13 Month Old Vomiting 1X a Day for past Week - Could It Be the Milk?

It could be milk allergy, but did you consider: IT COULD BE GAG REFLEX? My son has this same issue when his allergies flare up and he is congested. Is you baby coughing or congested at all? Just FYI, I just learned that milk and milk-based protiens can cause mucos to thicken which aggrevates the gag reflex and congestion, so, it could be milk AND congestion/gag reflex.

Just a thought!

Best of luck!
T.

I'm guessing that it's the cow milk in general...organic/non-organic...personally I don't think there is much difference. What was she on before? Formula? Maybe you should go back to what she was on before and see if the vomitting stops...if it does than its the cow milk. I do know for certain that cow milk is harder for babies to break down than other types of milk (like goat milk) and baby formula is generally easier to break down also (even if it is cow milk based).

M.,

Throwing up just once sounds like she could be teething, also if its the milk I suggest goats milk it seems to work great with kids that have digestive problems. Since you said she has no other symptoms start with those and if it is viral it will clear up on its own. Hope this helps!

My son did this as well and he was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. check out www.celiac.com.

my son, who is now 18 month old, did the same exact thing. IT started off as 1x p/wk and eventually became an everyday occurance after 3 wks. I am familiar with food allergies as my other son has autism and we are gluten/casein free (as well as other free's) and after 3 weeks had an IgG and IgE test done to ty to confirm my suspicions. strangely, the IgE test came back unreactive and the IgG test came back moderately high. Just so you know, an IgE test is one for TRUE allergies, (think anafalactic shock, hives, ear infections ect) and IgG is a sensitivity to foods in a delayed reaction response. Many allopathic doctors don't recognize IgG as a true test, and both can be somewhat inaccurate, but it can give you a baseline. My advice to you would to be to eliminate ALL milk products-foods containing lactose, casein, caseinate,cultured (unless probiotic that is cultured in something other than milk), whey, butter. Even if it is the last ingredient, you would need to avoid to get an accurate response. Eliminate for 4 weeks and then give something like a piece of cheese or reg milk. See what happens. Many times these kind of reactions are an accumulation of such offending products. YOUR CHILD DOES NOT NEED COWS MILK as many have claimed. You can try almond milk, hemp milk, and SPARINGLY soy milk. You child may even tollerate goat's milk. Soy really isn't that good for people, esp boys as it raises estrogen levels. You can do this. I had to for both my boys and it is hard, but after a while, you can do it in your sleep and you will be dramatically improving your childs health if it is a milk allergy/sensitivity.

H.

Hi M.! Your daughter could be lactose intolerant. My daughter did this when she was around this age and she was lactose intolerant so I had to give her lactaid free milk until she was about 2 yrs old and then she grew out of it and then I was able to put her back on regular milk. I know how frustrating it was for us until we finally figured out what the problem was.

I had this same issue with my daughter around the ageof 12 months or so. I was concerned with reflux when she was an infant b/c she would spit up after feedings and milk bottles. I took her to the pedi and he said it was normal for infants to spit up occasionally and she would eventually grow out of it. I took her back again and he prescribed a reflux med which she took for about 2 months.

But, at age 12 months, I noticed it more when I switched her to whole milk. We could never go anywhere with out a vomiting episode! It would get worse after meals then milk or w/milk.
We took her back to the pedi and he suggested Lactaid milk and to have a upper gi test to see if she had reflux.

She is now 2 and we just swithched her from lactaid to 2% and she's been fine. I guess she just had a touch of lactose intolerence and had to grow out of it.

If she continues, take her in and ask about reflux or try switching milk.

HTH

My son is going through something similar right now. He vomits in the morning or middle of the night in his bed, but only about 1x per day. It's been 4 or 5 days now. He's done this in the past for about 5 days and after talking to his pediatrician and riding it out, I've just realized that it's just the way his body handles a stomach bug.

