I am at my wits end. My 20 month old daughter has been waking up anywhere between 2 and 4 am and won't go back to sleep. This has been going on for more then a week. Family and friends tell me to just let her cry it out. When I do she gets so worked up that she vomits. Then I end up taking her down on the couch cause I have to strip her crib and wash everything everyday. I am wondering if she has acid reflux or is lactose intolerant. She has been vomiting alot lately. I spoke with the doctor and he doesn't seem too concerned about it. Told me to watch what she does before she vomits. Yesterday my mom sat her down for lunch and before she even got one spoonful in her mouth she threw up. Then last night she was sitting on the couch with her other grandmother, I brought her in for dinner. She took one bite and spit it out then threw up milk all over her plate. Then she woke up at 2:45 this morning. She started to fall back to sleep so I left her room. Not 2 minutes later she started crying and vomited all over her crib and herself. I had to clean her up and change her clothes and strip the crib again. This is why I am thinking that it could be acid reflux. When she sleeps on the couch sitting up there are no problems other then her getting up at 3 or 4 to "play". She also seems to have a loss of appetite. She doesn't eat like she used too. She seems to be ok when I give her applesauce or yogurt. She is not running a fever or no signs of an ear infection. I just don't know what to do anymore and I am so tired that I am starting to be angry all the time. Other then these things she seems happy and otherwise heathly. I noticed yesterday that she had a very loose stool that was like a mint green. But it was only once and then went back to normal. Can anyone please give me some advice on what to do? As for her not sleeping long I was told by a friend to eliminate her afternoon nap so that she will sleep longer. But if it's a acid reflux problem I don't think that is going to help. And she gets so cranky and starts to have tantrums until she sleeps. I don't know anymore what to do. Please help. I am going crazy trying to figure this out. I feel like a failure as a mom.
Thank You!
Well we have been watching her very closely. We have noticed that she is teething again and that it is way in the back. She has been sticking her whole hand in her mouth and then she vomits. So I have been giving her a natural remedy for the teething and she hasn't been putting her whole hand in her mouth. We also notice that if we are not paying attention to her she sticks her finger down her throat. She did it tonight and thought that it was funny. We are working on that. As for her not sleeping we put a pillow in her crib and proped her up. She is sound asleep. So we will watch her for the next few days and see what happens. She is eating better. And keeping it down. She ate very well today. Also her stool is alot better. I'm thinking that it all had to do with the teething. Like I said we will watch her for the next few days. She has not vomited since Friday. Thats a good sign right? Thank you all for your advice. I knew that I could count on you!
I would put her on a probiotic, which will help to balance her intestinal gut flora. If she is lactose intolerant, the probiotic will help to treat it as well as the vomiting and upset stomach. Jarrows makes a good one for children.
I would make an appt. with a pediatric GI doc. If you try
different things and they do not work and then eventually
find out there is a medical problem, you will feel
terrible. That's why I would rule out medical and then
you can work on behavorial without any reservations.
Good luck. I would not even ask my peditrician, I would
just go ahead and find a pediatric GI.
Please, take her to the doctors. Tell him all. Print out this article for him. It will help you to remember all the things that you should be telling him. Let the doc check her out and rule out things that may be wrong. Please get back to us on the results. Your friend - S.
I would talk to the doctor and let him/her know it's not just vomiting at night from crying. Stress about how often it is and keep track of how little she's eating. When I was six weeks old, I had surgery to remove a growth around my esophagus tube. The growth had prevented passage from and formula going easily into my stomach. The little bit that would make it into my stomach would cause a vacuum and everything that came in would go out. I've seen pictures of me before the surgery and I was the skinniest, sickliest infant.
I'm not trying to scare you but if this has been going on for a while, I'd hate to think the doctor believes it's a tantrum while you believe it's acid reflux when it's possibly something more. I've also had acid reflux and it never caused me to vomit. Don't know if it can for others but for me it was more like a small amount (small mouthful) of acid that would come back up, like burping up a little bit and it burned. But never outrigh vomiting. However, your daughter getting more sleep when she's in a more upright position does seem to be a warning sign of acid reflux. Good luck!
You are NOT a failure as a Mom. You're trying to figure out what's going on. My advice would be the same as many posts here. Get your baby to a Pediatric GI doctor. I wish I had done that when my daughter wasn't sleeping through the night and vomiting more that was normal (although I had no way of knowing that at the time). I found out when she was 8 YEARS old that she had probably had a reflux problem. She wasn't able to sleep through the night for her first 2 years. If I had taken her to a Ped GI when she was a baby, maybe we would have all gotten more sleep. Good luck.
