When Is It Serious Enough to Take Baby to Urgent Care?

Hello,

I think he might be too young to be feeding rice and that may be what's stopping him from taking breast milk or formula.

Talk to you ped.

Blessings.......

Call your pediatrician. My son has acid reflux and was on 1 teaspoon of rice cereal per 2 oz of breastmilk/formula starting at 4 weeks. He also had to take a prescription med and an OTC med. My poor little guy puked after every feeding even after all of this for the first year of his life. Luckily we don't deal with this at all now that he is older. I guess they grow out of it once their little digestive tracts mature. Definitely call his pediatrician. If this just started, it might not even be reflux. He might have a stomach bug. She'll be able to tell you what to do. Good luck!

I would get a different Pediatrician.

It's the daytime - can you call your pediatrician instead of going to urgent care?

8 weeks is too young for rice cereal unless your ped has prescribed. They can't digest in their bellies - so that may be the issue. he has stopped eating cuz he's overfull. I would say he's vomiting cuz he can't digest the thicker formula when it has all the cereal in it.

Maybe switch formulas, if the one you have isn't working without the rice cereal and see if he likes it better.

I would call your ped, though. It NEVER hurts to take your baby in to make sure they are OK.

Good Luck!

Call your pediatrician and get in there today if possible.

I would take him to be on the safe side. Has he had any bowel movements? You should make sure he's going otherwise that van contribute to his pain as well. He sounds like he's suffering at such a young age, I would take him to be sure nothing serious is wrong.

Especially with such a small baby, the answer is "when you ask this question"!

That sounds serious to me and I would take him to a Pedi right away. If your pedi told you to start him on rice I would suggest getting a second opinion. Most pedis I know and all of the recent literature says that their digestive systems just can't handle rice at such and early age. We use Pediatricians of Dallas and have been very happy with them.

I would also suggest documenting what is happening when so you can give the pedi a clear picture of what is going on. Things like the baby at 1 oz at this time, had a wet diaper at this time, vomited at this time, slept at this time etc. What you are describing (in my non doctor opinion) does not sound normal to me.

Best of luck and I really hope your baby starts to feel better soon.

If you are not sure, and you cannot call the pediatrician, go to urgent care. If you are wrong, so what? If you need to be there, you need to be there. You would not be ther first, or last Mom to go when they just were not sure. At 8 weeks, no matter why he is having trouble eating, if he has a problem that could cause either dehydration or weight loss, it is not like you are going in for nothing, you have a real, and important, question to ask and get answered.

Call your peidatrician first, and then go, and don't worry if you should, just go.

M.

Take him to the doctor.

Hi,

Your baby is too young for rice cereal~ That is most likely why he is vomiting it up and not tolerating it well. His tummy isn't ready for it yet~ You need to get him seen by the doctor asap. Is he peeing and pooping? Does he have reflux meds? I am a bit confused from the posting--- But yes, as his mommy if you feel something is wrong with him, take him in or at the very least speak with someone like a nurse or doctor from your pediatricans office. You have to trust your gut. My gut as a mommy tells me that you should have him checked out by a doctor today!!!! Best wishes and hope he feels better soon.

Molly

An 8 week old baby is not going to cry and cry if something is really wrong, you know why? Because he doesn't have the energy too. A baby who is in serious trouble at that age is going to sleep, and sleep and be lethargic, the baby is using all it's energy just staying alive. Take him in now...I would take him in...

I know this is not a part of the question, I gave my second child cereal in his bottle because of reflux but not this early. This is way to early for cereal in the bottle this can reak havoc on his digestive system and even cause him to chock if it is too much. If your Ped told you to put cereal in a 3 weeks old bottle he is NOT and I repeat NOT a good pediatrician. There are other options, Aleumentium (formula not sure if spelled right) is something that should be tried if his issue with reflux is this bad. Yes it is more expensive but seriously why hurt your baby over $$

A baby this young doesn't have the reserves to cry, crying means they are healthy at this age, not crying is more serious, especially with the symptoms you are describing. Please, please take him in.

I am curious about the "exorcist vomit"... (I am a nurse) There is something called "projectile vomiting" to where the child's vomit literally goes across the room and hits the wall... if this is happening, it could be pyloric stenosis, and in that case it IS an emergency. Google that word and see if it sounds like what your child is doing. Good luck!

Yes mom's--Rice cereal is used to treat reflux in babies. It thickens up the formula so the baby can't spit it up as easy. Enfamil AR (a formula for babies who spit up frequently) is just formula with rice cereal added to it. So yes, her doctor was right, and No she shouldn't switch doctors. Some babies do really well with just the rice cereal that there's no need to start on medications.

