18 month vomiting and not keeping breastmilk down. What to do?

[Mildred01]

My lo has been vomiting since Thursday afternoon. He woke up from his nap and projectile vomited everything he’d eaten so far on that day. Then it just kept coming, mainly breast milk and water. Phoned 111 and got sent to a&e because he had a little bang on his head earlier that day. They gave dioralyte every 10 mins, some anti sickness meds, waited for 20 mins, let me breastfeed, waited to see if it would come back up then let us go. Slept through the night, no vomiting.

yesterday he could barely keep his eyes open, pretty much slept all day, gave some breastmilk and then in the evening a little bit of plain white rice. At bedtime vomited everything and just wanted to breastfeed for comfort but it was all coming back up. Sometimes straight after a feed then other times an hour after. His highest temp yesterday was 37.9 so no temp.

now today he hasn’t got out of bed, he’s just lying there sometimes on his own and sometimes on me for comfort and breast milk. No temperature. Keeps vomiting all bm.

what should I do? Thank you x

At that age I'd be taking him back to a&e. It's unusual for them to keep vomiting. You could ring 111 again but I think they would just say go to a&e.

Can he keep water down, or very weak ribena? Biggest concern is dehydration but breast milk may be too rich for him.

Straight back to A&E. Write down when all the vomiting episodes so you’re clear and don’t miss anything.

Ring 111, you don’t want him getting dehydrated, it’s a long time to be consistently vomiting especially at his age.

Take him to a&e

Breast milk is like water and counts as a clear fluid so safe to keep giving even when sick. Seek advice from NHS 24 too though.

A&E

Actually breastmilk is perfect for a vomiting child and not to rich. It was normally the only thing mine could keep down when ill. Which is why if he can't I'd be seeking more help.

The other option is plain water but that doesn't always stop young children getting dehydrated as it contains no electrolites.

yes to a&e
one day of sickness is 'normal' and but whay you describe is a very dehydrated child.

all the best!

How are his nappys? Have you tried some Calpol as there maybe some other pain you don't know about and it might perk him up. Try the sugar one during the day as the sugar is in it to give some energy and then sugar free at bedtime when his teeth are already done.

A&E might be the best place for him, however DD once had a long vomiting bug when she was 2.5years the only reason she didn't end up admitted is because she was still breast fed and was still producing wet nappys. The GP said that because Breastmilk was so much easier to absorb as long as her nappys were regular she would be fine. So I'd stop the rice for now and don't bother with water or weak juice just continue with the BM, but ofcourse A&E if you are really worried

How is he today?

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your advice, I didn’t want to seem overreacting by asking or going to a&e but it was the right thing to do. I called 111 after I posted and the out of hours gp sent me to a&e.

We did the same previously with dioralyte every 5 mins and had to withhold breast milk until he could hold down the clear fluids, almost 6 hours with no wee or breast milk 😭 They were going to administer fluids but luckily he did one big wee after some breast milk. After bm and more dioralyte he really perked up so they were happy to let us go. Still not 100% but nice to see him move around with some little smiles.

Thank you @Prawncow for asking, that’s very kind and thoughtful of you. We got back at 2am so still in bed now sleeping and having cuddles. No vomiting last night so fingers crossed that’s the end of that! He does feel very warm though so will be keeping an eye and taking it easy over the next few days.

Again, thanks so much to everyone for taking the time to post and advise. I was really worried but everyone was really helpful. Enjoy the rest of your bh weekend! X

Glad to hear he’s doing better.

Update- I’ve been sick all morning! We cosleep together, will I make him sick again?

You poor thing. I think that as you’re BF - so he’s very close to you for extended periods - there’s no point worrying about cosleeping. Obviously he’ll get antibodies through your BM too.

Def ring 111 again as could be dehydrated. Dangerous for very young children.

Thank you @Prawncow I did think there wasn’t much I could do as I’m still bf. @AlwaysGrateful It was me vomiting this morning not ds! However he did throw up all of his breakfast afterwards and has had a few coughs with small bits of vomit. He wasn’t sick at all yesterday. He has only done 1 wee between 9.30 and 2.30 today. Does that mean he’s very dehydrated?

The consultant at a&e said not to worry if he was sick 1/2 times with food but if he couldn’t keep anything down at all especially bm then to bring him in and cause of concern if no wee in 6 hours.
I will call 111 in the meantime but happy for other advice. thank you x

You won’t give him it back- he gave it to you so he is immune to this one for now. Hope you’re better soon too.