My daughter did this a few times and it was always such a pain! We finally figured out that she was teething. She would throw up once or twice a day for 3-5 days, but there were no other symptoms--like lack of appetite or fever--so we couldn't figure out what it was. Then all of a sudden she would have a new tooth. She didn't throw up when she was younger, but around a year when she was getting some of her bigger teeth she started doing the throw up thing.

I am a mom, not a medical professional. However, from my experience as well as reading - If your child (or you) has a food allergy it can appear as many things. I have been through this - big time. A finger stick blood test can reveal several allergies. A good snap shot of how this can commonly go can be found in "the whole foods allergy cookbook". Check it out at the library! Read the Forward and Introduction. You will really get a lot of insight fast. It is worth the effort to read it - I promise. You'll get more out of those few pages then you can shake a stick at! Food allergies can be miserable especially if not diagnosed. If you want more detailed info send me a private note.

If i were you i would get her to the doc as soon as you can get her an apt. If she has bee vomiting for a week now there could be something a little more serious going on than a food allergy. Not to scare you but a digestive problem could have developed.

I have made the same switch with my girls and we have not had any issues. You may want to do a little research on Probiotics. If I was dealing with what you are this is where I would turn. They have formulas for all ages even baby. I think you can get them at HEB and WHOLE foods and probubly online of at GNC. I think some of the pharmacies are also carrying them now. There is a ton of info online. I am no Doctor but I hope this helps. Ginger is also a great way to stop the Blow up:) as my youngest calls it. Best of luck.

D.

Sugar Land

If it goes away soon, it may have only been a little virus or something. My 3yr old did that over the week around new years. He threw up around 5am for 6 days straight. It was very weird. My 1yr old woke up one morning during that time also and threw up. It was a one time thing for her. Good luck!

I agree with M. M. The same thing happened to my oldest daughter. I had to fix two bottles: one she was going to throw up and the second one from which she would retain part of it. After visiting the doctor several times, we found out she was allergic to the milk she was taking. Doctor changed her to soy milk for a while and she did fine. After she grew up she could go back to "regular" milk with no problem.

Hope you find the cause pretty soon.

my mom couldn't give me whole mix as I threw it up. I found that to be true with my oldest when she turned one as well and gave her 2%. Unfortunately WIC only pays for whole milk. My sister also found that her children couldn't tolerate whole milk. You might want to go with a lower percentage rate (I know, they say whole milk but if it's making the child throw it up it's better the have 2%.) But god for you for using organic!

could it be from switching back and forth? Sure, it's possible. There's pesticides in the other milk and if she's not used to that it could make her sick. My mom drinks organic and one day she came over here and poured a glass of milk to drink with some cake. She started gagging and coughing and couldn't stand to drink it. She (and I) were really surprised there was such a noticeable difference between the two milks.

I'm not sure that it could be the milk, I would contact your Doctor. If she's been vomiting that long she should be seen. Bless her heart. I hope she feels better soon.

My daughter was one that had to have soy formula, so when the doc suggested to start giving her milk I just switched to whole milk. Not thinking to use soy. She did good the first few days, but then she started vomiting. So I mixed half formula and half milk and she did better, but started vomiting again. Then I realized that I should have put her on soy milk. So I started getting SILK and she hasn't had any problems at all. We like the Wal-mart brand of it in Vanilla. It's equally as good in our opinion, but we do usually get her the very vanilla SILK. It's much healthier also. Good luck

I am a pediatric nurse and a mother of a 13 month old as well, also married for almost 5 years. In the doctors office that I work at, we have been seeing a lot of vomiting that sometimes is just a stomach virus that lasts between 5-7 days. If your child is only vomiting when they drink milk, you could try some soy or lactosefree milk...we have seen this help a lot. Hope this helps.

