How do I force her to drink?

Samantha is still in danger of dehydration. She hates the pedialyte. Won't drink plain water. and isn't allowed juice. refuses milk. She screams and fights. tried the popsicles, hates it. tried jello, only a few bites. refuses applesauce.

we've tired different sippy cups, bottles, syringes.

her temp is going down. less diarrhea. eating a little bit. saw Dr again this a.m. preliminary tests still not bacterial, but more tests results waiting.... on an antibiotic just to be safe.

my instinct tells me that she had a virus and diarrhea for over a week. Then she got a UTI from all the diarrhea. Which is one of the reasons she is refusing to drink. She had to be catheterized yesterday (for urine sample) and it was a nightmare. my gut tells me the urine test will come back positive for uti.

anyway, the kid needs more fluid. (btw how much fluid does she really need? none of the Drs have given a specific amount. I'm just trying to keep her from needing an IV at this point).

what else can i do????

oh and I woke up with my period and a migraine. so the screaming is sending me into insane amounts of pain.

 

If she is not taking anything by cup, just keep it up with the syringe, a little bit a time, every few minutes. Even if you only get a bite or two of the jello in her at a time, that is better than nothing. Is she still having wet diapers?

I am sorry you are feeling awful too. :hug99:

 

Gatorade! Seriously we were at the hospital for uncontrollable vomiting last year and they gave ds gatorade because he WOULD NOT drink pedialyte. They told me their first choice is pedialyte but if that doesn't work then they almost always take gatorade. Hope she's better soon.

 

None of my kids were allowed juice before two years old and even then it was watered down. Fast forward to when my twin ds had a stomach bug at 10mos old. I tried everything and finally broke down and gave him some juice. He drank it! So I say give her some juice and see if that works. It can be a special thing, like my older kids. The only time they get sprite is when they are sick. I hope she (and you!) are feeling better fast!

 

My boys don't drink it often, but it's been really hot here and they seem to love the Gatorade. They don't get their own -- they drink mine and DH's. It would be worth a try for me. Mine like the riptide rush and the pretty blue one (glacier somthing or other I think). Will she drink broth from soup (i.e chicken noodle or vegetable)? Will she drink some warm tea? Mine seem to like my tea when I have hot tea. I drink decaf though.

Good luck! I hope she is feeling better soon. Hope your migraine goes away!

Mendy

 

Is she not allowed juice for a medical reason, or just as a rule? If it's just your rule, I say go ahead and break it if she will drink it. Try some juicy fruits too like watermelon and mandarin oranges. How about something that might sound off the wall, but would she suck on a washcloth? I can't get Ainsley to stop doing that in the bathtub, it must be fun.

 

My dd#2 only takes pedialyte if it is ice cold. We stick it in the freezer for a little while for her.
And jello that is still liquid my kids also love.

Tiffaney

 

Hve you tried flavored water or seltzer? My girls LOVE sparkling water- the call it zing water!

Have you tried giving her liquids through a straw or freezing an ice cube on a stick and having her suck on that?

GOod luck, I hope she feels better soon!

 

Flavored tea (Celestial Seasonings) is always a big hit around here, watered down Gatorade, or maybe even some Kool-Aid. ardon: Will she take a bath, then she can suck on a washcloth all she wants. What a hard situation!

 

How about a popsicle?

 

Just wondering how she is doing today? Hopefully better?

 

So, I took out the Aquadoodles for my girls to play with yesterday, and they did what they ALWAYS do. Instead of writing on the mat with the water filled pen, they walk around the house sucking the water out of the pens....i remembered reading this post and couldn' t wait to find it to give you the suggestion. It may sound crazy, but I will definitely try it with my girls if i need to get them to drink. It's not much, but it's something. I hope things get better for your little one!!
Dara

 

Sam is doing better, no more fever. Finally found that she'll tolerate the red gatorade (berry flavor i think) in one specific red sippy cub (nuby sport bottle with straw-like top). we were trying to avoid juice bcuz of the diarrhea. They hate popsicles, cold stuff, etc.

She still has diarrhea, but is starting to play more and feel a little better. She got a great long night sleep last night which I think helped alot.

I think it'll still be a few days before she's drinking milk again. Still waiting for Dr to call me w/ test results.

Thx for all the help and advice.

 

I do not know the exact amt of fluids they should have, but I was in the ER with Sarah a few months ago b/c she was dehydrated from the Roto Virus and they told me 5cc by syringe every 5 minutes for an hour; take an hour off, then do another hour, etc for 12 hours. Once she tolerated that well, he said to start slowly moving back into 4oz bottles. What worked for Sarah (who was also refusing EVERYTHING) was equal amts of ice cold unflavored Pedialyte mixed with Gatorade (this is what they gave her at the hospital and it WORKED!!)

HTH and she gets to feeling better, FAST!!