Now that I said that, I would take him in to see a doctor. Any time a baby under 3 months skips 2 or more feedings, vomits, has diarrhea, a fever, cough, is fussy, or just isn't acting like their normal self, then they should be seen asap. I hope that helps, but if you're still in doubt then give your doc a call. Good Luck!!

I would definitely take him in to the Dr. As for the cereal...all babies are different. I've had 3 kids and ALL 3 of them were on cereal by 6 weeks. They are all completely normal and healthy children. My pediatrician of course didn't recommend it for my first child. He at the time wasn't a parent yet. between my 1st and 2nd, he had his first child and he changed his tune. he said as a Dr he can't recommend it because that is what all the books say. But as a parent he said we know our children and for things like this we know generally know best. So yes...he started actually his wife started their baby at infant age. And guess what...she didn't grow a second head.
In saying all that...dont switch Dr for that season alone and stop the cereal unless he's having some kind of allergic reaction. Just make sure you don't make it too thick. Take him to the dr. If he tells you he's fine and you're still concerned...get a 2nd opinion.
I pray he just needs a formula change and nothing major is wrong.

It is probably and allergy to the milk which in turn is causing the reflux. My daughter acted the same way. Took her off milk and soy formula, put her on previcid and she was a new baby. Had her allergy tested at 11 months and she was allergic to both milk and soy. I would change her formula right away!!

He should be eating more. I would call your ped again and see if you can get him in to at least check for dehydration. We just had the flu go through our house and my almost 6 month old hardley ate for 3 days. The ped said as long as they still have saliva in thier mouth, a wet diaper every 6 hours at least and tears (if he has tears yet) then they are not severly dehydrated. I would watch for symptoms of that. Cereal helps a bit with reflux if he has that and a little in the bottle at night is ok, but he may need a medication to. My daughter needed it for a while and it worked wonders. I would definatly get him in to the dr at least just to be on the safe side since he is so young. They can dehydrate very fast if he is not eating. Hope he is doing better soon!

Call your pediatrician. They should offer 24 hour nurse response so you can talk to someone. It sounds like the rice is too thick in the milk. It doesn't take very much to thicken it up, just a half tsp or so. If you go get some of the Nutramigen, maybe he could keep that down. Does he have any fever at all? When my daughter was two months old, she started projectile vomiting, then was listless, then spiked a very high fever. It was a UTI, and she spent four days in the hospital. However, if he has reflux, it may all be related to that. My second daughter was very spit-uppy, but only if she ate too much. At his age, you can't take any chances. If your doc doesn't have a triage line, you might want to go to the Cooks Urgent Care Center in HEB area.

I started my kids on rice cereal early, but 8 weeks seems too soon.
His little tummy might just not be able to digest it and that's why it's coming back up.
My daughter projectile vomitted when she was tiny, but it was because she was getting too much breast milk at a time and when I turned her up to burp her, it just spewed. Her epiglotis or whatever it is, wasn't mature enough to keep things down so I had to make some adjustments.
It's scary, but she wasn't sick. No fever, no fussiness.
I think you might be over-filling your baby's tummy.

I would stick to just breast milk or formula for now until he's over this hurdle. An evaluation by a differet pediatrician wouldn't hurt either.

Best wishes.

Call your doc. Don't wait for weekends and nights to ask questions or get him checked. That will get him the help he needs, if any, and give you peace of mind.

For parents who have not had a child with severe reflux, they should not be commenting about the rice cereal. It helps the child to hold the food down longer to obsorb more nutrients. Most doctors will suggest a formula like Enfamil AR first, but they will sometimes need even more rice cereal added.
If your child is fussy or not eating much (especially if they are loosing weight and/or not producing multiple wet diapers) take them in to the doctor / urgent care center. My first daughter started sleeping longer, projectile vomiting and refusing to eat at 1 week old. By 2 weeks old she had lost 2.5 lbs from her birth weight. It turned out that she had a disease called Pyloric Stynosis. It is most popular in First Born Males, so it took a few extra days to diagnos her. She required surgery to save her life. The only way to diagnose for sure, is an ultrasound.
Your doctor should not charge you to have your child weighed. At least take him in to see if he is receiving enough nutrian. If he is not gaining weight or has lost too much weight, then it could be a sign of something wrong. Please do not wait. Take him today.

You wouldn't tear up a cardboard cereal box and feed it to your child. White rice powder has about as much nutritional value as that cardboard. Why are you taking up all the space in his stomach with non-nutritional stuff when you could be filling it with high-nutrition breast milk?

