[riverview]

Did your baby have or come home with the Rotavirus. We are looking for help in regards to diagnosis, symptoms and relief for the baby.

[cbmstephanie]

Maria threw up, had a fever, diarrhea with very stinky poo! I emphasize the very stinky part!! As far as I know there typically is nothing that is given except to try to control the fever and keep them hydrated with Pedialyte etc.

[Bug-n-Bears-Mommy]

My boys got this last year. My oldest ended up in the hospital for 3 days in quarantine.

VERY important to wash or wipe down everything your child comes in contact with. Keep your child hydrated using pedialyte or gatorade. Try the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Apples, Toast) in order to provide something bland they can keep down and that will also stiffen up their stools.

Because of my son's age I substituted the baby rice cereal for rice and baby applesauce and bananas for the whole fruits.

My heart is with you...I will never forget how sick my sons were. Best of luck!

[carlyincali]

My daughter was hospitalized for a week from the Rotavirus when she was 10mos old. I had no idea she was as dehydrated and in such danger as she was when I brought her to the ER.

I did start a thread on this subject months back, when the RV was affecting a lot of babies in GC.

Just do a search on this board.

[ajjhmf]

Another must is a good diaper cream. They go so often, it tends to tear apart their little bottoms. I went with stright aquaphor this last time and managed to avoid the diaper rash.

The good news it that once they've had it, it's not as bad the next time. (We've had it twice now)

Just get em comfortable and hydrated and they should be ok. And be sure to wipe down everything the come in contact with.

[henry'smom]

Henry had the rotavirus on our pick up trip. The poor guy cried non-stop for 2 days. He didn't get diarrhea until the second day. The doctor said that the virus was making him lactose intolerant. We switched him to a soy formula and once the old formula was out of his system he was much better. Other than that we just changed a lot of diapers and tried to keep him hydrated.

[Saya]

I echo what everyone else had said. Our girl had it after she'd been home about 6-7 weeks, poor thing. VERY important to keep them hydrated. She really didn't want to drink anything for a couple of days, so we'd take pieces of ice and put them into those mesh teether thingies and she'd suck on them. Also, she developed temporary lactose intolerance because of the virus, and we had to switch to soy formula for about 2 weeks.

I second the comment on the diaper cream - she got terrible diaper rash. Our pediatrician suggested using A & D ointment (we'd been using something else) and it worked WONDERS to clear it up!

[Mariais5]

Bryce had rotavirus when we picked her up...I second what everyone else said... The smell is soooo bad.. Bryce has had it again twice since we've been home.. I guess, from what I've read, there are different strains, and a person can get each strain.. The second instances were a much milder form than the first, but the smell was what tipped me off that it was rotavirus.. Hydration is the most important thing.. We also switched to a soy formula and used a lot of pedialite.. Pedialite popsicles work well for older babies..

[mommytoEli]

omg...i can smell it again just reading about it. this was eli when he came home...and then everyone got sicker than we had ever been in our whole lives....i am not being extreme. i remember thinking i might die, and i'd be okay with that when i was in the middle of it. horrible. so yes, please wash your hands and clean everything, but know that it might spread anyway. and i second the soy formula. this is one of hte things our dr had us do for eli b/c he said it would be easier on his tummy.

[LRA]

We just went through this in January. The day after his 1st birthday. He got it..two days later my daughter got it, that night I got it and the next morning hubby got it. I agree that I have never been sicker in my life, my hubby stayed home for 2 days, and he is never sick. DD ended up taking care of the baby so we could sleep, and held him for 4 hours while he slept. We took Carlos completely off milk and formula (per dr's instructions) and still ened up having to have suppositories (phenergen sp:?) called in for him. We just pushed Gatorade day and night and just had alot of laundry and diapers to change. Not fun..I feel for you.

[DeeVee]

Oh, poor baby. We all got it on our pickup trip. As everyone has already said, Pedialyte or Gatorade to stay hydrated, but know that it might go right through him. We gave DD nothing but watered-down pedialyte for three days. Same for us. Hope he feels better and that you don't catch it.

[paramom]

Our baby caught it when we were fostering in Guatemala, in January. He had severe vomiting and horrible diarrhea with a fever. He ended up in the hospital there in Antigua, because he got dehydrated very, very fast. They gave him IV fluids for a day, then gave him Pedialyte liquid. We had already been doing the Pedialyte, but it did not work. At the time our son had it, it was at epidemic levels in Guatemala. Like someone said, you might have to switch to a soy based formula for awhile, until the stomach settles down. It took a week before our son's diarrhea finally stopped. It was a scary time because he got so sick, so fast. Just hydrate really well, that is the main key.

[afl]

Timely post as my dd(a year old next week) has gotten her first bout of the stomach ickies. I'm not sure if it's rotavirus or not. She threw up and had watery diahrreah(and smelly) twice Sun, then felt much better. She still had very mushy birthmom, but nothing severe. Then, by Monday lunchtime I had it and was so, so sick until this morning when I could finally get out of bed and stop running to the bathroom. Then, dd again today threw up twice so far and has had some blowout diapers again. I've been giving her pedialyte and formula and whatever she'll eat.

If she isn't better in the morning, I will be taking her in as I am concerned about her getting dehydrated. So far, she hasn't had a fever any time I've checked, though I did have one in the middle of it all.

[amymole36]

I totally understand...it is NO fun!!! Hannah came home with it in Oct. and was miserably sick for 10 days. Hydration is the key and just remember...the LOADS of laundry and cleaning up will be a distant memory in no time!!!

One other tip...I used rubber gloves at every diaper change and no one else in our family got it. I know it's might sound crazy...but I think it helped!!!

[gibbar]

I go with what everyone else says. We switched to soy, gave lots of bananas and also added yogurt. We also cut back formula for a bit. Use lots of diaper rash cream and change often.