Homemade Pedialyte

When Julia was throwing up half the night a few weeks ago (the oat incident), our pediatrician told us to give her Pedialyte to help her regain her fluids and feel better. Being new parents who'd never bought it before, we didn't have any on hand so I bolted out to the store that night to pick some up. I saw the strawberry one and turned it around to see what was inside: food coloring, preservatives, artificial sweeteners and artificial fruit flavor. Great. How could our pediatrician's office actually recommend this garbage?

Photo from: 100 Days of Real Food

But if there's one thing a new, puke-stained parent of a sick infant is, it is not level headed. I chose the least of all evils, unflavored Pedialyte. No colors, artificial sweeteners or flavors, at least. And the stuff worked - Julia REALLY perked up after a few ounces.

Sanity slowly took hold once more, and I decided to take another look at the stuff. The electrolytes were just salt and sugar, maybe a little potassium. I could probably just make this stuff myself, right?

Did some googling, and yes indeed, homemade Pedialyte is not at all complicated.
Source: 100 Days of Real Food Blog. I don't usually go for their stuff because they eat everything we can't and they're a tad preachy at times, but this one was right on the money.

I'm just going to copy and paste in fuchsia from there because they said it so well:
 
Disclaimer: This recipe is recommended for children who are older than 1, generally healthy with properly functioning kidneys, and not experiencing severe dehydration or high fever (which would probably require direct medical attention anyhow). And, as always, follow your own doctor’s advice over anything you find on the internet!

|Homemade Pedialyte Recipe

Mix together:
1 quart water
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Note: If you fear your child will think this drink is too plain consider adding in a couple splashes of orange Juice. Also, the sugar and salt may dissolve more easily if you warm up the water first.

[100 Days of Real Food] did also ask Dr. Kilbane [a pediatrician] about using coconut water for rehydration since it does contain some natural electrolytes, but the concern there is the lack of sodium. Your body needs the sodium to help you retain the liquid, otherwise it will just go right through you. You could potentially add 1/4 teaspoon salt and some OJ to coconut water to make sure both the sodium and sugar aspects are covered, but the recipe above is a sure thing.

Because my girl is still under one, I'll ask the pediatrician first, if the need arises again. But this is so easy and so much better!

And for us older folks, I recommend this post from The Food Babe on The Secret Behind Gatorade and how to Replenish Electrolytes Naturally. Not exactly ready to go drink maple syrup and baking soda, but the others sound ok!