Recipes and Advice for
When Your Baby Has Diarrhoea or Sickness

This page gives basic advice on managing your baby if they have diarrhoea or vomiting. If your baby is unwell please consult your GP or health visitor immediately.

When your young baby is ill can be a worrying time for parents, if you have concerns please do seek medical advice. Consult your GP at once if:

• The diarrhoea has blood in it;
• Your child becomes more sleepy, lethargic or irritable than usual;
• Your child has 5 or more vomits in 24 hours;
• Your child has 9 or more loose poos in 24 hours;
• Your child refuses to drink anything and continues to vomit;
• Your child is not passing urine frequently;
• The diarrhoea continues for more than 7 days.

In case the diarrhoea and/or vomiting is caused by a bug it is always sensible to take the following precautions:

• Clean and sterilize bottles, teats and dummies;
• Clean and disinfect toys;
• Clean and disinfect the changing area, including mat;
• Use 100% citrus lemon essential oil:
  • 2-3 drops on a damp cloth;
  • wipe over door knobs;
  • telephone;
  • changing mat;
  • toilet seat, etc.

Dietary Tips

For Younger Babies

• Leave out milk and fat from your baby’s diet for the first day or two.
• Give a bottle fed rice porridge:
  • Prepare 200ml Holle Organic Rice Porridge (7-8 teaspoonfuls) with cooled previously boiled water;
  • Add 200ml carrot juice (prepared in juicer);
  • Shake well and feed to your baby.
• Feed your baby the juice from a grated apple. A glass grater will enable you to separate the juice from the pulp;
• Frequently offer cooled previously boiled water throughout the day.

For older babies

Add the following gentle ingredients to the recuperation diet for older babies:

• Feed your baby 100g – 200g organic apple. Grate with a glass grater to achieve the perfect consistency.
• Stewed carrots;
• Holle Organic Apple with Carrots;
• Stewed carrots with 4-5 tablespoons Holle Organic Rice Porridge;
• Unsweetened, dairy-free rusks (Holle Organic Spelt Rusks) soaked in cooled previously boiled water (according to baby's appetite) – add apple grated on a glass grater;
• Frequently offer cooled previously boiled water throughout the day.

After 1 - 2 Days

After 1 - 2 days you can loosen the strict diet a bit by adding some unsalted butter or vegan margarine to steamed vegetables. Instead of milk free porridge use half water with half breast milk or the Holle Organic Infant Follow On Formula 2. Add other vegetables like parsnip or courgette to your baby’s diet.

Recovery

After 5 - 6 days your baby/child should be as happy as usual. Gradually return to the baby's previous diet.

The gut/bowels are still very sensitive and need up to three weeks to fully recover. Should the signs that the diarrhoea is returning go back to the diet and consult your GP or Health Visitor.

Sore Bottom?

Frequent diarrhoea can sometimes make your baby's bottom sore, this can be helped by:

• Changing nappies as soon as they become dirty;
• Cleaning carefully with cotton wool and water (some baby wipes are alcohol based which can make a sore bottom worse, so are better avoided);
• Applying the Weleda Nappy Change Cream.