My son developed food allergies at 9 months old,about the time I intoduced him to food, even though his pediatrician said that was impossible,children don't develop food allergies until much later. My son would throw up every time he had formula and when I started him on milk it got worse. He also had a chronic ear infection and because his ears were constantly filled with fluid, he had a hard time hearing and speaking. His pediatrician was no help and kept him on an antibiotic constantly. I finally took him to an allergist at 15 months old and did allergy testing. He was allergic to milk, wheat, corn, and tomatoes. His allergist said that if I was diligent and eliminated those foods from his diet, he would outgrow the allergies. I substituted goat's milk for dairy and eliminated and substituted everything else. He thrived. The ear infections cleared up although he did eventually need tubes, and he finally outgrew the allergies at the age of 5, just in time to start school. He is now 16 and drinks 2 gallons of milk a week! If you have a child with food allergies, the whole family, extended included, has to make a diet change. It's a life changing effort but well worth it. The allergist explained that cow's milk in any form, cheese included, is not good for humans. Goat's milk is a good substitute although the taste is a little strong and it's more expensive. Keep a diary of everything that goes in and any reactions and you'll start to see a pattern if indeed your baby has allergies. And don't let your doctor tell you that she's too young for allergies. Good luck!

Constipation can cause vomiting, even if a little constipated.

Also, drainage. Does she have a runny nose or post nasal drip. Mucus could be upsetting her stomach causing her to throw up, which would more likely happen when she is laying down.

Asthma. Does she cough a lot before she vomits? Could be a sign of asthma which can be worse at night and when laying down.

These are just possiblities that I have encountered myself. It's best to take her to the doctor for a good check up.

Best of luck!

I would look at other foods that she may be eating late in the day, especailly since you mentioned that it most occurs at night. There might be a food combination that is not setting well on her tummy. You may not know this, but it takes approximately 24 hours for our systems to actually digest what we eat. So---as I said, she may have more of a food combination problem rather than it just being the milk.

Hi M.,

My nutritionist recommended goat milk rather than cow's milk or soy milk.

There have not been any stomach problems with the cow's milk, but there was lots of congestion - which subsided after we started goat milk.

I hope the issue gets resolved quickly for your daughter!

Have a great weekend,

L.

Could she have reflux like acid indgestion. With adults evenings always seem the worse time for that.

M.,

I am a registered nurse and I just want to say that you are definitley thinking on the right track, she may be having problems transitioning with the milk, or believe it or not she may have developed an allergy entirely to milk, allergies can develop at any time in life, and 99% of the time when you develop allergies to milk the side effects are nausea, vomiting as well as stomach cramps. My advice is give it 2-3 more days on the milk, if nothing has changed take her to her peditrician, who can then do a simple blood test to establish if she has developed any allergies to milk. Also the daycare may be telling you that they are giving you what you want her to have, but lets be honest with ourselves, if they've screwed up and not given her the right milk, do you honestly think they're going to admit that to you? None the less hope this helped and good luck with your little momma, hope she feels better and I hope you do to!:)

Best wishes,
Theresa

It could be an ear infection. The exact same thing happened to my 13-month old about a month and a half ago. She had no other symptoms - just completely random vomiting episodes. I too suspected the whole milk, but we went to the pediatrician and she had her first ear infection in one ear. I have since read in Toddler 411 that vomiting with no other symptoms can be the sign of an ear infection.

Yes, it could absolutely be the dairy (non-organic or regular). Food allergies quite often are delayed as it can take a while for the antibodies to build to a level that they cause a reaction. I have lots of experience with this between myself and two boys. My oldest was in ICU as an infant and they tried to give him cow milk based formula which he would vomit. So, I kept him off dairy until he was over 7, but within a few years, he developed a true milk allergy, as did my younger son. I also have a dairy allergy that I thought was just lactose intolerance. Humans do not need cow's milk to be healthy. There are other sources of calcium and vitamin D. Just google "non dairy" and "calcium" to find the info.

You can experiment by removing dairy altogether (which may be difficult in the daycare setting) and see how she does. If she really wants milk, then give her vanilla flavored rice milk (that's generally the most tolerated non-dairy milk alternative due to its mild flavor). And, most brands are also fortified with vitamin D and calcium.

