If Hurling Were An Olympic Sport, My Baby Would Win Gold

After DAYS of hurling, that’s some wild hair…

As the title indicates, it’s been a messy week at Chez Hansen. I know…Ewwwww!! But for a parent whose baby hardly even spit up, this week has felt like serious stuff.

I had to go digging for facts about infant and toddler vomiting.

My first resources were other parents – my brother, the neighbors and some of the readers here at More Cowbell. The pediatrician provided a small amount of mental relief, but then…

The pharmacist scared the crap out of me with this conversation:

Me: Do you have anything for vomiting and nausea that a 2 year-old can take?

Pharmacist: We should have something right over here… *walks from behind the counter over to the aisle*

I’m thinking he’s my hero for taking the time to look for the medicine. But then…

Him: Did your child fall? Because if so, this won’t work. You need to take him to the ER.

Me: No, we think she ate something that didn’t agree with her.

Him: Are you sure? Because sometimes the schools don’t tell you.

Me: No, our school would tell us. It’s in the contract that they call right away.

Him: *waving that away* But they don’t. Check your child’s head for lumps when you get home. And make sure her eyes can track. Go to the ER if they don’t.

I’ll admit it. My heart rate sped right up.

Was it nice of Mr. CVS pharmacist to be thorough? Yes.

Did he scare the bejeezus out of me? Yes. (Hubby said I sounded like Psycho-Mommy on the phone.)

Did I rush home and make my husband crazy checking Baby Girl’s head for lumps? YES.

Finally, in desperation, I went to WebMD and read a post on “Vomiting, Age 3 and Younger.”

Below are the facts that stood out to me from the WebMD post:

• Most of the time vomiting is not serious. (Whew…) Home treatment will often ease your child’s discomfort.
• Vomiting in a baby should not be confused with spitting up. Vomiting is forceful and repeated. Spitting up may seem forceful but it usually occurs shortly after feeding, is effortless, and causes no discomfort.
• Top reasons for spitting up: Overfeeding, not burping your baby after feeding, intolerance to milk or formula, and exposure to tobacco smoke. (I had no idea!)
• Most vomiting in children is caused by a viral stomach illness. You may also see other symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Home treatment usually stops the hurlage within 12 hours. (Ours hasn’t, which means we’re going back to the pediatrician.)
• Vomiting can also be caused by an infection in another part of the body, such as strep throat, pneumonia, and urinary tract infections. (UTI’s? Really??)

Treatment

Web MD suggests this Home Treatment, which they divided by age group (great link).

The thing that keeps my hubby and I on edge is that we’ll have 12 hours at a time with no hurlage and we’ll think  we’re in the clear. Then, Baby Girl lets out a hork of major proportion with no rhyme or reason to it.

We’ve taken to wearing bath sheets like burkas and covering the furniture just in case.

The pediatrician recommended:

• The BRAT diet – Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast
• Adding probiotics to her diet for the next few weeks – we’re using Culturelle for Kids.
• We’ve taken her back to formula made with Pedialyte, because she’ll drink it. (All milk products have produced hurlage, especially soy milk.)
• 2 mg Zofran every 8 hours (we’ve been less diligent about this than we should be)

Recommendations from my posse:

• My brother recommends Lomotil or Compazine, which we’re going to stock up on.
• Huge thanks to K.B. Owen who explained what to look for in terms of dehydration in last Saturday’s post when this all started. Plus she called me and followed up. I’m going to the pediatrician tomorrow and making them test for strep.
• Finally, my WANA pal, August McLaughlin, wrote this post on kids’ anti-nausea meds.

Note: Babies and children younger than 1 year old need special attention if they continue to vomit. They can quickly become dehydrated. It is important to replace lost fluids when your child is vomiting. Watch your child carefully, and pay close attention to the amount of fluid he or she is able to drink.

Early symptoms of dehydration:

• The mouth and eyes may be drier than usual.
• The urine may be darker than usual. Certainly, it will be less plentiful.
• Your baby may feel cranky, tired, or dizzy. (Ours staggered around like a wino.)

I’ll be sure to update y’all in the comments about what happens with the pediatrician tomorrow! THANK YOU for all your recommendations and advice via social media.

Have you had to deal with hurlage of Olympic proportions? Do you have any tricks to share? What was the trickiest part of dealing with your kids when they’re sick? (Fur-babies count too!)

Jenny