Why are you feeding him rice cereal at 8 weeks old?????

You should not be feeding him rice cereal that young. This is why he vomited like the exorcist... his stomach cannot take it. This is why he is crying and not eating.

Stick with only formula or breast milk! Do not feed him that stuff until 5 - 6 months old at the earliest. ALL Peditricians will tell you this.

http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/feedbaby.htm

How and when do I start my baby on solid foods?
Don't rush to start solids. They will only upset your baby's tummy if you give them before your baby is ready to digest them. Breast milk or formula is far more nutritious than any solid you could give your baby. Solid foods aren't as convenient, anyway! Wait until your baby shows signs that they are ready. Your baby's health care provider can talk to you about the signs of readiness. Usually babies are ready around six months old, and sometimes a little earlier. Your baby's first solid food should be an iron-fortified rice cereal. You may hear that solid food will help your baby sleep through the night, but this is a myth.

I would find a new pediatrician ASAP!

ohh woow. you started feeding him cereal at 3 weeks? that's a major, and i mean major no no. his digestive system is nowhere to being developed, so he's probably having a reaction (ache) due to it.
take it out from his diet until at least 4, better 6 months of age.

I've not heard of a doc recommending starting solids before 6 months. My peds do rounds at a teaching hospital, Rainbow Babies & Children in Cleveland, and insist that 6 months is early enough. I would first take him to the hospital if he's not eating, especially as he can rapidly dehydrate. Give them his history then ask about when solids should be started, then followup with another pediatrician and ask the same.

First off you need to take your baby into the Dr. You have to worry about him becoming dehydrated if he is not getting enough liquid. You didn't say if you started the rice cereal because of his reflux issue or for another reason. If it was for reflux did you try changing his formula first. There is definitely something going on in his tiny body. Have you tried giving him a probiotic? This can help with the tummy.

When a baby doesn't want to want to eat, there's something wrong. Take him in. I would probably look for a new pedi too, believe it or not, they don't always know best. Newborns eating cereal is not good, it could be giving him stomach problems, increases his chances of developing allergies, not to mention he needs formula or breast milk now for his development. I have 8 kids and only one had to eat cereal early. He was 3 months old and drinking 32oz of breastmilk when I was at work plus nursing before and after I went to work and at night. Best wishes and God Bless!

He should not be getting any cereal, he is only 8 weeks old! Cereal should never be started until the child is at least 4 months, and than should only be given by spoon, never in a bottle. You know when a child is ready for cereal when he can move it from the spoon to the back of his mouth with his tongue, and swallow without gagging. Rice cereal has no nutritional value, it is just a training tool to teach babies how to eat, so by replacing formula with it you are limiting the amount of real nutrition he is getting. It is also probably really upsetting his tummy and making it hard for him to eat because he is not ready to digest that type of food. Cut out all cereal and see how he is doing in a couple of days, but be sure he is not getting dehydrated and that he still has wet diapers, other wise you need to take him in to see the doctor.

If his Ped told you to start giving cereal at 3 weeks, you need to find a new doctor, or at least take him to someone else for a second opinion.

Go with your gut.
Take him in.
Mommy intuition is always right on... Neither my husband nor my pediatrician never doubted that there was something wrong if I said there was.
(The cereal -- my kids were on cereal early -- at 5 weeks for my oldest and 2 weeks for my youngest. They liked it thick so they could practically gum it. It looked awful, but they ate it. I fed it to them with a spoon, though.)

LBC

I would stop the rice cereal, definitely. He is too young. Having said that I would take him to the Dr. If you are worried and have to ask this question then you need to trust your instincts. Daddies love their kids but they don't have the instinct like mommies. Just because he isn't crying doesn't mean there isn't something wrong. Is he sleeping alot more than normal? Take him just so it will give you peace of mind and see a different pedi.

Great job for just getting back to the dr. I had reflux as a baby and my mom just instinctively gave me cereal at a month because I was hungry!! My first had it and I got him on prevacid at about a month old and life returned to normal:) My second did not have it and wow what a different experience!! Glad to see you are getting it worked out. I haven't started my boys on rice so early but I know that sometimes when it comes to reflux it can help!

Could be a vaccine reaction. And don't let your doctor tell you is not! Did this happen AFTER a set of vaccinations?
This happened to my child!!! They DO cause reflux!!! Thats where it all starts! I am not anti vaccine by the way.....But there is a safer schedule and for those who react to them, then I would do my research. I am here if you need any info. I am speaking from experience !
L.

so.....what happened?