Homemade Pedialyte

If you've ever had a sick little one in danger of dehydration, you're probably familiar with Pedialyte. Sam has needed it a couple of times, and yesterday at the doctor they told me he had double ear infections and bronchitis. Ouch. After I got him home, he threw up and has since been having near-constant (ahem)... diarrhea. Poor little guy.

Before making the trekk out to pick up some Pedialyte, I thought I would do a little looking around online for alternatives... mostly because the price of Pedialyte makes me think it's actually unicorn tears or something. Lo and behold, I found a recipe to make it yourself! I made a couple of minor tweaks, and wanted to share it with you.

Homemade Pedialyte

2 quarts water

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

7 Tablespoons sugar (I used Stevia for something more all-natural, or you could use honey, but ONLY for a child over one year old)

1 packet sugar free Kool-Aid (or I used 2 Tablespoons of flavored gelatin)

Heat the water in a large pot over low heat - just enough to help other ingredients dissolve. Whisk in remaining ingredients until dissolved. Allow to cool, then chill.

You can pour some into ice cube trays to help keep their drink cold, or freeze with toothpicks to make homemade pedialyte popsicles. I poured some into an ice cube tray, covered it with press n' seal, stuck toothpicks down into the seal to help them stand up straight, then put it in the freezer. After I made it, I thought about adding some kids Emergen-C since that has electrolytes, antioxidents, as well as vitamins and minerals. I'll probably try that next time.

Hopefully you won't need to use this anytime soon, but if you do, I hope it helps!