[carang]

when they are sick, it is very normal for the fever to fluctuate. again, it isn't anything to be overly concerned about unless it is over 40C for a few hours.

remember, a fever can actually be a good sign. it means that your little one is trying to fight off the illness.

give it a few days and see how your little one does. throwing up is also par for the course. my boy throws up EVERY time he gets a cold. it seems that he can't get rid of the phlegm any other way, so throws it up, and he's 3.5 years old.

just keep a close eye on her and watch for the fever to go higher. if she keeps throwing up her medicine, try giving her meds about 10 minutes before you feed her. then she won't have so much to throw up. you can also ask the dr for suppositories instead of liquid. that will solve the vomitting problem.

[bekyboo44]

I would also recomend suppositories- our toddler gets a fever quite regularly, every time he gets a cold; and even when he is 'emotionally' upset, i.e when his sister was born.
He hates taking medicine- and so we tend to give suppositories instead of the liquid medicine...you can get pandol suppositories from watsons, they have some for babies and some for older children.
We also find that suppositories work faster at bringing the fever down.

Should the fever go above 39 and start to approach 40 (which happened to our son when he had the flu) then the best medicine is voltaren suppositories, however they can only be prescribed by a doctor and are very strong. So not to be used too often.

Our ped. said with a fever it is always best to start with the weakest medicine and then work up, if the fever doesn't subside.

He said with a high fever a baby needs to be kept cool- so no overdressing etc., even if air temp. is quite cool.
He also recomended a lukewarm bath for baby to help bring fever down.

I was also worried about frequent and high fevers 'frying' our sons brain (espec. as he also has had a febrile convulsion) but our ped. insists that fevers pose no such threat.

[fennho]

hello everyone

thanks for all the advices and comments. Turns out my gal has got viral gastroentitis, which translates to diarrhoea. True enough the fever subsided after 48hours. But the PD said the diarrhoea will contd for up to 2 weeks! It has now been 2 weeks. We've gone for a short trip back to Spore and now back to HK, but still the diarrhoea persisted. It went from dark green, to mustard yellow, and now alternating between greenish and sometimes yellow. It's mucuosy all the time, sometimes with lumps (sorry for the graphic description!!) and sometimes when she's passing, it'll be with bubbles (got a lot of air?)

It's heartbreaking having to change her diaper and waking her up in the middle of the night, cos not changing is NOT an option, rite? She'll be all cuddly (we're co-sleeping with her) and sleeping soundly and contentedly when we had to change her and that will almost always wake her up to a screaming fit.

My PD has said he's not inclined to give meds to babies to stop diarrhoea. Usually, he said he'll let them stop naturally. But 2weeks of diarrhoea is really mind-boggling! It can be 4-5 times in 24hr.

As for food, i'm currently still BF-ing her 5-6 times a day. For her solids, i'm jus feeding her plain brown rice cereal for breakfast and then plain porridge for lunch and dinner, as per PD's suggestion. It's jus to keep her full but i reckon this has got no nutritious value. I cant give her any fruits or veg since her bowel movements are so rapid now. :(

Anyone with similar experiences can advice. Is it really best for us to sit it out and wait for it to stop?

[fennho]

oh, forgot to add that the PD tested her stool samples and it's negative for major virus. Thankfully she has had her rotavirus vaccine completed prior to this.

[fennho]

I feel so demoralized that despite struggling so hard during the initial stage and pressing on with breastfeeding, it has not prevented my gal from falling sick or at least recover faster. Feel so disheartened...heartbreaking to see her trying to "push the watery poo" out.. I can imagine us adults feel so much pain and discomfort if we have diarrhoea, let alone such a young baby. I was just starting to feel somewhat confident of being her caregiver, now feel could it be me not detailed enough? I was already being pretty anal of hygiene issues yet this happened. And what kind of viral did she get that's infecting her for so long?!? :( sorry just ranting here....

[carang]

kids get sick. that's part of growing up. it is NOT something that you did or didn't do. it happens!

hk is such a crowded place that it would be impossible to live here and not get sick. children get sick easier because they haven't had a chance to build up immunity. yes, bf helps to protect them, but it isn't a magic cure-all.

remember, as your girl gets older, the more anal you are about hygiene, the more she will get sick! she NEEDS to be exposed to germs and yucky stuff and she NEEDS to get sick in order to build up the much desired immunity.

so, again, my advice is relax. i know it is terrible to see your little ones in any kind of discomfort. (my girl has a stuffy/runny nose right now and is a little miserable.) but, there is NOTHING you can do about it except try to help them feel as comfortable as possible. if you are doing that, then you are doing your job.

[louisouis]

When my son had diarrhoea, the pd advised us to put him on soya formulae for a week so that he will not get any reaction with lactose when his stomach is still so sensitive.

I feel for you, my son had diarrhoea twice and he is only slightly over six months! There is really nothing you can do when it is a virus...

[barbwong_130]

Originally Posted by fennho

It has not prevented my gal from falling sick or at least recover faster. Feel so disheartened......

Please don't feel dishearten that you are breastfeeding or that it hasn't worked at protecting your baby. Although your baby is ill she hasn't been hospitalised. Formula fed babies are four times more likely to be hospitalised for gastroenteritis in the first 12 months than breastfed babies.