Newborn Vomiting
What to Do about Newborn Vomiting
Newborn vomiting can be frightening for you. This is especially true if you are a new parent because you may not know what to do or how to go about helping your baby. There are a few things that you can do and some tips that you will want to keep in mind in order to help your baby feel better.
The newborn vomiting is often caused by a virus but it will not likely go away in a day or two like it would with an adult. Your baby may experience the vomiting for several days as his or her body is fighting the virus that is causing it. The main thing that you will want to watch for with newborn vomiting is dehydration. There are some things that you will want to watch for in order to determine if your baby is dehydrated. Your baby may be very lethargic or have sunken eyes. You may also notice a decrease in urine output.
The frightening thing about dehydration is that it can happen in just a few hours if your baby has been vomiting a lot. The first thing that you will want to do is keep track of how often your baby is wetting him or herself. If your baby is not taking in any fluids and he or she is to urinating you will want to call the doctor and ask him or her what you should do. You may also want to purchase some pedialyte that will help your baby fight off the dehydration.
If you have given your baby fluids and he or she continues to vomit you will want to wait approximately 45 minutes before you try to give your child anything else. You will want to give your baby clear fluids or the electrolyte solution every half an hour or so until he or she can keep it down. As you begin to work towards normal feedings you will want to feed your baby less than you normally would. Take your time working your baby back up to the normal feeding schedule. As he or she begins to feel better they will become hungrier and your baby will let you know this.
While you can attempt some of these solutions to help with newborn vomiting on your own, you will want to call your doctor in certain situations. If your child is not able to keep down any clear liquids you will want to call the doctor. You will need to do the same thing if you are concerned that the baby is dehydrated or begins to develop yellow around his or her eyes. Your doctor will most likely want to see your baby in these cases.
If you are fighting with newborn vomiting you will also want to make sure that you are examining the vomit. I know that this sounds really disgusting but you will want to check for blood and you want to make sure that it is not a thick green bile color. Both of these things can indicate a serious problem and can cause alarm for a parent. If you notice any of this you will want to call the doctor as soon as possible. If you are not able to reach the doctor you may want to consider taking your newborn to the emergency room.
Newborn vomiting can be scary. However, if you know what to look for you can calm yourself and help your baby get past this as soon as possible. Never hesitate to call your baby’s doctor if you do not know what to do or you are concerned that your baby is getting worse. Your doctor will be able to help you and calm your fears.