Esbilac, Pedialyte, and other non-urgent why's

[astra]

I am not an expert by any means, and am not here to argue.
Just to share what I know about dehydration/electrolytes/etc. that may be helpful in deciding which approach to take.

Salt, indeed, is an electrolyte. And yes, it is important for proper hydration.
But when too much of it accumulates, it leads to dehydration - and that is what may happen with prolonged use of pedialyte because it is, technically, a "concentrated" hydrating tool.

Moreover, salt is not the only electrolyte.
Electrolytes are also potassium, magnesium etc. etc. And for a proper electrolyte balance calcium is also needed. What this means is that once the baby is on formula, s/he begins to get all these other nutrients/electrolytes from formula that help restore electrolyte levels.

It may also be important to distinguish between extremely emaciated babies and those who are not severely dehydrated.
Therefore, while for very severely emaciated babies additional pedialyte hydration between formula feedings may be needed, for other babies - maybe not so much and perhaps that is one reason why those people who choose not to use pedialyte along with the formula still successfully raise babies.

As for water vs. sweetened water vs/ pedi - well, water by itself does help with hydration. Again, when there are extremely severely dehydrated people (or animals) just water may be insufficient in the beginning. But aside from extreme cases, once a human or an animal has been on pedi and then started actually eating something (formula - for sq babies, special diets for humans), their electrolyte levels are being restored b/c with formula/food as described above they start getting other types of electrolytes.

Water is hydrating - we, including animals, consist mostly of water, and proper water intake actually helps maintain a proper electr. balance and prevent electrolytes from going too low or too high. So, once a baby (or human) received a needed amount of pedialyte and started consuming formula (diet), water comes in and starts doing its job.
If water weren't hydrating, then all of us would have to stay on some form of pedialyte for life. But that's not the case. Again - necessary to distinguish between extreme dehydration, and just an average loss of fluids/mild dehydration -- in case of the former: more nuanced approach can help, with more pedi feedings; in case of the latter: once out of the woods and on formula, a slightly sweetened water can work in synergy to restore and hydrate.
And since babies do not like plain water (not even human babies), a slightly sweetened water works well.

Sometimes it seems that there is too much attention on salt, which is important, but to a degree as it is only one of the many electrolytes that are necessary for good health. It is essential in the beginning of rehydration and no one is arguing about that. But once a baby is on formula, salt is no longer the only "player" - formula provides these other electrolytes, and begins to work in synergy with water/sweetened water.
What I learned is that in nutrition (and medicine) it is important to remember that isolating one element may lead to misconceptions because all elements, in this case electrolytes from various sources, work synergistically.


Perhaps, ^^^ that is why people who choose not to mix formula and pedialyte, and who choose to use a slightly sweetened water instead of pedialyte in between formula feedings still raise healthy babies successfully.

As some have already suggested, keeping it simple, especially, for very inexperienced people, maybe the way to go.

Ps. Re:mixing pedi and formula. Personally, this seems somewhat counterintuitive: formula is a 100% nutritionally balanced food that takes care of the electrolyte levels as well. It takes care of everything nutritionally. And pedialyte is also a fairly concentrated source of nutrients needed for hydration. So to mix two rather concentrated substances seems a bit puzzling. I can understand alternating them, but mixing just does not make sense.

[UDoWhat]

Have you read the rehydration chapter in WMB? YOU WILL UNDERSTAND ! This is a rehydration protocol developed by experts that are wildlife Vererinians. Don't you think they have taken this all into account? I know Erica personally. She is the "last word" in wildlife medicine, defender of wildlife and Rehabilitators. She and many other EXPERTS labored over this protocol. Why are there so many people who are continually questioning this when most have not even read the info before you. This protocol was developed to help save dehydrated animals. It is a mathematical formula. She did not just GUESS at how much salt is in Pedialyte. She didn't GUESS at how many days to rehydrate. She didn't GUESS about any of this. She KNOWS what is best for dehydrated animals, partically baby squirrels. I find it really difficult that any of this is being maligned. Really? This whole mixing formula with pedialyte thing is ridiculous. The question was, "Can it be done "? No one ever said it was a good idea. Most of us just would never do it because of the clumping , etc .

So now I for one will leave this to the experts who developed this protocol. Not to people who are just guessing about rehydration.