Vomiting: How to Care for Your Infant After Being in the Hospital
Your child stayed in the hospital to get fluids, sugars, and salts lost from vomiting. The nurse may have given medicine to stop the vomiting. The health care team checked your baby carefully for possible causes of vomiting. No serious cause was found. Your baby isn't vomiting, is taking liquids, and has no signs of dehydration.
Do NOT give your baby:
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plain water, which can cause a problem in the balance of salt and water in the body
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sports drinks, soda, or full-strength (undiluted) juice, which have too much sugar for babies
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medicines for nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting, unless told to by your health care provider
For breastfed infants:
For formula-fed infants:
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If your baby was taking a bottle in the hospital, continue to do so normally.
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If your baby isn't ready to take a bottle, follow the instructions of the health care team.
For all babies:
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If your baby already eats solids, offer small amounts of bland foods, such as cereal, crackers, applesauce, or bananas.
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Wash your hands well and often. Viruses that cause vomiting are contagious and can spread from person to person.
Your baby:
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vomits more than one time
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starts crying a lot and can't be calmed down
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seems to have belly pain or other pain
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has a fever
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has a hard, firm belly
Your baby:
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appears to be dehydrated; signs include a dry or sticky mouth, crying with few or no tears, more than 4 to 6 hours without a wet diaper, sunken eyes or soft spot on the head, decreased alertness, rapid breathing, and/or severe sleepiness
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has vomit that's bright green, red, or brown
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has a soft spot on the head that's bulging out
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is very tired and hard to wake up
Is spitting up the same as vomiting? No. Spitting up is when there is an easy flow of liquid out of a baby's mouth, often with a burp. Spitting up doesn't cause discomfort. Vomiting is when a baby throws up liquid or solids forcefully. Vomiting is uncomfortable and often happens a few times.