Very sick baby with flu

My almost 10m old DD has been throwing up since 7pm last night and she is running a fever. I have tried nursing her and giving her just plain water but she immediately throws it back up. I have used Pedialyte with my older children- is it safe with a baby this age? At what point do I bring her to the hospital? I am worried about dehydration. I'd appreciate any ideas, thanks!

[kellym]

It's just awful isn't it? I have been there, long story. I would recommend very small amounts of breastmilk and wait 15min, then again and so on. It will pass and I believe I did use pedialyte when ds was 6-8 weeks with it bad. I sure hope she gets better soon.

[Darkestlight]

Do you have a medicine dropper? If so great, if not maybe invest in one. they arent that expensive.
At 10m she can DEFINITELY take pedialyte. Stop with the milk. If will only irritate her stomach more. Here's what the docs ALWAYS tell me. I have a 18 month old and i've been through this repeatedly.
1) Stop milk, don't offer it till she doesn't throw up for I believe 4 hrs.
2) Get a medicine dropped and give a couple mililiters every 10-15 mins of pedialyte.
3)If her stomach can't handle pedialyte then go with water and follow step 2 with water.
4) Keep this up for a while to make sure she doesn't get dehydrated.

when to take her to the hospital....
When shes dehydrated is when you should take her to the hospital and here are the signs to look for:
How can I tell if my baby is dehydrated?

Any of these signs could indicate that your baby is dehydrated or is becoming dehydrated:
• More than six hours without a wet diaper
• Urine that looks darker in his diaper and smells stronger than usual
• Lethargy
• A dry, parched mouth and lips
• No tears while crying

Signs that your baby may be seriously dehydrated: • Sunken eyes
• Hands and feet that feel cold and look splotchy
• Excessive sleepiness or fussiness
• Sunken fontanels (the soft spots on your baby's head)

Watch for all those and keep getting liquids in her.

Also Watch her fever. If your baby is 6 months or older, call the doctor if her fever reaches 103 degrees F (39.4 degrees C) or higher.

[peekawho]

Call her pediatrician if you are concerned.  We don't know her medical history, any concerns, or anything about her.  The best thing to always do if you are unsure is to make a call to the doctors office.  They will pull her chart and give you advice that may be more specific to her needs.

I can understand not wanting to call the doc, but with babies I say err on the side of caution.  If you are worrying, its best to call.  

[waitingwithhope]

I called her doc, but she is away at a conference and no one is covering for her. I did call tele-health and they are going to call back at some point today. If she keeps throwing up, I think I will take her to a walk in clinic or hospital. Thanks for the info everyone..it breaks my heart to see her so sick :(

[kellym]

Man that would make me angry, ugh... For sure, you need to make yourself feel comfortable if she's still so sick, take her in. Poor baby.

[peekawho]

Wow.  Its the law that every medical practice has to have someone covering.  I'm shocked they told you there was no one.   There may not be office hours, but someone has to be on call at all times in case of an emergency.  The on-call doctor is responsible for covering the tele-nurse's advice, too.  

I think you're making a wise decision.  A walk in or urgent care sees these problems often, and would be faster than a hospital.  I never argue with a mothers intuition.  If you are worried, she needs to be seen.  If nothing else, you'll feel better and less worried!

[waitingwithhope]

Maybe it is only law in the US? I am from Canada. All I got was an answering machine when I called the doc saying to either call tele-health or to go to a walk in clinic or emerg and that the doc was gone for a four day conference (plus weekend). When tele-health finally called me back (the wait time was 2.5 hours), they went through a check list, which was fine, but nothing I already didn't know to look for and then they told me not to go to a walk in or anything but to call them back if there was further problems..which is part of the problem here, they try to steer us clear of any clinic or emergency room. Anyway, my DD finally did take a feeding without throwing it up (and then took another one and threw that one up) so I am going to try the pedailyte if she throws up another feeding and I will continue to nurse her. If she still is lethargic and just not peeing or anything, then I am taking her in. This is so frustrating because even if I took her in, they probably would tell me it is the flu, go home and she'd pick up something new at the clinic!!

[waitingwithhope]

Here is the update...I ended up taking her into the hospital ER last night, they gave her Tylenol suppository, Advil, Pedialyte (every five minutes for an hour) and her fever of 104 finally came down and they sent us home.Then, in the middle of the night she "exploded" everywhere (prob due to the suppository), however, she seemed to be keeping the nursing down. Until half an hour ago and she threw up everything all over again. I am still nursing her (they said to keep nursing through it, even if it was in small amounts) but it is concerning to see all that breastmilk gone each time. She also is having trouble keeping tylenol down so I may have to go out and purchase suppositories for her :(