My 3 Mon Old Is Always Dehydrated

I don't know what you're feeding him, but I'd pump and feed him breastmilk thickened with "Simply Thick".

why wait for 4 hours? is there a good reason for this? if he's not getting enough liquid, maybe you should let him drink more fluids more often!! and why only 4 oz? if he will drink more, shouldn't you let him have it, since he's having trouble with dehydration? poor little guy, i hope you figure this out!

Our daughter,too, had this problem. From day 2 of her life we put rice cereal in her bottle and kept her sitting up for 30 minutes after each feeding. This helped incredibly. We didn't even have to do medicine. I would try the rice in the bottle and see if that doesn't help. It certainly will not hurt him and may just solve your problem.

Hi K., What a double-hit you're dealing with. There is a great product made by the Shaklee Corp. called Performance. It is an electrolyte balancing drink originally made at NASA's request for our astronauts when they re-enter the atmosphere. Apparently the heat and dry air made it difficult for them to remain conscious. Anyway, Shaklee developed "Astroaid" and continues to make it specially for NASA. But the consumer version is the best rehydration/electrolyte balancing drink available. You could make "popsicles" out of it in addition to just a drink. It is orange or lemon/lime. We drink it before exercising or working in the yard and then during working instead of water. It's amaging how much better it makes you feel. But don't think Gatorade will do the same. It has high amounts of sugar as well as a different balance of lots of important ingredients.

Here's where you can get it: http://changinglives.myshaklee.com/us/en/category.php?mai...

By the way, I'll bet you could solve your little guy's acid reflux too, but no doctor will know how to do it. I have heard of others who have done it. Doctors are trained in medical school to use medications which treat the symptoms rather than healing/solving the real issue. Best of luck.

Hi Kim!

I went through that with my daugther. She was terrible I felt like all I did was feed her, change her and do her laundry... I didn't know about this when she was little, but use it now with her because she still has digestive issues. If you would like to try something natural I would be happy to help you out. A lot of times we need a little help for the digestive track like a good digestive enzyme as well as a probiotic to help. Shaklee has safe products that are natural and backed by science. visit my website for more information...
www.shaklee.net/amy_healthyconcepts
Another thing to consider is a food allergy to his formula. have you tried different kinds and brands of formula. My brother had to drink goats milk due to his high milk allergy as a baby, he eventually grew out of it. A lot of food allergies can be contributed to poor digestive health and the probiotic assists with this area as well.

Good Luck! Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions.
A.

Hi, K.! To tell you the truth, I don't think 4 oz. every 4 hours is enough. My daughter was eating every 2-1/2 to 3 hours at that age. I think I would get a second opinion or call a pediatric nutritionist to see if they agree with the feeding schedule you were given. Especially since he is always vomiting, he is losing a lot of what he is taking in. I would check with another doctor sooner than later. You don't want bigger health issues to come out of long term dehydration. I wish you and your son the best of luck!

All 3 of my children have had the same thing. Are you breast feeding or bottle? What type of formula are you using? For my first son it was a simple as making the switch to soy formula and stop breastfeeding. For my 2nd it was hard, our hospital stays were weeks at a time. We switched his formula to Similac Alimentum and it gave his belly what he needed and we only did it for a few weeks. It stinks worse than soy. Also, if you are putting cereal in his bottle try asking your pharmacy for something called Thick It. If they don't have it they can order it (it’s like 5 bucks a can ). This too was what we used for our son. And you can feed your son whenever he is hungry; the idea is shorter and more frequent feedings if 4 hours is to long try two! Also what meds is he on? My children used Zantac, previciad, and Reglan. My last child has it too however the previciad makes her get sick every time I give it to her so I don't. I keep her up right at all time. I was able to breast feed her and stopped eating a lot of the food that caused it. Milk is the # 1 substance that can cause it. Sorry I have rambled but I know how it is. It gets better; they grow out of it for the most part. My 2nd son is just about to be 4 and he is free and clear. However the reflux did caulsed him to have other problems such as asthma so you may want to talk to your doctor about that as well. Good luck, I hope I was able to shine some light on it all! My email address is ____@____.com if you ever need anything else. BTW we used nectar thick, and moved up to pudding thick in regards to the thick it.
I have included links if the don't work when you click on it, then just copy and past!

http://www.woodburyproducts.com/thickit_powder.htm?gclid=...

http://similac.com/baby-formula/similac-alimentum-hypoall...
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My baby boy puked a lot, too. But we just kept feeding him -- he'd puke a bunch of it up (so much so, that we ALL had to change our clothes a few times a day -- even our under clothes!), but he also kept some of it in.

I agree with one of the other ladies - let him eat if he's hungry. I'd get a second opinion on the 4 oz every 4 hours. It might just help him to drink more than that. He still may spit up, but some of it will stay with him.

Good luck -- and find a good doctor! That's what we had to do!

My daughter struggled with reflux when she was little. We had to weight down her formula in order for her to keep it down. Sounds crazy but it worked for us. We used 4 oz of formula 4 oz of rice cereal and one table spoon of clear kyro syrup. This makes one 8 oz bottle. Now it will pack on the pounds to your little one. My little girl weighed 32 lbs at 6 months. Now at 9 years she weighs 60. So I never really worried about that part of it I was just glad she could keep it down. The other part that we had to monitor was her BMs. As long as she was having them regularly the DRs never fused, but occasionally she would get constipated. It was NEVER a huge problem because I was on top of it ( I kept a calendar).

Hi Kim...my lil boy also thru up alot when he was a baby. i think i over fed him tho, and at 6 months he came down with thrush, due to dehydration ( all that puking :( ), I would hold on tho. he did out grow all this by the time he was 1yr, and on a normal table food diet. i agree with the one lady who did suggest a possible 2nd opinion. And also maybe don't feed yer lil boy when ever he thinks hes hungry,( cuz babies want to eat if they have a belly ache, and eating makes it worse), but i don't think 4oz every 4 hrs is quite enuff either. Probley enuff health wise, but ya mite have a fussy lil guy tho out of hunger then. But hang in there. GL.and God Bless

I know this is old fashioned, foolish, whatever you want to call it, but sometimes old time things make more sense.
I understand the 4 oz every 4 hours for feeding. Feeding is formula, mother's milk, whatever. However, rice cereal added to it will help weight it down and help him with his weight. I remember feeding my children every 3 hours and they were getting rice cereal by that age. I think my sister-in-law added something like "Thick It" to the breast milk she pumped.
Try giving him water every two hours. Just a couple of ozs at a time to keep baby hydrated. An easy old fashioned solution, but it might make all of the difference in the world for you and him both.

Hi K.,
Maybe you should try taking him to a different doctor to get another opinion. I know we thought my youngest son had reflux but he really just had a milk intolerance causing him to vomit frequently. When dairy was removed he was fine. Also maybe make sure to keep him propped up to help? Good luck!
M.