one long, horrible day. Any suggestions on how to take him mind off of it? I've tried Barney and it only works for a few minutes. When would it be ok to let him have milk? My other two were a lot older when they first had the flu so this is a new experience for me. Thanks from an exhausted mommy.
Let him have the milk. Try 1/2 the normal amout. If it stays down for an hour, then you can give him more. He needs to stay hydrated. If he throws it up, he throws it up.
And if he will take the Pedialite, just give it to him. He's obviously thirsty. Just be prepared with a bucket.
One way to speed up his recovery is to give him yogurt with active cultures. When we have stomach ailments the good bacteria that aids in digestion is purged from the stomach. We need probiotics to help restore balance to the digestive system.
(This is the advice my hubby, a physician, gave me when our toddler had stomach flu.)
I always put on the stove a pot with water and 2 tablespoons of rice...some sugar and let it boil for at least 30 min. Then I put 7 oz. Of rice water and 1 oz of milk that would do the trick for a while....and I think you can give him milk if is been more than 12 hours without trowing up.
Keep pushing the pedialyte and popsicles. Has he eaten? If not I'd give him some toast and see if he keeps that down. If he does I'd give him a small amount of milk. Water is the worst right now, but if he eats the toast even water is probably fine. I've never heard a week off a milk, my kids would die, literally just die! ;)
My daughter was like this recently when she was sick. I wouldn't give her anything to eat for the longest and she was so hungry she just couldn't cope! Anyway, if he keeps toast down, milk is fine! Hang in there!
