Sick Twins

leeannap

Hi mommas. I don't come on here too often anymore...but I need some advice. Ok so here is the story...it's long...sorry. Last monday morning my girls woke up with a really bad cold....very very snotty and lots of drainage. They had a fever for about a day and a half. On thursday morning I took them to the pedi for their 1 year checkup and everything was great...ears and lungs clear and they got 4 shots. Then that afternoon they started having really loose stool....Taylor's was much worse than Ellie. Friday they still had very loose stool....again Taylor's was much worse. They were still eating alright though and that night after Taylor ate her dinner she threw up (all over me of course). She seemed fine right before and right after. She slept thru the night and the next day kept down everything I gave her (pedialyte, banana, toast, crackers) and she was very eager to eat and happily playing with her sister. The next morning I gave her a bottle of milk for the first time since she was sick and she threw it up. I called the pedi and he said not to worry, that her stomach just couldn't digest the lactose yet and to avoid milk for at least another day. Yesterday Ellie got milk and Taylor didn't ( she had pedialyte). They were their normal selves all day. This morning at around 6am I woke up to Ellie coughing and crying over the moniter. When I went in their room she had thrown up a little bit in her crib. It was mostly milk and mucus...a little food (sorry tmi but important ). While cleaning her up she had 3 more times of coughing and gagging and throwing up...all mucus and milk. After she slept a couple hours she is acting fine...playing with her sister and she kept down the pedialyte I gave her. She was doing her "I'm hungry" whine so right now she is eating some dry cheerios and is very happy about it! I've spoken with 2 different nurses at the pedi and they have assured me that they are ok and said that it is probably a virus/cold or that they were just really bothered by all the mucus. I am hoping that it was not some kind of stomach virus running around our house! They still have horrible drainage and runny noses though. I am afraid that this mucus is just going to keep hanging around...any advice on helping them get over it? I was also thinking about tomorrow giving them soy milk for the rest of the week...maybe that would help with the drainage? (they are normally on whole milk) Any thoughts would be appreciated ladies!! It probably sounds like I am freaking out ....I guess I am a little...but my girls were preemies and I get so nervous when they get sick!

GiGi1221

I'm sorry I don't have any help- but sick twins suck!

regenab

I have been through 2 stomach viruses in the past 3 months, so here is my advice.

First for me, I don't give them milk until at least 48 hours after they have last thrown up. Earlier than that and they just end up throwing it up. If they are both off milk at the time (meaning both throwing up in the same day), I push that to 72 hours (if one is drinking milk, then the other one wants it too and they throw a tantrum when they see their sister gets milk and they can't have it, so I can usually only get them to go 2 days before they really want milk again). I wouldn't even do soy milk. The most important thing is hydration, not milk consumption at this point. As long as they are drinking either pedialyte or water or something other than milk, then they are fine. A couple days without milk will not hurt them.

Stay with the brat (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet for at least 48 hours after they stop throwing up. I give mostly toast and bananas when they are sick and then work in applesauce once I know they will keep it down. Bananas also will help with the loose stools. My girls don't eat rice, so I don't feed them that part of brat diet. My girls love bananas so this is usually not hard to get them to eat.

If they stop wanting to eat, don't push them, most likely their bellies are not feeling good and they don't want it. If they also stop drinking let them go a little bit, to see if they are going to throw up. If they don't throw up in 2 hours, I would try to see if you can get them to take some sips of something. Even icechips or something.

I agree with the pedi office, it is most likely a virus and it will run its course. I have had viruses that have lasted about 8 days per girl in my house, they don't always run at the same time, which kind of sucks. So one girl gets it throws up for 4 days, on the last day the second girl gets and throws up for another 4-5 days, so it takes almost 10 days until the throwing up stops.

Most important thing, make sure after you handle their dirty sheets or anything else they have thrown up on or pooped on, you scrub yourself like a surgeon, the whole way up to your elbows. This is how I keep from getting it myself. So far they have had 4 stomach viruses in their lives (29 months old) and I have not gotten one of them. My DH has gotten 2, but I manage to escape it. This is probably a little bit of nature, someone has to care for the family and also because I scrub myself down after cleaning up after them. If they throw up on me, I clean up everything while still wearing my clothes, then I throw everything in the wash including my own clothes. Go and scrub my upper body down and then start the washing machine and put on clean clothes. I do a lot of wash during illness.

Also, I don't give meds for fevers until they hit 101. My pedi, doesn't want me medicating them when they start a low grade fever, so if it does spike I can get an accurate reading and they can decide how to treat. I also don't call the pedi until the fever hits 104. Anything less than that I treat with Motrin and Tylenol and then let it runs its course because it is most likely viral. Now if they stop drinking and are constantly throwing up, I take them in because I don't want them to become dehyrated and they will give me Zofran if they have been throwing up more than 4 days and not drinking much, so they can start getting fluids down.

Good luck, hope they are feeling better soon.