Stomach Bug - What Can I Do?

[AnnaNova]

my 15 mo son has been having some stomach bug - first one in his life.
he started with vomiting, and then vomiting went away, now its just diarrhea. i dont think he had an fever, maybe some low-grade, but not much.
diarrhea is not too bad, the most he has had was today - 4 times, other days were 2-3 (very very very foul smelling, btw).
called his dr, they said to bring him in if it doesnt get better till wedn.
what can i do to help? we ve started giving him probiotics today, but i dont know what else to do except keeping him hydrated.
he doesnt eat much, and he is a skinny little thing even without this going on, so now he's even skinnier ...
any advice?

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Brat diet worked wonders for us. Also, I would cook white or brown rice with Chicken broth instead of water. My kids loved it and it helped to bind them up a little. And pedialyte since I wasnt nursing anymore. It worked well to keep them hydrated, but wouldnt go right through them .

[goldfinches]

ugh, I hate stomach bugs. Mine was throwing up last night, and I'm not sure if it was a bug or possibly an ear infection??? I' just hoping the rest of us don't get it...

Anyway, I do pedyalite mixed with water little sips, or pedyalite pops, or regular mini popsicles. If they can keep them down, I used to do BRAT, applesauce, rice, crackers, etc. This time, I read that you should return them to their regular diet asap, as the nutrients actually help shorten the sickness by half a day. Just avoid fats.

[ssh]

If you're still nursing, breastmilk 's probably the best thing you can give him.

[BeantownBaby9]

We do Kombucha from Whole Foods during tummy bugs, helps restore the gut balance quickly

[AnnaNova]

Originally Posted by BeantownBaby9

We do Kombucha from Whole Foods during tummy bugs, helps restore the gut balance quickly

really?? even for a 15 mo old? what flavor then?

[marispel]

BRAT works wonders for diarhea. My DS loves rice chex and the Rice Mums - so I offer those as often as he'll eat them. Water is the next best thing. If your LO is still vomitting then you need to hold off on food for a few hours and just give sips of water every 10 minutes until they no longer vomit after 2 hrs and then give larger sips for another hour. I think it is after 4 hours of no vomitting that you can begin with toast, rice, crackers and continue with the sips of water.

[BeantownBaby9]

Originally Posted by AnnaNova

really?? even for a 15 mo old? what flavor then?

yeah.....his food allergies lead to a restricted diet, so lots of veggies and weird stuff is all he is used to. He has always loved vinegary flavors, like saurkraut at a year old so he may be easier than your average toddler. There is botanic #3 which has lavender, gingeraide, and there is a berry one too. Stay away from original or the green one if you think your LO would object to the taste.

[Louisep]

We've had a few of those nasty things and bananas, white rice, and applesauce do the trick. When no longer nursing I gave him pedialyte.

[AnnaNova]

thanx for all the replies! he is feeling somewhat better, but still has a few diarrhea poops a day. he didnt want rice or anything rice-related, but ate some bananas, some yogurt... yogurt is not the perfect food, but he wanted it so i gave it to him to get at least sth into him
he's still nursing, but of course not nearly as much as he used to, so when he wanted to nurse more, i had nothing to offer
but i guess what i did have was enough...
his dr told us to give him ped probiotic and that seemed to help somewhat.