My elementary kid has a stomach bug, was up all night. I know it's important to stay hydrated and I'm getting pedialyte into him, small sips. Most, but not all, of it is staying down.
My question - when would you reintroduce food, and what would you start with. He's hungry and asking for food, but since pedialyte didn't completely stay down, I think it might be too soon. I know it's a judgement call, but how do you decide when to try something like crackers? Certain amount of time after last vomit (eg, if its been more than an hour or two?) Its been fewer than 12 hours since this started, so I know he's physically ok as long as he's hydrated. But from his perspective, he's missed 2 meals.
Ped office is closed until Monday.
I would only give light foods, toast, chicken broth, etc.. Once those things say down then he can move on to other foods.
The best thing to do is continue liquids and get lots of rest.
When mine are hungry, I take that as a good sign. But I just start slow.
Sometimes I start with a piece of whole wheat toast, no butter. Sometimes I dip it in chicken noodle soup broth (just the broth). One of my kids can tolerate applesauce.
Generally though if they can't keep liquids down (I don't usually do pedialyte unless they've vomited a while) I don't start on foods. Because likely they will come back up. I just do small sips of water typically.
I just make sure they can get to washroom quickly or better yet keep bucket by their bed.
boiled water soup, l'aido boulido. it's a garlic soup that's very comforting to a tummy and packed with illness-fighting garlic.
that is, if your kid will eat garlic. my older wouldn't, but my younger begged for it when he was under the weather.
in a pot put 4 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt and the cloves from one head of garlic smooshed with the flat of a knife (or a big dollop from your costco jar if you're lazy like me.) if you're using real garlic, don't bother mincing or chopping, just smoosh 'em.
bring to a boil and let 'er rip for about 10 minutes. remove from the heat and add a sprig of cilantro if he likes that. i don't, so i use thyme and sage, which also have bug-fighting properties. cover and let steep for about 15 minutes. fish out the herb sprig, squeeze in some lemon juice (or add some lemon peel to the steeping stage).
put a piece of bread at the bottom of a warmed bowl. it's fine if it's stale, even. cover it with grated parmesan, and ladle the hot broth with plenty of garlic pieces over the bread.
i'm going to make some for me in a bit. i've been laid low by a bad cold for the first time in ages and need some comfort and healing food.
khairete
S.
You can actually go a long time without eating solid food.
What's more important is staying well hydrated.
Water, ginger ale, clear soup broth, pedialyte (liquid and popsicles), jello - all are fine and it will be great to stick with those for several days.
Give it 24 to 48 hours and when you do try solid food, make it something soft and easy - mashed potatoes, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, yogurt, pudding, etc.
Get back to the regular routine slowly.
If he is asking for food, let him have food. Ask him what he would like it eat.
Chances are he'll choose something bland - some fruit or crackers. I usually munch on saltines or pretzels. But if it sounds appetizing to him, there's a good chance a couple of bites would feel good.
If he asks for pizza or fried chicken, I'd probably suggest something lighter. But the fact that he is asking for food is a good sign.
Glad he's feeling better, all 3 of mine has stomach bugs this past week. I go totally by their desire to eat. Don't force it. I just use water as they're able to keep it down. Crackers. Whatever. I figure sometimes our bodies just need to shut down and heal and that's ok.
It's too soon if he's still not stable. Usually you wait 4 hours after water and pedialyte stay down. But if any of those come up, you wait 1/2 hour before trying more water. Start with ice chips so he can't take anything too fast. If they stay down, give more in another half hour.
After the 4 hours, start with VERY SMALL bits. Saltines, maybe Cheerios. Ginger ale is okay but it should be the "health food" type with real sugar and no corn syrup as in the usual Canada Dry type brands, no diet with aspartame. Stir it so it's flat. Some people erroneously give other things like flat Coke. Don't. Is the ginger that helps. If you have ginger herb tea, you could try that, but no caffeine because it dehydrates. Send someone - husband, neighbor - to the store for you if you have to.
Be aware that this may migrate south into the intestines and turn into diarrhea. So have "BRAT" on hand - bananas, rice, applesauce toast (with jelly, not butter).
If you have to, tell him that his hunger isn't important - but that stomach acid on his esophagus and teeth is a bad bad idea. You've got to get that stopped even if it means he's got a belly ache from being hungry.
Good luck - I know this is no fun for anyone.
Wait until he starts to feel hungry and feed him the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast). Crackers and pretzels are good too. We like Gatorade, works like Pediatlyte. Next try yogurt with a probiotic, otherwise avoid dairy. Feed very small portions until you see if he can tolerate it.
I let the kiddo decide what they're ready for. We don't use Pedialyte. We do Sprite or 7-UP.
They are the ones feeling what is going on inside. If they want food they might really need it. If they puke it up and it's not heavy food it won't be an issue. Have them lay down in the bathroom floor on a pallet and snuggle up with a blanket. That way if it comes out their mouth they're by the toilet. If it comes out the other end they won't make a mess all over the house trying to get to the toilet.
