Hello! I think this forum is great but am a first time poster. My 16th month old has had diarrhea since fri. I've followed the Banana, Rice, Apple, Toast diet but shes not really eating. I have also given her dry cereal and saltine crackers Anything else anyone can suggest? Also hasn't been drinking much and am concerned about hydration. I've given Pedialyte drink and pops also gaterade with water. Any other liquids that would be ok? Thanks everyone for your help! 

When my twins got sick at that age they wouldn't eat either. Sometimes just plain water is all they would take. I also bought Stonyfield smoothies and thinned them down with water. Yogurt can be easier to digest and the probiotic can help get the intestines back in sync.

As long as you get a wet diaper once in a while she's not dehydrated. But if she has a fever and stops peeing call the doctor or go to the ER. They can dehydrate fast when they are small.

Also - if she's not better by tomorrow I'd take her in to your pedi.

Finally - mine loved mighty mini popsicles at that age (still do actually). It's a fun way to get some loquid in them!

Ask your pediatrician about adding Culturelle for Kids to one of the beverages - a probiotic.  It dissolves and is tasteless, and seems to really help cut down on the length of the stomach bug. 

In response to misslily's comment:

Thanks so much. I will have to try those pops. Its been so exhausting to keep her comfy and happy these past few days. wow I can't imagine with twins! : )

In response to wasMM379's comment:

Thanks! I am going to touch base with the pediatrician tomrw and will ask about the culturelle...

Have you checked her weight? DS, at that age, had a horrible stomach bug, and lost over 10% of his body weight but was still giving me wet diapers all within two days. I tried to "stick it out" with him since he was "acting ok" except for all the diarrhea. Well, morning of day 3 we were in the hospital to get him rehydrated-even though he would give me wet tears (signs he's still hydrated). So, call the doctor! All it took was one bag of saline and DS was rehydrated and actually stopped having diarrhea right after. The ER doctor said  that sometimes they just need a bag of fluid to help stop the bug, esp when they are that little. 

I don't meant to scare you, but call the pedi and explain how often, and see what they have to say.

Note: it can take up for two weeks for the bowles to heal after a bad infection-so things might not go back to "normal" for a while. (learned this after DS got another stomach bug-ugh)

Hope she feels better soon!

In response to KAM2007's comment:

Oh wow! I haven't checked her weight.. I took her back to ped today. He didn't want to run any tests or give her anything yet. I'm getting a little anxious. It's been since Fri and I too am hoping to "stick it out". She's acting generally ok besides not sleeping well but she's not a great sleeper to begin with and could be hungry or just feeling yucky from this bug and waking up. Ahh I def don't want her to get dehydrated! 

Well, if she's not vomitting, than feed her what she wants to eat. Try and fit in the binding foods-less ripe banana (if it has brown spots than it won't help bind her up), but just focus on getting her to eat. I also get probiotic capsules from target (generic of culturelle I think) and I can open it up and mix it with what ever the kids are eating to help get things back on track. Frozen popsicles are great in this heat-they take the liquid in slower so it doesn't shock the system and they abosrb it.

How many diarrheas is she having in a day? the time DS lost 3 lbs in 2 days he had over 20 in one day...to put it in perspective.

At the point where it's been a week or so, I would insist that the doctor do tests.  I won't even freak you out with the story of my daughter's illness-- it's not likely that your daughter has the same thing--but she had similar symptoms around the same age and her doctor didn't do any testing until she'd had diarrhea (and occasional vomiting, although not at first) for two full weeks, and then when the tests were negative waited another week to refer her to a specialist.  The specialist figured out the problem pretty quickly and got her on the right medicine, but it was absurd that she was allowed to get as sick as she did--she lost a lot of weight and was incredibly sad and enervated.  I felt really bad about it because I knew she was really sick and should have been more assertive iwth her doctor.  Anyway--hopefully your daughter will be better soon, and I do think it's pretty normal for regular viruses to hang around for a week or so.  I just would be pushy about getting her help after that. 

In response to thistleflower's comment:

thanks for sharing. Sorry you had to go through that. Ahh I feel bad as it is seeing her pale and knowing she has a bug! I will def go back and get the blood work if its not better by thur it will be a week Fri but don't want to wait through wkend for results. KAM her poopy diapers have varied. On Sunday she only had one but yesterday 4 and today so far 2.. Also they are yellowish and mucusy sorry for the TMI does that sound similar to any ones LOs when they were sick? Also i have been trying the vanilla smoothies yogurts and she's been drinking them... 

Sunshine, the good news is that it dosn't seem like she'd be losing weight with that rate of episodes. Keep her comfortable, feed her what she wants when she wants it. If things don't clear up after a week of this starting, you said it started Friday, so if she's not improving by Friday, call the pedi again.

 

Sunshine, just a thought--my DD was mostly just eating our food by that age, but when she was sick she really loved having those fruit pouches that they can just suck down.  She would wolf those right down at times when I couldn't get anything else into her.  I'm not sure if they're ideal for diarrhea but if your DD isn't eating much it might be worth a try.