Giving milk after stomach bug

[CwinkleCwinkle]

My 18 month old had a stomach bug at the weekend - sick all day Saturday but has been gradually eating more and a bigger variety since Sunday. Her appetite seems back to normal today. She's dairy free so she gets oat milk.

I'm a bit clueless with the whole post stomach bug thing so have been winging it a bit after googling. I gave her some milk on Sunday, which she vomited after her nap. I gave her a little bit yesterday after her nap and she vomited a couple of hours later. She normally gets milk before her nap and at bedtime, but she hasn't had her bedtime milk since Friday and it hadn't caused too much of an issue.

I wasn't planning on giving her any milk today, despite what she'd eaten - scrambled egg, peanut butter on toast, ginger biscuits, chicken, pasta, avocado, stewed pear, sesame bagel with honey, mashed potato, bit more chicken and dry cereal. Avoiding anything to heavy on the stomach but a good variety and she seemed totally fine with it.

After dinner I gave her a snack but she picked at some of it and ignored most of it. Come bedtime, she was sobbing asking for milk and I gave in. I gave her just over half what she'd normally have, she cried asking for more when it was finished and then she was a bit sick.

What do I do? How do you gauge when it's safe to give milk again? I feel horrible that my wee girl went to bed hungry when I can't explain to her why I'm not giving her the milk she's asking for.

Please be kind. Given how she's been today, I thought the milk was worth a try with how much she wanted it. My husband has caught the same bug so it's just me trying to do this today and it's left me pretty upset.

Hopeful bump

Sorry you’re feeling upset about it OP, it’s so hard when they’re unwell and even more so when dealing with it in your own! I would usually allow milk again once they’re keeping water and solids down and it sounds like your DC has managed a good variety of foods today. I know stomach bugs can sometimes cause temporary lactose intolerance and I had a quick google which suggested that even though lactose free, oat milk could have the same effect? I don’t know much about dairy free alternatives but perhaps there might be another type of milk you could try in the short term? Hope you’re all feeling better soon!

The issue with milk the lactose. Oat milk is completely different. I wouldn’t have avoided it at all.

Thank you for the replies! My understanding of the milk issue was that it was primarily to do with the fat content being too much for the stomach to cope with. Although I had seen stuff online about people slowly reintroducing dairy where lactose was also causing an issue.

Thing is then though, why is the milk making her sick? @OopsieeDaisy I also googled it after seeing your comment but SR Nutrition lists oat milk as a suitable alternative in secondary lactose intolerance

I wouldn’t have necessarily assumed it was the oat milk that made her vomit. My DC have both had minor relapses of stomach bugs after a couple of days of being fine. Both times were after the first day where they are back to eating more stuff. She’s eaten a reasonable amount on perhaps a still delicate stomach, then she got worked up about the milk, maybe guzzled it a bit too quickly, and it was just a bit much overall for her stomach to manage.

Hopefully she’ll be right as rain tomorrow!

I'm not expert but just wondering if the problem might be taking in a relatively large volume of liquid quite quickly that's irritating her tummy after the bug. Could you try porridge before bed maybe as something that she'll est.more slowly and might not upset her?

I wait 48 hours to give milk even though my DC love it as it always seems to cause vomiting if too soon after

@ShesTheAlbatross getting worked up about the milk- yes, possibly a factor. She hadn't eaten much of her dinner or snack, not compared to what she'd normally eat, but she did drink a lot of water. I'll give her milk before she gets a chance to get worked up tomorrow.

@KnickerlessFlannel the more filling snack might be a good idea - she loves weetabix before bed but I've been avoiding it because of the milk. I'll try that tomorrow too and hope for the best.

Right, now I want to go and give her some milk but she's not the kind of girl to drink it when she's just woken 🤣

Thanks so much for the replies!!