I would get a second opinion. Ask them to run some test, they can't say no. Tell them you are really concerned, and want them to run test to see her digestive system is. I would have her checked again.
Hi,
I recommed that you rea the book "Mother Warrior" by Jeni McCarthy. There are stories in there from parents. And a few with children who vommited. Sounds like your girl may have a dairy allergy. And our pediatrician says a green stool is an indication of an allergy. Also, did your girl get any shots and then start having this vommiting? Could be a reaction.
Read the book its good. My baby doesnt have anything that the children in the book do but I thought it would be wise to be well informed.
And as mentioned below it is a good idea to seek out a wholistic pediatrician. There is a list of them at the end of the book.
Good luck.
Can you prop her crib a little? We have my sons propped with a few books under the legs of one side and that helped him. He also can't do whole milk so he's always done skim or 1% with yogurt as the lactose was broke down already. Propping the crib might help her sleep a little easier while you eliminate things from her diet! Also having a few sets of sheets on the bed helped us as we'd just pull one off and the other would be right there
Get a new doctor!!!!! Go ASAP. Doctors are fallible. Good luck.
Dear C.,
You're not a failure as a mom!!! Having a sick child is just one of the hardest things there is. I know a little about toddler food allergies/intolerances. Here are my thoughts:
Mint-green poop -- the kind that looks like it's ready for a St. Patrick's Day parade -- is a clear indication of a food intolerance. You're probably very right, and very smart, to have pinpointed this as related to her diet. However, a lactose intolerance is pretty unlikely in children under 6, and symptoms almost never manifest until age 2. IF your daughter has a problem with milk, it's more likely a milk-protein (casein) intolerance. People confuse these quite often, but the difference is significant b/c lactose-reduced products won't help a milk-protein-intolerant child at all. And it's not necessarily related to milk. Eggs, nuts, soy, and wheat are also possible culprits, among others.
What I recommend is seeking out a holistic practitioner, like a naturopath, who can help you pinpoint the source of the problem. Pediatricians are wonderful -- I love the practice my son goes to -- but they're just not trained on intolerances. They know from allergies: the peanut kind that cause anaphylactic shock -- but not so much from intolerances, which cause lower-level chronic health problems.
Please know: You're just at the beginning of the process of discovering what's going on. Don't beat yourself up b/c you haven't figured out all the answers yet, or because you're human, and humans get tired.
Best wishes,
Mira
C., would have her checked again and you put your foot down to have something done. She may be allergic to dairy products. I know for a fact that my third son could not "cry it out" because he would vomit from crying too m;uch. I never had that problem with my older two so that was new to me and realized he's different and I haveto deal with it differently in terms of letting him be picked up and soothed and gradually work on letting him soothe himself to sleep.
Now, that can be taken care of , but vomiting constantly, sounds more serious if not just allergies. My son, he gets diaherra if he's allergic to something and he can't take acid things now and he had diaherra and yeast infection with it. So, you may want to google about acid reflux and allergies to dairy products and others and see what they say. But, definitely go to the dr's and put your foot down and get answers to this situation. This may be the beginning of being an advocate for you child :) !!!! Let us know how it went and keep us posted.
You might want to consider that she could be having some difficulty swallowing. Yogurt and applesauce are easier to swallow than solids. Does she have large tonsils? If swallowing is hard for some reason, kids sometimes get an aversion to eating because they're afraid to choke. I would definitely try to track down the cause of the problem though, because if she isn't eating well & is vomiting a lot, it could cause more problems down the line.
switch doctors and get her checked my someone else! That just doesnt sound right!
Lynsey
Have you made an appointment to have her checked out by your pediatrician?? I'm assuming this isn't her usual behavior. What signs of an ear infection have you been looking for?
It could be an attention getting thing... some kids vomit almost willingly because it gets them attention. When she sits down to eat, does she reject the food with signs that she really doesn't like it? She might have textural issues or a hyperactive gag reflex, but it seems odd that this would come on suddenly. It sounds like you should probably get a second opinion... it could be reflux, milk allergy or even something like Celiac Disease... too many questions to not worry there is something else going on. I would get other medical issues ruled out if possible.
Only 4 more months and she's 2 years old. I'd say take her to the Ped. and have her checked out. She may have a virus or be lactose intolerant. GERD should have subsided by now, since most babies have that until their valves are completely formed. Also, try not to giver her any food or milk too close to bedtime.
