Illness

My family just survived our first full blown family illness. This was not fun and very difficult. We all took our turn having a virus. This made me think about the fact that there are a bunch of things that I did not know the first time my son was sick.
FIRST and foremost go out and buy a container of clear pedialyte!!!!!!!!! You always end up needing it in the middle of the night. While your at it make sure you have a good thermometer, Tylenol (or store brand), Motrin (or store brand-if your baby is 6mons or older), a cool mist humidifier, saline nose drops, nasal aspirator and vicks vapor rib

If your baby has a fever-105 or more call your doctor ASAP
Give the baby a dose of tylenol or mortin. Give the baby a warm bath and gradually add cool water. This will help the fever to come down gradually. A cold bath could shock the baby. If the fever does not come down with the 1st dose of meds, you can give both tylenol and motrin but 2 hours apart. My son needed this. His fevers were always so high they needed every trick in the book to come down.

If they throw up-1 time just watch the babies behavior. If they do this 2 times, wait 30 minutes and you can give the baby 1-2 ounces of pedialyte, continue this for several hours so that the baby stays hydrated. After several hours you can most likely give the baby a bigger bottle of pedialyte. Wait 12 hours before giving the baby a milk product again. Do not give the baby food! Although my daughter did enjoy chewing on a teething biscuit at meal times.

If they have diareah-do not give the baby a milk/formula bottle, switch to pedialyte. You can give the baby simple food. Many people say feed them the BRAT diet. B-bananas, R-rice, A-applesauce, T-toast This helps to bind the baby.

If the baby cannot keep anything in for 4-6 hours, you need to call your doctor. The most important thing is that the baby not get dehydrated. You want to avoid a trip to the emergency room!

If the baby is coughing-there is no cough meds to give kids anymore. You can steam them in the bathroom. You turn the shower on hot, put a towel under the door and stay in the bathroom until the water starts dripping down from the ceiling like rain. Usually about 20 minutes! This will moisten the lungs and helps the baby breath and not cough as much. IT SUCKS! YOU GET SOAKED AND YOU ARE COLD WHEN YOU COME OUT OF THE BATHROOM! Make sure the baby is stripped into their diaper before you do this and wrap them in a towel before you come out so that they stay warm. It really works if you do it correctly. Also, make sure that you use a cool mist humidifier and vicks vapor rub is good too when you put them to sleep.

If their nose if congested-lay the baby down on its back, squirt the saline into their nose. Wait about a minute or 2 and you can use the nasal aspirator. Usually you will get a little bit out this way. If you can see stuff in their nose and you cannot get it with the aspirator, you can gently use a Q-tip around the outer edge. That usually gets it out.

GOOD LUCK!