Getting Fluids Down

I knew of a nurse from Childrens who caught the rotavirus from a patient. She told me it was the worse kind of stomach virus you could get.
I would go to the store and buy 1 kind of every beverage you think she would drink, and a few others you think she may not. When you have a stomach virus, you don't want just anything-you want things sometimes that you wouldn't eat or drink on a regular basis. Have her try the old standby's-Ginger Ale, Sprite, or 7-Up. Get some Gatorade, Vitamin Water. I also saw some very small bottles of water at Target a few days ago. She may drink it if it's in a smaller water bottle.
You may want to try popsicles-my son loves Otter Pops, they are less messy. Pedialite tastes weird, but I believe they make those in a popsicle form.
This rotavirus is something she doesn't want to mess around with too much. If she's not drinking and not peeing, she really needs to take her back to the hospital, as much as she doesn't want too.

Good Luck!
SAHM of 2 boys ages 12 & 6.

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Hi T.,

When my son had rotavirus I made Jello using Pedialyte upon the advice of our doctor. It disguised that weird, salty taste of Pedialyte and kept him well-hydrated.

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Hi T.,

Sorry to hear about your neice. When my son was sick and unable to keep fluids down I would give him 6 ml of fluid with a syringe (a plastic one that comes with many medicines) I would do this every 10 minutes, if he was able to keep it down I would increase the amt to 12 ml every 10 minutes, then every five. This worked for me, I hope it works for your sister. Good luck.

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Popsicles, maybe (broken into small chunks if she can't suck on them)? Jell-o? Apple sauce or pear sauce with water added...cooked dried apricots that have been pureed, with water added? CHicken soup (broth)? I she's informed her doctor and he/she has suggestions. Good luck!

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T.,
I am sure that you have worked out your problem by now but if your neice is resisting being fed by the syringe, try turning on the T.V. while you try to get her to drink from it. My son refused to drink for a couple of days when he had a cold/flu thing going on. I think I we watched this animal show about 30 times during the day just to get him to drink. Magic! Hope your little sweetie is doing better. How awful to see your little loves sick.
J.

Have you tried popsicles? let her suck on a popsicle.

The only recourse I've ever heard of is going to the hospital and getting an IV AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.!

my 3 year old had this and the stomach flu at the sme time and was hospitalized for a week total (had to go back in just like you are worried about because we couldn't get him to drink) basically the nurses told us to give him anything... even high sugar things. Try sugar free popscicles, sugar free jello water, pop, watered down juice, anything you can. I remeber this very stressful situatin even 5 years later!!!! Blessings to you all and I hope the baby is okay.

I suggest the Pedialyte popsicles. I don't know a 10 month old who isn't at some stage of teething, and the cold feels good on their gums. And since it's not fluids, she might enjoy the texture.

try popscicles, jello, jello water, chicken broth. All will help hydrate this child.

Make her some popsicles....I don't know if you remember those plastic popsicle makers from back in the day, but Im sure you can still find them. Anyways, you can use pedia-lite or gatorade...you can dilute the gatorade if needed w/ water so the popsicle will have a little color and taste. You can also use a regular old ice tray and stick some toothpicks in it before it completely sets. She might take better to popsicles than just something to drink.

If the previous advice doesn't work you can tell her to use a syringe and put little amounts of fluids like Pedialyte in her, plug her nose until she swallows.

Best of luck to her!

I am dealing with the same thing with my 2 year old and my 8 week old... nothing red, and no juice and no milk... small small small amounts! My two year old likes power aid the best, the blus kind and I make it watered down.. the berry kind of the gateraid is what he likes too.
I have been having to use a dropper to feed the 8 week old just tiny bits at a time, all day and don't let them go all night without something! It makes it harder on them in the morning... at least that is what I have found...
Best of luck, and never feel bad if you all think she might need to go back to the hospital to be checked on, better safer than sorry...

Pedialite is great for them but they don't always like the flavor so I would mix it with Sprite and tell my girls it was "special sick juice" and they drank it like crazy. I also gave them otter pops....when they were little I would just cut them in half so they were easier to handle.

I suggest anything jello, popsicles, or anything even normal food if it works. If you do juice mix just a small bit with water for flavor. I am sure they told you pedialyte (it comes in flavors). Offer it all throughout the day. Fluids is very important but foods also have fluid in them. She will get better. I am a pediatric nurse and have 2 children that have had rotavirus. I promise it will get better.

Hi T., if your neice wont take fluids, try giving popcycles, jello, anything like that in which is made of fluids.. Things that will provide fluids to the child and she will be more inclined in taking because they are good and the baby will enjoy them... I found out a recipe for homemade gaterade which is 2 packets koolaid (any flavor) 1 cup sugar, and 3/4 tsp salt substitute (for the sodium loss in the body) and then enough water to make a gallon of gaterade.. Then make popcycles out of it...

