# Baby or Toddler Throwing Up: Stomach Bug Care and Rehydration

> Step-by-step rehydration after vomiting, comfort and safety, and signs it may not be a stomach bug.

Stage: baby - Topic: Health - Page: https://www.askcladle.com/guides/baby/vomiting-and-stomach-bugs

Grounded in: AAP HealthyChildren guidance on vomiting, dehydration and abdominal pain, and CDC norovirus guidance. Summarized in Cradle's own words; none of these sources endorse Cradle. General information, not medical advice.

Reviewed: 2026-11

## TLDR

- Most vomiting is a viral stomach bug. After a 15-30 minute rest, give tiny sips of rehydration solution every few minutes.
- Watch for fewer wet diapers, dry mouth and no tears. Babies still sleep on their backs.
- Projectile vomiting at 2-8 weeks, sudden severe crying spells or vomiting after a head bump need care. Green vomit or very sleepy means 911.

## Spit-up or vomiting?

Spit-up is an easy flow of milk, often with a burp, in a content baby (see the hiccups, spit-up and
reflux guide). Vomiting is forceful, usually upsets the child, and often comes with illness. Most
vomiting in babies and toddlers is a viral stomach bug: vomiting for 1-2 days, often followed by
diarrhea for several more.

## Rehydrating, step by step

1. After vomiting, give the stomach a short rest of about 15-30 minutes.
2. Start with tiny amounts: a teaspoon (5 mL) of oral rehydration solution (ORS) every few minutes,
   by spoon or syringe.
3. Breastfed babies: nurse for a few minutes at a time, more often.
4. Formula-fed babies: ORS first for a few hours if vomiting is frequent, then small amounts of
   regular-strength formula.
5. If it stays down for an hour, slowly increase the amount.
6. If your child vomits again, rest and restart with small sips.
7. Once vomiting slows, offer usual foods in small portions. No special diet is needed.

Skip juice, soda and sports drinks. Popsicles made from ORS can help a reluctant toddler.

## Comfort and safety

- Hold your child upright or on their side while they vomit so they don't breathe it in.
- Babies still sleep on their backs on a flat surface. Healthy babies can clear their airway.
- Keep a bucket, towels and a change of clothes near the bed. Layer a crib sheet over a waterproof
  pad for quicker night changes.
- Don't give anti-nausea medicine unless prescribed. Doctors sometimes give one for older babies and
  toddlers who can't keep fluids down.

## Watch for dehydration

Fewer wet diapers, dry mouth, no tears, sunken eyes or soft spot, or unusual sleepiness. See the
diarrhea and dehydration guide for details.

## When it may not be a stomach bug

- Projectile vomiting after every feed at about 2-8 weeks can be pyloric stenosis.
- Episodes of sudden severe crying with legs pulled up, between 3 months and 3 years, can be
  intussusception, a bowel problem that needs fast care.
- Vomiting after a head bump, or with a stiff neck or severe headache.
- A possible swallowed medicine, button battery, magnet or household product (call Poison Control
  at 1-800-222-1222).
- Vomiting without diarrhea that lasts more than a day can be a sign of another infection, such as
  a urinary tract or ear infection.

## Stopping the spread

Norovirus spreads easily and survives on surfaces. Wash hands with soap and water, clean with a
bleach-based cleaner, wash soiled laundry on hot, and keep sick children and adults out of the
kitchen for a couple of days after symptoms stop.

## When to check in

- Ask the pediatrician if vomiting lasts more than 24 hours, or 12 hours in a young baby.
- Call right away, day or night, for a rectal temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher in a baby
  under 3 months. See them the same day for blood or coffee-ground material in vomit, or a child
  who can't keep any fluids down.
- If vomit is green, the belly is swollen and hard, or your child is very sleepy or hard to wake,
  call 911 or go to the ER.