Vomiting and diarrhoea. Pooing and spewing. Why is it that as soon as we become parents, so much of our lives (and conversations) revolve around the output of our children? It seems as though as soon as we have a crying baby in our arms, what comes out either end of them is both vital and fascinating. There’s entire blogs devoted to the subject squidoo.com/babypoop!

How much has our little one had to eat? Has he pooed today? Did she feed properly? And if that isn’t enough, we begin to panic when more than expected comes up or goes down. Oh no, she has diarrohea. Heavens above, have you seen this nappy?

As both a Pediatrician and a father of four I have my fair share of stories about babies crying and loaded nappies! I’ll bet you do too? However, I won’t ask you to share them (unless you really want to… feel free to tell). Right now I’d like to discuss when vomiting and diarrohea go above and beyond. When your baby has gastro.

Answers to your questions about gastro can be found in the Gastroenteritis – Your Questions Answered article. There’s also great info here. But for now let’s look at one important piece of information… lemonade.

Do you remember as a child being given flat lemonade to drink? The intent of our parents here was good – something tasty and sugary to keep us going when everything else won’t stay down. However, research has shown that undiluted lemonade or juice is too strong and can have an adverse affect. It is vital for the health of your baby that diluted lemonade or fruit juices are used when keeping your baby or child hydrated during a bout of gastro. Keep this in mind next time you are faced with a shirt-front full of baby vomit… and let your mother’s group and friends know. Let’s do the best we can to keep our little ones soothed and safely hydrated when the dreaded gastro hits.