Banana, rice, apple sauce, and toast (BRAT) are great foods that can help your child when she is sick. This acronym is easy to remember, and these foods are easy to eat and digest. At the same time, these contain nutrients that can stay down even with an upset stomach.
How to tell if your baby is lethargic?
Symptoms of Lethargy
- Dizziness
- Abnormal heart rate Rhythms
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
- Spacing out
- Not being able to wake up
What foods should I Feed my Baby?
What Foods Should I Feed My Baby?
- Cereals. Offer a variety of grains including wheat, rice, oats, and corn. ...
- Meat & Alternatives
- Fruit & Vegetables. Babies need to learn to eat a variety of foods from each of the food groups to make sure they are getting all the nutrition they need.
Should I Feed my Baby before bed?
Yes, you can feed your baby right before bed. But, ensure you add it to your baby bedtime routine instead of purposely feeding her so she can sleep through the night as this might cause a vicious cycle for your baby. Besides, experts suggest feeding your baby 30 minutes before she sleeps to prevent sleep association, which can be hard to break.
Should you wake a baby for a feed?
- Baby's tummy empties easily. Babies digest breast milk easily and quickly. ...
- He might snooze through hunger. Most of the time, your baby will send out hunger cues like lip smacking, rooting and finger sucking — not to mention a hearty cry ...
- Baby needs to gain weight. ...
- You need to boost your milk supply. ...
What do you feed a baby after being sick?
Try some of these recipes when your baby is sick or not eating:Peach Purée with Ginger and Basil. ... Vegetable and Lentil Purée. ... Hearty Homemade Chicken Soup. ... Polenta Chips. ... Boiled Egg and Avocado Toast. ... Apple, Cinnamon and Prune Purée.
What helps babies when their sick?
Keep your infant's head slightly elevated to make breathing easier. By far the best way to soothe your sick baby is to give them lots of love and attention. Hold them and engage in quiet play, give them an infant massage, or read and sing to them.
What to feed a sick toddler who won t eat?
The “BRAT diet” advises feeding bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast for stomach ailments. These foods contain simple carbohydrates that provide energy and are easy to digest.
How do you treat Covid in babies?
Follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and your government regarding quarantine and isolation measures, as needed. Focus on symptom relief. This might include rest, plenty of fluids and use of pain relievers. Call the doctor if your child keeps getting sicker.
What is the best sleeping position for a baby with a cold?
Babies feel better being in an upright position. It allows stuffy noses and nasal congestion to clear so that breathing becomes easier which promotes restful sleep.
How do you help babies sleep when they have a cold?
Tips on how to help baby sleep with a coldGive them a lift. For a baby sleeping with a cold, use extra pillows to raise their head and shoulders as this will help the congestion drain down. ... Make them a nightcap. ... Breathe easy. ... Keep cool. ... Avoid night fever.
What can I give my sick child for vomiting?
Don't give medicines for vomiting unless your doctor recommends it. When your child stops vomiting, you can offer small amounts of solid foods, such as toast, crackers, rice, or mashed potatoes. Yogurt, fruits, vegetables, and lean meat, like chicken, are also OK.
What to do when your child won't eat?
If your sick child won’t eat, make it fun and serve liquids with silly straws or offer small rewards, like stickers, for small portions eaten. Even a small bite of food can help.
How to help a child with diarrhea?
Help your child replace lost fluid and encourage her to drink a few tablespoons of water or a pediatric electrolyte solution after every bout of diarrhea. Drop in a small amount of a colored drink mix to add color and sweetness to the solution.
What to do when your child has a cold?
If your child has a cold, add noodles in fun shapes and sizes to a bowl of chicken soup. Try bow tie pasta or alphabet noodles. Pasta shaped like sea shells adds some warm thoughts to a cold day.
How to help a girl who refuses to drink?
If she refuses the solution from a spoon, pour into a medicine dropper and let her drop it into her mouth. That adds a fun twist to the process. If she vomits immediately after drinking, let her stomach settle for about 30 minutes and then encourage her to drink the same amount of the solution again.
What to do if your wife refuses to drink orange juice?
The vitamin C in orange juice can work wonders. If she refuses orange juice, try diluting it with water but don’t push the issue if she turns it away. The acid in orange juice can irritate an already sore throat.
How to make hot chocolate for kids?
Offer a younger child hot chocolate. Test it first to make sure it’s not too hot. Dropping in a couple marshmallows makes it more enticing. As for cold liquids, try juices such as apple or grape. Drop in a few ice cubes. Add a drop of food coloring into the ice cubes to make them more enticing.