Any mom knows that it is almost impossible to push a baby to eat or drink when they dont want to, but usually they wont reject to having something like jello or popcycles.. Give it a try, it may help.. Good luck, S.

Popsicles! When my kids were little they had Pedialyte popsicles that the kids would take with no problem even when they wouldn't drink regular Pedialyte. Regular popsicles work great, too! You might want to try Jell-O, too. They can drink it when it is warm or eat it when it has set. Good luck!

I'm sure you've already tried this but just in case...have you tried ice pieces. when my daughter has a fever or is not feeling good I put some ice cubes in a baggy and whack them with a spoon to break them up. She loves the super cold pieces and gobbles them up. You could also do frozen coolaide the same way or popcicles. the sugar would probably help with the dehydration more than just water. I hope she gets better soon!

When the Pediatrician thought our kids had it, they said to try giving them a washcloth that was wet with juice or water and let them suck on it. I know how desperate you feel. Also try the grape Pediatlyte - it tastes better than the orange or red and you might be able to give that with a syringe or dropper if she won't take her bottle.

When my son was 10 months, he had the same. Very very scary, so I understand. Luckily, I was breastfeeding still, so I would breastfeed for about 15 seconds at a time. Tiny tiny amounts of liquid at a time seem to be the only thing that worked. Even though my son was fighting to stay on and had the impulse to drink and drink, I had to be very disciplined and only let him drink tiny amounts, which was tough for me because I always fed on demand. If your niece is not breastfeeding, maybe small amounts of formula or whatever the doctor says will work. We got through it and you guys will too. Hang in there.

Hi,

My son had some tummy issues in January and he wouldn't take any fluids either. We, too, were warned that he would end up hopitalized if we didn't do something ASAP. We began giving him a bottle of Pedialyte at 3am while he was asleep. This worked well, he never really woke up, kept the fluids down and was quickly rehydtrated.

Hope this helps!

Have you tried small amounts...like 1 tablespoon at a time of Pedialyte?

my daughter had that 2times. i had to squirt pedialyte down her with a seringe. it is very frustrating i know and scary. just look for chapped lips and if she is still making tears. they are signs of dehydration and the doctor always told me then to bring her in.

The popsicles made by Pedialyte don't taste as great as normal popsicles, but they have all the wonderful electrolytes in them that children need when they are sick. You can also make your own freezer pops of Gatorade( just don't use the red kind in case she throws it up!)
Even regular popsicles are preferrable to your neice not getting any fluids.
Best of luck - that virus is the WORST!

I always have this problem when my kids are sick, I finally found these popscicles that are called Freeze Pops - I think they are put out by Pediasure. They have electrolites in them and help hydrate the kids. Most kids like popscicles so its easier to convince them! I can usually find them at Rite Aid in a box - not frozen yet in the baby section. They are considered Medicinal pops, not just for treats but for hydrating your child. Good Luck!

Hi T.-
My daughter got the rotavirus around 11 months, I know how terrible it is! I used a syringe of pedialite or gatorade and gave it to her bit by bit. Slow process, but they get just enough usually. It was a 2 person process, 1 person holding her back in their arms while I put the syringe way towards the back of her cheek. It's hard because they obviously don't like it and you feel terrible forcing it, but you have to. What also works is fruit with lots of juices...like mandarin oranges or watermelon (if she is eating anything like that yet). Both of my kids ate things like that when they were that age, but I know all kids are different. I really hope she is feeling better soon!

Pedialyte anything should work, there are generic forms of it as well that save you $$. I hear the grape tastes best. Little amounts at a time is best. The sugar in other products may upset the stomach. Breastfeeding a little at a time is BEST if she's still nursing. Even a spoon full of liquid at a time but many times is good. Make a game out of it maybe? Good luck, and it will be over soon.

How about popsicles? That is what I used with my 20 month old. You can make your own with fruit juice, or buy the all fruit ones at the grocery store. We were also able to get our son to take watered down gatorade. When we couldn't get him to drink on his own, we used a medicinal plunger, you know the little things that come with infant medication, and gave him doses of fluids as if they were medicine. It was a bit like force feeding fluids, but better than a trip to the ER and IV's. Good luck and I hope they feel better soon.
L

Try warm (liquid) jello. After you use some, put it back in the frig and after it gels, if you need some, simply microwave it for a second. This especially works great when your kids or yourself has a sore throat.

How about popsicles or gelatin? Try things that turn to liquid once they dissolve in your mouth.

Good luck & God Bless!

Have you tried popcicles?

Pediapops. It's frozen pedialite -- like an otter pop kind-of thing.

Freeze any liquid and give it to them in "crunchy" form. Hope this helps. It's worked for our 3 girls.

We went through the rota virus for 14 days!!! There were 2 infants in my house with it! My friend and come for a visit, her 6 month old caught it too, and ended up staying 2 weeks instead of one because of the puking and diarrhea!

