Been two weeks since last post, but i thought it felt like one month though.
On that day of my last post, brought JCH out for grocery shopping, and on the Sunday that followed we were all back at NUH Children's A&E. JCH was down with a second round of stomach virus. He was all clear for Friday and Saturday, and by Sunday morning, he was vomiting and diarrhea-ing like mad. Rushed him to A&E by late morning, and the doctor there confirmed he had a second round of stomach virus. The next 2 days that followed, he was vomiting almost every single feed, and diarrhea-ing like 3 to 5 times a day. It was so worrysome. Until Wednesday, the vomiting stopped and we went for the follow-up appointment. Doctor checked on his stomach, and told us that the stirring is not there anymore. Thank God and he was finally keeping his milk in. By Thursday his diarrhea bouts stopped altogether. It was horrible and very heartwrenching to see the little baby have milk welling out of his mouth, and having to keep clearing his butt till it was a little red. Each time he finishes drinking, he'll give me a look that seems to be asking "mommy, will i vomit if i burp now?" and it aches. And each time just before he farts he'll look at me again, like asking "mom, will there be poopoo gushing out if i let off gas?" and it aches again. Each time, can only pray that he can burp, and no milk wells out of his mouth, and he can fart, without having poopoo gush out and his butt has to get cleaned. But each time the bad happens, he'll give a shock expression and it aches even more.
We're very lucky to be living in such a time and place, where medical assistance and knowledge is always so readily available. We were given the orange Hydralyte (for hydration), Lacteol Fort powder (to increase the good bacteria in the stomach), and Dioctahedral Smectite powder (to 'consolidate' his diarrhoea so that its less watery). So, from Sunday (after we're back from NUH) to Wednesday, JCH will be fed the Hydralyte first - so that he would at least have replenished hydration (dehydration can have dire consequences with the worst being fits, as experienced by a friend's baby, trust me, you wouldn't want to go through what she went through when her baby had the fits), and then the Lactoel Fort solution - to introduce the good bacteria, speed up fighting process in the guts and speedy recovery, the Smectite powder solution to serve its purpose, followed by a 5min rest and then his milk. Thankfully, JCH has been willing to coorperate and drink in this particular sequence (self-devised, so for your reference) with minimum fuss. Feeding of the Hydralyte and the powder solutions were all done by syringe (separate syringe for each drink, so stock up on the syringes!). I guess being sick, he didn't have much of an appetite as well hence the minimum fuss. Milk feeding were given at really small amount each time. So imagine the multiple feeds ala 1st month feeding pattern. Totally bushed.
One tips to share with parents out there. I don't dispense medical advise here, so while you are welcome to read and reference, it is always a must to talk to your child's pediatrician about how you are going to administer medications. For JCH, for both Lactoel Fort and Smetite powder, they were dispensed with administration method as "2 times a day, each time half a packet" and the dispensing pharmacist told me "mix each of the powder with THIS much of water". I didn't know how much does her signed THIS much is. Plus, JCH refused to finish half a packet each time. So i asked a friend who is in the medical profession how much water to add and whether I can feed the 2 solutions throughout the day as and when JCH would take them. After discussions, this was what i did:
1. It is not advisable to pour the powders into the milk, hoping to let the baby take down the powder with the milk. Always remember that there is a reason why they said mix with water and not mix with milk. The powder might lose its intended purpose. UNLESS the baby refuses TOTALLY to take the solution. But always check with the pharmacist or pediatrician before you mix anything into the milk bottle.
2. I mixed the powders individually with about 50ml of water, plus/minus. 50ml is just an indicator.
3. The solutions were mixed and kept tight in a small milk bottle with the feeding syringe.
4 . Any left over solutions were all thrown away at the end of the day.
I find that feeding JCH the powder solutions in this manner allowed him to consume more of it. I hope this would be helpful for any parents who meet the same situation with me. Please let your doctor know you intend to feed your baby this way and listen to his recommendation. If he does not recommend what i have done, please do not follow. Always get the green light from your doctor. In my case, there's no doctor to call on a Sunday, and i just wanted JCH to take in as much of the Hydralyte and powder solutions possible. Hubs and i had discussed and with what we understand, we decided to go this course. Each baby reacts differently, so take caution.
Thank God his second episode cleared up on Thursday, and he was back in 100% play mode. Which was timely and very good, because we were due to return to my mom's and stay for the weekend - my dad is back for the weekend to visit! JCH gets to spend time with grandpa! Had a good weekend with my family. Thought i could finally catch up on some sleep, but i was so so wrong. Probably JCH wasn't used to the new mattress, which is harder than his own cot mattress, he kept waking up at night crying. Further adds on the the 1st month period feel. I was so panda-ish at the end of the stay. Afternoon naps helped save me from blanking out. Took the past two nights to regain energy, so here i am typing! Ha!
Finally after all the hoos-haas, life back to normal routine of taking care of a bubbling bub who keeps rolling and frolicking everywhere and anytime he can (totally revelling in his newfound and totally expert in his new mobility), cleaning up the mess that's been there for 2 weeks. Now back to sleep! Will update more laters.
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