What to feed toddlers recovering from illness?
When your child is recovering from an illness, you can expect for their appetite to still be off for several more days, and that’s fine! Usually bland foods are more appealing to them during this time, but know that you don’t have to ONLY offer the standard bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast (BRAT). ...
Why is hydration important for kids?
That’s because many of the more glamorous parts of getting sick actually draw fluid out of the body.
Can elderberry help with colds?
It won’t prevent them from getting sick like probiotics can, but research does support it shortening the duration of their symptoms, so you don’t need to give it to them daily unless they start showing signs of a cold. Try this elderberry gummy or this syrup.
Can kids drink tea with vitamin C?
Spilling the Tea on Vitamin C. The truth is that your child really does not need to take a Vitamin C supplement, because it’s really easy to get 100% of the Vitamin C they need from food. Toddlers get enough Vitamin C from any ONE of the items on this list: 2 strawberries. ½ small orange. 2 strips red bell pepper. 2 tbsp broccoli.
Do probiotics help kids?
Probiotics will help support your child’s immune system, which can ultimately keep them from getting sick. I use Culturelle Kids (amazon affiliate link*) because the strain and dosage has been researched and proven to help keep kids from getting sick. If you want to learn more about probiotics for kids, see this post.
Can toddlers wash their hands?
Well, hand washing and hygiene can be enough for us grown-ups, but the reality is that toddlers just do not understand how to cover a cough, blow into a tissue, or avoid putting their mouths on their friends.
Does milk increase mucus?
But research has shown that dairy actually does not increase mucus production. (Balfour-Lynn IM. Milk, mucus and myths. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 2019;104:91) Ultimately, your main take away from this should just be that if they want to drink milk during their cold, you shouldn’t worry about serving it.
How to help a sick child eat?
Frequent small meals are easier to digest and will help meet their energy needs. Steer clear of rich, fried, greasy foods and lean toward simple starches such as rice and noodles as these are easy on the stomach. Try bananas, rice, applesauce or toast if they are a bit queasy. If you can get in some vegetables – go for it, but focus more on getting them nourished!
What to feed a child with a cough and a runny nose?
But what are your best bets for feeding them when they are mildly sick with a little sneezing, a cough and a runny nose? Diluted fruit juices, water, soup and broth are great ways of replenishing fluids.
How to help a toddler with fluids?
Soup is warm, soothing and an accepted remedy. It also will help provide for your child's fluid needs. For a more filling soup, add some rice or noodles and cooked, chopped vegetables.
What fruits and vegetables are good for kids?
Good sources of vitamin C include lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit and berries. Offer your child a variety of soft fruits; they are not only full of vitamins and minerals to support good health and immunity, but contain a good deal of water to help support your child's fluid needs.
What to eat when you are queasy?
Try bananas, rice, applesauce or toast if they are a bit queasy. If you can get in some vegetables – go for it, but focus more on getting them nourished!
Let her set the rest rules
No need to banish your sick toddler to bed, even if you know that’s where you’d want to go if you were feeling yucky. Just keep a close eye on her and follow her cues. Little kids are good at picking up on their body’s signals, slowing down when they’re really sick.
Doctor her diet
If anyone tells you to “starve a cold, feed a fever,” don’t listen. Childhood illnesses call for a nutritious diet — just adjust your tot’s meals to suit her appetite. If she’s willing to eat (don’t force it), give her whatever nutritious foods she’s hungry for. Pancakes for supper? Fine.
Help the medicine go down
Whether the pediatrician recommends acetaminophen (Tylenol and others) or ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil and the like) to bring down a fever, or prescribes antibiotics to beat a nasty bug, you’ll want to make medicine-taking as pleasant as possible for your sick toddler. Usually that means doing what you can to mask an unpleasant taste.
Counter congestion
Most toddlers (and even preschoolers) haven’t mastered the skill of nose-blowing, so they suffer with stuffed-up sinuses.
Read all about it
It helps kids to understand that feeling rotten is part of life. If your child is up to it, isn’t contagious and has been fever-free for 24 hours, a trip to the library will yield a few books about ailing characters she can relate to.
Keep it light
Laughter is the best medicine — and that’s particularly true for toddlers and preschoolers, who can often tolerate discomfort best if they have a distraction.
Pour on the TLC
There’s no better medicine than your undivided attention. If possible, adjust your schedule as much as you can to accommodate your little patient’s need for plenty of hugs and kisses, and offer them in double doses (that’s one Rx that kids can’t get enough of).
