how did you cope the first time your baby was ill?

[michelle89]

hey mumsnet
my ds is 16weeks, for the past week hes been under the weather, it started last friday when he literlly threw up all his feed, since thn hes had the sniffles, diarrhoea and sickness.

it got to the point where dh phoned NHS direct, they said make sure he drinks milk as usual but give him water and keep him cool, he had his good days and bad, today was just mental, dh goes to work and is out the house 12hours a day, ds was screamin the whole day none stop, throwin up all the time and had explosive poos.

i told dh to come home, he took him to the docs n the docs said he has gastroenteritis and told us to keep ds off milk for 24hours.
iv been emotional all day, when dh came home i broke down

the doc gave ds some blackcurrant stuff that has the goodness of milk while he gets rid of it, he told us there is a late night chemist not to far away, well after dh went to 4different late night chemists with ds none of them were open. he came back to get ds's feed and i broke down again

i hate seeing ds in so much pain and crying
i feel so down at the moment
has anyone felt like this when their baby was ill?
and has anyone got any advice as how to cope?

[moaningminniewhingesagain]

You are coping, it is very hard, I know. And he will probably be better within a couple of days, just take it an hour at a time.

Dioralyte - the rehydration sachets given for diarrhoea and vomiting, can be bought in any supermarket in the medicines aisle, you don't need a pharmacy.

And your GP is a bit out of date - there is no need to stop giving milk to a baby this age,see here which says leave off milk for 3-4 hours while giving rehydration drinks then restart.

I'm a nurse but I go to pieces when it's my own children too I think it's pretty normal! You can give him paracetamol if seems to be in pain or any fever with it, hth.

[pushmepullyou]

Oh poor you, it is so horrible when they are ill . I remember the first time my DD was ill and how awful I (never mind her!) felt.

Don't hesitate to call NHS direct back if he seems to be getting worse or you're feeling worried, but the odds are that it is just a random childhood bug and he'll feel much better in a day or so.

In the meantime get as much rest as you can and have a unmn hug

[thisisyesterday]

michelle, agree that keeping off milk is unnecessary

is he formula fed or breastfed? if he is breastfed then breastmilk is THE best thing for hm and you should continue to feed on demand

it's horrid seeing your baby ill, but take some solace in the fact that you can comfort him and that he WILL get better soon

[michelle89]

im bottle feeding him. dh went to docs on his own with ds to give me abit of a break, he told me the doc said keep him off milk for 24hours if he still aint better thn keep him off longer i said to dh wont that harm him n dh told me the docter said no cus it has same goodness as milk n the milk is makin him worse hmm

its horrible when he cries litterly none stop all day, no matter what i do, rock him, try takin his mind off it, cuddle him etc he wont stop crying

do you think we should continue to give him milk then?

how does he get rid of gastroenteritis because thats all he gave us a perscription for