OK. The dust seems to be settling. The thought of eating doesn't seem to bother your kid anymore. That's good, right?! But what to eat? Let's rewind a bit, have they had anything to drink? Give them a sip of water. Just a little bit. Because, you know, sometimes it comes back up. So do a test with water, and wait...
Still good? Have some more.
OK, still good? Okay drink up - you don't want them to get dehydrated. And now, let's talk about what to eat. Common wisdom has a restart with bland foods... things like:
- saltines or other crackers
- toast
- bananas
- apple sauce
- rice
This is where the BRAT (bananas/rice/applesauce/toast) diet stuff is. That BRAT is what pediatricians used to recommended for children with an upset stomach. The theory was that these foods would give the stomach and digestive system some time to get its sh*t together, an easy jump back into service. But, it's 2023 now and things change.
The problem with that diet is that its lacking in important things like, oh, I don't know, nutrients? There's not a lot of protein, fat, or fiber in that list and good nutrition will actually help the digestive tract recover more quickly. So, The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that recovering kids should resume their normal diet within 24 hours of getting sick. (You get a gold star if your kid's normal diet is well-rounded and full of nutrients!)
So, I'd still start small - nibbles until you know for sure that nothing is coming back up. But if it doesn't, congrats! I think you've survived another stomach bug! And hopefully you utilized a Vommat, so your couch survived, too :)
Featured image by Ello on Unsplash.
