I know you guys are tired of hearing about our medical woes but...

identicaltwins2be

...I've gotta get it out somewhere.  I am so frustrated!  We were all hit with a stomach bug last week.  It took N a few days to get over it but he is better.  DH and I both had it but were better in the typical 24-48 hour window.  DD hasn't had it and I really pray that she doesn't get it.  C, on the other hand, has been vomiting and has had horrible diarrhea for 6 days.  6 DAYS!  I called the pedi this morning and they wanted to see him.  So I took him in.  He's lost 2 pounds in 8 days but she's not worried about it.  Now, he wasn't weighed on the same scale so I get that it might not be dead on but he weighed 19 pounds at the doctors office in November and he weighs 20 pounds right now.  Does she think he's only gained 1 pound in 3 months?  She is not at all concerned with the diarrhea and went on to say that if he is "only" vomiting once or twice a day she wouldn't worry about it.  Really!? 

He took about 4oz of formula last night around 8 and didn't throw up until 4am so it doesn't always seem to be related to what/when he is eating.  He threw up again at my MILs this morning about 30 minutes after taking a 5oz bottle and now he won't eat anything.  She did get him to take a little bit of pedialyte.  To top it all off, I leave for a conference in 2 days and won't be home until Saturday.  I'm so worried that he is still going to be sick when I leave and I won't be home to take care of him.  Am I crazy to worry there is something else going on?  Thanks for listening (if you made it this far) and sorry for the rant.  I just don't know what to do.

PirateGirl04

I'm so sorry!  I hope C feels better soon!

JLPT830

I'm sorry that you guys can't seem to shake this bug!  It's so awful when DC's are sick and you feel helpless.  Is he still having wet diapers or tears when he cries?  I think the biggest concern is dehydration.  If he's still having wet diapers and tears when he cries he's probably not dehydrated.  I would keep doing what you are doing.  But I will also say that Mommy instinct isn't something to ignore.  When DS had diarrhea for months over the summer I kept calling and taking him in until he was better.  If he's been vomiting that long I would call and ask if it's appropriate to give him something to help him stop vomiting.  I know our pedi didn't want to give antidiarrhea meds right away because having the diarrhea gets the virus out.  But in the end that is what it took to get the diarrhea to stop.  I'm not a doctor but I would tend to agree with you that 6 days of vomiting and diarrhea seems a bit much for a kiddo that small.  Maybe he could benefit from some meds?  Hope he feels better soon.  I think you guys have hit your illness quota for 2011!

Mrs.Cooley2bee

You are sooo not crazy for thinking something else is going on.  Last year at this time Charlotte puked 1-2 times a day for TEN days. Every few days she would not puke for about 24 hours and we would think she was in the clear....then BAM, more puking.  It was absolutley horrible. 

I called the doctor so many times because it seemed like it was going on for way too long.  Basically we gave her pedialyte for almost a full day with nothing else.  If she seemed super hungry we would give her a small bottle of BM.  I was worried that she wouldn't get enough calories but the doctor assured me that she would be okay. Finally it all stopped and she got better.  She never really ran a fever but she did have wicked diarrhea that lasted a few days longer than the puking.  I was tod by my doctor that as long as she wasn't showing signs of dehydration that she was okay.  Ugh, I feel your pain.  Hang in there!

warriormomerin

No clue on the vomitting but I thought I'd mention that DS completely stopped gaining weight from 9 months - 18 months and I was really freaking out. After a bunch of tests it just turned out that he was working it off since he started walking at 9 months. Perhaps that's a contributing factor to C's weight loss?

mrs.george2be04

Wow E, you guys have had a really rough time of it lately. I don't think it's ever "crazy" to worry about your kids.  Obviously C is not feeling well, even if it's nothing serious.  I don't really have any advice on the illness front, I just wanted to say I hope EVERYONE feels better ASAP.

As far as the 1lb weight gain in 3 months, I don't think that's abnormal.  I think most babies start tapering off on the heavy duty weight gain by 9 months.

(((HUGS))) mama

KYmama9286

((hugs)) Having sick kiddos is SO hard especially when it is a bug that effects their eating/weight gain. I will say though that based on our experience with this bug its not unusual for it to last 3-7 days (our pedi warned us of this when we first saw him after Nicholas was hospitalized). For Nicholas it was vomiting 1x-2x day, lethargic and not wanting to eat, diarrhea for all 7 days and then a few days after that of him still not really wanting to eat. Nicholas didnt lose that much weight (went from 12.1lbs to 11lbs 14oz) but for us every oz is a big deal. Is there a chance that he had just not gained any weight between his normal well visits and not that he has lost weight? Either way I would recommend asking your pedi for a prescription for zofran. They make it in liquid form for Nicholas and it really seemed to help (for warning though it can cause constipation but it didnt seem to be a problem for Nicholas until he was completely over the illness but then again constipation is a chronic problem for him so whose to say it was from the zofran).

My pedi also said that if diarrhea persists for 10 days then they want to know about it and start doing some stool samples to make sure it wasn't anything worse causing it (other than the stomach flu). I know it sucks and it feels like forever but hopefully he will be feeling better in no time. The ER told us also to do the finger test (press on his finger tips and count how long it takes for color to return, a normally hydrated person is like instantly and if it takes more than 2-3 seconds for the color to return that's a sign of dehydration). Also to feel the insides of his mouth, if it is dry and sticky that's another sign in addition to the lack of tears and wet diapers.

If you're REALLY concerned you can check to see if he is spilling ketones in his urine. A trick us RSS moms use (since this is a big problem w/ RSS kids) is stick a few cotton balls in his diaper to absorb the urine. Once he has a wet diaper (this is gross but whatever) you can squeeze the urine out of the cotton balls onto a ketone strip (can be purchased at any pharmacy). This strip has varying colors it can turn to show how many ketones are being spilled and what that means (there is a guide on the side of the bottle). If it does show that he is spilling considerable amounts of ketones I would definitely call you're pedi or take him to the ER.  HTH!

identicaltwins2be

Thanks for all the replies and encouraging words.  I really hope it isn't anything - I've just never know anyone to be vomiting for that long, let alone a baby.  Us mommas are overprotective and it really, really sucks having to sit there and watch him be so miserable.  The boys have their 1 year appt on Monday so I guess we will just follow up then and see how C is doing.  Hopefully his weight has leveled off and he isn't losing anything else. 

rottie06

Oh no!  My SIL works at Childrens in the ER she says that it lasts for 5 days.   She is seeing lots of kids with dehydration.  Sounds like he has lost a lot of weight but then he is not keeping anything down.  I would be a wreak if I had to leave town right now.  Just know that he will be in good hands with your Dh and MIL's.  They will take good care of him.  I find that my DD "acts" a lot worse when she is around me than anyone else.  I get all the drama, guess I am just too soft! 

rottie06

I did not mean that DS maybe acting sick.  Hope that did not come over that way.    My DD just has so much more drama with me than anyone else.   And, of course, as her moma I just worry and overact more.

IAM4UK

Aww - I hope they all feel better soon. Sick babies are awful to deal with. I think you need to trust your mother's instinct and maybe get a second opinion. Good luck!