NO milk!!! NO fruit juice!!! And red Gatorade stains when it comes back up! LOL What did work was any flavor that was non-citrus of Fruit20, and the rain flavors of Gatorade (the berry was the fave here). The Rain ones are practically clear and have an easy flavor unlike most Gatorade's do.

My daughter was 8 months old at the time, still on the bottle and sippy cup. We found she liked the Fruit2O and Gatorade in the Nuby sippy cup (at Wal-mart, 97 cents each) with the soft top like a bottle but in the shape of the sippy cup top.

I'm not sure if this helped any, but it's what worked for us when I thought we were all going to die! LOL

Best of luck!

K.

I had brought my child in to an urgent care facility for fear of dehydration. The Dr. told me to take a 8- 16 oz of water and a medicine droper. Gently hold the child and drop small amounts of water in the childs mouth (starting with 1/2 teaspon every 5- 10 minutes then increasing the amount until all water is gone. That way you know exactly how much fluid has been consumed and it can put your mind at ease.

I'm not sure if she's too young, but we used to get Pedia-pops, they are popsicles made for these kind of situations. I used to moisten my son's lips and the he liked the coolness, and that started him sucking. You can use regular popsicles too, but they have more sugar.
Best of luck, it's so scary when a little one is sick.

don't forget popsicles count for liquids. if you can get her to eat the pedialyte pops that has extra stuff in it for her.

My daughter wouldn't take popsicles, juice, bottles, anything when she was very sick at about 17 months. The only thing that worked was putting gatorade or pedialyte in a medicine dropper! Hope this helps

Try giving popsicles and jello. They are mostly liquid and kids love them. Also, you could freeze pedialyte and such

My daughter was still nursing when she got the flu at almost two years old and since she wanted mama when she was sick thank goodness because that's about all she would eat/drink. Other than that, popsicles are usually accepted just about anytime, and there are electrolyte popsicles available. Our youngest has had issues taking a bottle and my husband has resorted to using a medicine dropper so she doesn't starve herself, and they als make pacifiers that are designed to give medicine, those might work to give small amounts frequently.

And I'm curious to know, was she vaccinated against rotavirus?

Have you tried the pedialite popcicles? They aren't the best tasting but when my daughter was young she became extremely dehydrated and that's what worked for me. I hope this helps. A.

juice, POPSICLES, pedialite makes them or just regular ones. Pedialite itself tastes pretty good, grape is the best flavor.

Pedialyte makes popsicles.

Also, I liked the popsicle tubes (WITH SUPERVISION) because they melt and stay in the little plastic tubes and the kids would just suck it right up.

Just have to be persistent when they feel that crummy.

Good luck!

My 10 month old daughter had a bad flu for over a week, and I was terrified of her getting dehydrated. I ended up having to give her Pedialyte with a medicine syringe. I just kept giving her a little every few minutes. It was the only way I could get anything down her for a couple of days, and she stayed hydrated and got over it.

Have her try popsicles!

Popcicles. That is what they gave my son after surgery. You can always try fruit, like watermelon.
Hope she feels better soon.

When my daughter was sick and could not keep fluids down our friend, that is a nurse, told us to use a medicine dropper and give her a little bit of fluid at a time. Some is better then none. If her mouth is really dry and has not peed all day you should take her to the hospital because then she is too dehydrated. You can check her mouth with your finger. Put your finger in her mouth and if it is dry and sticky, you have a problem. We had to eventually take our daughter to the hospital and I am glad that we did. They put an IV in her and she was much better fast.
I hope some of this helps.
D.

Maybe try using a medicine dropper and just squirting it down the back of the throat. Any little bit matters a lot. We went through this a year ago too. Just keep on it, it will get better.

freeze juice in ice cubes, anything she likes to drink that you didnt approve of normally works. lots and lots of popscilces she likes. maybe otter pops??

We had a very similar problem and ended up using the pedialyte pops.

try popcycles. make your own from juice you know the baby likes.make or buy small ones so baby can handle them. this is a great treat when they are well too.

We are going through this with my daughter and godson. One is still hospitalized and the other had a trip to the ER. We giver her a 1 to 1 solution of gatorade and water or just straight pedialyte. We use an eye dropper and start at 1.5mL every minute. Increasing to 1 tablespoon every 5-10 minutes. Then after 2-4 hours of keeping it down increase to 2 oz. every 30 minutes. This was the advice of the ER doctor.

have you tried popsicles, pedialyte makes popsicles for kids that are basically like gatorade for kids. they are fun for kids to eat and replenish their electrolytes.

you can also try juice boxes if she doesn't get them this can be a treat, or try a fancy new cup that picks out herself.

we had the same thing with our daughter this xmas, she ended up in the hospital for 4 days with an IV. not fun, so we tried all of the above and it did help....