How much vomiting is considered "normal"?

[nothingtosee]

I know that kids get sick a lot, when are you supposed to take them in? How long does a child normally vomit and still be considered a "normal" amount of time?
I ask because day before yesterday, ds refused to nap. Around 6:30 pm, I decide that I cannot stand his "I'm tired but can't sleep" tantrums, so I make him some children's sleepy time tea that we have used many times before with no ill effects. I give him his tea, he falls asleep in about 20 minutes with some rocking, and he is put in bed. Two or three hours later, I go to check on him, and he is choking on vomit! He is cleaned up and put in bed with me for the night, and he wakes up about 6 times vomiting. In the morning he finally sleeps for a decent amount of time, not getting up till around 11 am. That day he eats, vomits, drinks, vomits, nurses, vomits, etc. Last night he woke up once sick, so I moved him back in with me, and he was alright until this morning, when he sat up and got sick everywhere. He refuses to drink the pedialite, even though this is probably the best flavor they make (fruit mix), and even though he is still nursing, I'm concerned about his hydration.
So, is this still "normal"?

[GC's Mama]

Is he still having wet diapers? If he is, he's probably not too dehydrated. Does he have diarrhea? If he isn't keeping anything down, has no wet diapers, and has diarrhea, he's dehydrated. Most likely a doctor would tell you to give small amounts of fluid (15cc's or so) every 15 minutes. Don't overload his tummy too much at a time. If he just nurses, let him nurse very small amounts very frequently, and see if he keeps that down. If he does, keep doing that, and let his interest in eating dictate how much you give him. If he isn't keeping anything down no matter what, I'd take him in to a pediatrician. It could indicate something more serious like a kidney infection or rotavirus. Most likely, though, it's just one of those oh-so-fun stomach bugs that we all get from time to time.

[nothingtosee]

Thanks, he is having wet dipes still but nowhere near his normal amount. He is having just tiny amounts of diarrhea, hasn't had a regular sized bm since he started vomiting. He has held down breastmilk for about 3 hours now...I think we might be making progress.

[GC's Mama]

Good to hear, sounds like he's probably on the mend. With a breastfed baby who has a stomach bug, even keeping it down for 20 minutes, he'd be retaining some of the nutrition before throwing it up. 3 hours is promising....and I hear nursing is better than pedialyte. In fact, an emergency pediatric nurse I know said breastmilk or very weak chamomile tea works just as well if not better on baby's tummy.

[doodle19]

My LO had a virus about a month ago and the doc told me to give her Propel water. She said it tastes better than pedialyte and it's loaded with electrolytes. DD would drink the Propel but not the pedialyte. Also she said you have a wet dipe once every 12 hours you don't have to worry about dehydration.

[Kita]

If you're breastfeeding, skip the pedialyte. It's not needed. I have used the pedialyte popsicles (or other popsicles) with some success with my kids. They love popsicles, and it's not too much at one time to overload their delicate tummy.

I usually visit Dr. Sears' website if I have a question on when to call the doctor on things like this. www.askdrsears.com. It has specific advice, and is very reassuring about what is "normal".