How to Tell if Your Newborn is Dehydrated
As a parent, there are signs you should look for regarding dehydration in your baby. Dehydration can follow sicknesses such as gastrointestinal or viral infections and upper respiratory infections. Hillarry from Silver Bee Photography who is an Austin baby photographer has a few things to say on the subject:
Signs of Dehydration -
• If you think your baby looks overly tired and the baby’s eyes seem sunken.
• If your baby has had loose stools frequently for a few days.
• If your baby seems lethargic or if you have noticed less activity in baby.
• If your baby’s mouth is dry and if the lips are scaling, chapped or not red or pink.
• If the baby is taking in less fluids and not eating well.
Baby Infections – Always watch for signs of a viral or bacterial infection such as a fever, coughs, cold or foul-smelling stools that have an unusual coloring.
Urination – Oftentimes in infants, urination is the true test for dehydration. Is the baby still urinating often? If your baby is still urinating, you might have caught the dehydration before it has become severe.
How to Manage Fluids for Baby – Try to remember that dehydration occurs more when your baby is losing fluids, either by having frequent diarrhea or by vomiting, and not taking in enough fluids at the same time. If you can get your baby to drink a lot of fluid, even small amounts at one time, you might prevent the baby from becoming dehydrated. A big mistake that many parents make is trying to get the baby to drink liquids too quickly, which can cause more vomiting.
Episodes of Diarrhea – If you have a baby that is under the age of two or older than two years old, several episodes of diarrhea may be your clue to a possible case of dehydration. Everyone knows that what goes in is going to come out. The reverse is true as well. Usually around the age of two years old, “toddler’s diarrhea” occurs. This is when your baby is working on tuning their metabolism and the bouts of diarrhea are attributed to the high protein and sugar intake and low-fat intake.
To learn more about how to treat dehydration, you should always take your baby in to see a doctor, health care practitioner or pediatrician. Diarrhea can be very serious if you miss the signs and the baby goes too long being dehydrated.
About Hillarry the Baby Photographer
If you plan on having a little one and would like to capture the first few days of life, reach out to Hillarry, she is an artist and a joy to work with as a newborn photographer.
Read More