Hi M.
My daughter was vomiting (sometimes projectile) for several years after she was born and the doctors just kept calling it allergies and giving us breathing treatments and equipment and drugs. The only thing that worked was when I decided to get rid of the toxic items in my home and start using eco-friendly ones instead and WALLA - a completely healthy child. I shop at Melaleuca and would gladly help you learn how to shop there if you think you would benefit by becoming toxin free in your home. You can email me at ____@____.com and I will give you more info.

This sounds like acid reflux to me. My second kiddo had acid reflux but it was not severe so I didn't catch on for awhile. Did she spit up as a baby? I always just attributed it to him being a baby, babies spit up! But it turned out that he had reflux instead. If your little one spit up alot as an infant this could be what is going on. I thought reflux would be more obvious than it was, but since your little one is having no other symptoms I am prone to think that reflux maybe the culprit. There is always a chance that it could be the milk, but the chances are actually greater that it is reflux. I would just talk to you doctor about it. Does your little one wake up and fuss at night? This was one of the signs that my little guy had reflux, he never slept soundly through the night at least two times a night he would wake up crying and then go back to sleep. Once we got him on medicine, stopped feeding him at least a half hour before bedtime and had him sleep at a slight angle he started sleeping great! The other thing you mentioned that makes me think that this is reflux is that you said it mostly happens at night after dinner. Think back and try and remember if this happened more often than you might have payed attention to when your little one was an infant, my guess is you maybe surprised like I was! Hope this helps and hope your little one is feeling better soon! God Bless.

Hi M., it might be her choking on flem. It is that time of year and although you don't hear or see anything, she might be having drainage and it will build up after a while and make her sick. I am a mother of two and this has happened with my boys before. Just a thought, especially if she shows no other syptoms. I do NOT think it is anything to do with milk for food allergies. I have experienced both of those and if it were that, you would be having more problems than just one vomit a day. It would have started sooner and more frequently with probably other syptoms like not wanting to drink or eat that product anymore and probably welts and rashes would appear somewhere... And one of the other responses mentioned how it takes 24 hours to digest something which is very true but it does not take near that to have an allergic reaction. Most allergic reactions happen very quickly both the external and internal ones.

It certainly could be a food allergy and maybe something other than milk. If she is gagging before she vomits, though, you may ask the doctor to do an Xray. When my daughter was 14 months old, she had found and swallowed a penny without us ever knowing. She threw up just about every time she ate because the penny was stuck in her esophogus. I took her to the doctor 4 times in one month before he finally decided to take an Xray. And sure enough, the penny was the problem. Again, I would not rule out food allergies and would consult a doctor either way. Good luck.

If the milk was the problem, you would have known within a week of starting her on it. I'd ask your doctor about it.

My 2 yr old. son did the same. No other symptoms just irritable and threw up at night and once at nap. It turned out he had a bad SINUS INFECTION. and all the mucus was NOT coming out his nose, it was going down the back of his throat. We could not see it and he did not complain. After a week, I took him to the Pediatritian and he got better right away after some good decongestant and antibiotic for the infection.

It is hard when they are so little and they can't tell you what is wrong.
I doubt you only give milk 1x day so I doubt that it is the milk.
Good for you for asking for help. It is hard.
Blessings to your family.

It could be acid reflux/GERD. I would consider speaking with your pediatrician about it. I went through it with my first child and we are still dealing with it. He always threw up after eating and especially had problems at night.

I'm a grandmother of 3 beautiful, very active grand girls 3, 4, and 5 (I have 2 sons and 2 daughter and they each have a daughter) so the girls are cousins. Two them had severe cases of reflux between 6 months and 18 months. Both Mom's tried withholding certain foods, changing formulas, changing from 2% to soy milk but nothing seemed to work and both ended up taking prescription Prevacid for children for a short period of time and they are absolutely fine now. If it is a case of acid reflux with your little one, it will probably pass in a few months but it's always safe to check with your doctor.