NO LUCK With SLEEP!

Good luck with the sleep thing! If it helps I know just how you feel with the no sleep. My now 4 1/2 year old used to only sleep if I was rocking him, which meant I got NO sleep. One thing you might want to ask his doctor about is possibly getting a swallow study done. My son had one at 10 mos and we discovered that he asperates. Which means that the valve that is on his wind pipe and esophagus wasn't working correctly and that thin liquids were seeping into his lungs. As far as the not sleeping, as much as I hate to tell you this, I think its something you might have to tackle when he's a little older and easier to reason with. (aka bribe *grin*)

It sounds like to me, you should seek a second opinion. That just doesnt' sound normal and you should probably find a cause of this. Hopefully it's nothing, but I definitely wouldn't just wait it out anymore. Poor guy, hope it gets better for you! :)

I finally started sleeping with my big spitter... surrounded by burp rags, of course. And a goop proof matress protector. Now we're both happier. Night time feeding is easier.

Good luck!

I don't have any suggestions for the throwing up when crying. It could be physiological or it could be a learned behavior that works for him.

As for eating every three hours at night, at 14 months as long as his weight and size are correct for his age, I would change the bottle to water, or nursing to a bottle of water, and make it as no frills as possible, no lights no talking, no rocking,no looking at him. I know it sounds harsh but at 14 months night time is for sleep not bonding with Mommy. It sounds like he has plenty of time with you all day, he doesn't need you all night too. I would guess that it will only take a week or two of the "NO FRILLS" night time routine to break him of this habit. If you are the one usually taking care of him at night, it may break the habit quicker if your husband takes the night shift for a while. I know my husband was much better at the "NO FRILLS" night routine.

If the Dr. cant find any physiological reason that he is throwing up when he cries, I guess I do have one suggestion. You may have to look into stripping his bed of all blankets and things, letting him cry 'til he blows, clean it up and try again, with out giving in to him too much. It may be that it started out as a real physical reaction to crying when he was smaller, but that now it is part of his tantrum. Most of us don't like to throw up, so if it's something he is doing to get his way, it will probably stop if you don't make too big of a deal over it, and don't give him to much comfort. Clean up the bed, clean him up, with out too much interaction, and back to bed for him.
I know it will be tough, I wouldn't want to clean up puke all night long, but if is part of his tantrum, a few nights might be worth it, to teach your child self reliance and independence.
Talk to your Dr. and rule out any physical reason he might be throwing up, And work on one thing at a time.

Good luck

Hi T.,

WOW! I admire your stamina and vigor with so many kids! I am curious how hold you are though? I ask because I want at least 4 and am almost 32. :) As far as what you are mentioning, I have been there with mine, and know others who have as well. Ours was yeast related and began a product to treat that. We found out that DIET is huge in health and life has never been the same. If you want more info, feel free to email me ____@____.com

Blessings,

K.S.

He's still a baby. With all the regurgitating he's probably not keeping much down in the way of nutrition. He's crying for a reason, and it sounds like it's loneliness. He's attached at your hip. So you have to find a new 'friend' for this little guy, give him some autonomy. Instead of depending upon himself to get to sleep, start with letting him play in his playpen or safe area with you out of sight. Keep him occupied and he'll develop some sense of self-reliance. You had built-in buddies for your other kiddos because they were so close together, this little guy doesn't have that luxury, he has only you. So let him play by himself and build up his sense of self contentment. You might want to introduce a big teddy bear as a playmate, and then this bear can take a nap with him, so he's not alone when he lays down. Try playing a radio or soft music in his room so he doesn't feel lost. It will take some time, but step by step, day by day, it will improve for the both of you.

How long has your wee one been throwing up? I would trust your mommy instincts and take him to another dr to get another opinion. If your sweet baby has been throwing up, it's either to do with something in his little system or something he's eating. I would get a second opinion personally. Drs don't always know everything. The throwing up might just be the only reason why he's unable to sleep. As you said, because he's been throwing up, he needs to be fed more often. Is he breastfed? Cause that will do it too. Breastmilk is great for their tiny bodies, but don't always fill them up. :D

My daughter was quite similar to this--very bad reflux until 18 months and throwing up with intense crying episodes. She is 3 1/2 now and will still throw up if she cries hard. I know that many people advocate getting a second opinion, which sounds like a great idea, but I would warn you that what Children's wanted to do to/for our daughter was much too extreme for us. Yes, we were exhausted, and yes, we wanted her to get better, but the course of testing and treatment suggested was just too much. I'm just suggesting that you're prepared for what might come at a new doctor visit. My two cents is that my daughter has, and likely always will have, a very sensitive stomach. She now sleeps well and is healthy. You'll get there, too, but it definitely takes alot longer with a refluxer.

My daughter was the same way. She spit up a lot as a baby, and of course out grew that eventually, but whenever we tried to get her to learn to comfort herself to sleep, she would throw up, and I'm not talking about an hour of crying, I timed it once and it was four minutes of crying before she threw up. It got to the point where she knew exactly how to cry to speed up the throwing up, because THEN she got to get out of bed! Mom and Dad would come in and get her out so that we could change her sheets, her blankets, her mattress pad, her pajamas, and clean the throw up off the floor (it's a lot of vomit, even if she ate dinner two or three hours before, babies that have this condition don't seem to digest as quickly). Anyway, what finally worked was just being dedicated. I knew that SHE knew we would come in once she threw up, and we had tried cleaning everything up and then putting her right back as quickly as possible, but by three vomiting sessions we would run out of bedding! =0) And sometimes she would gag and dry heave (after a few times of throwing up) and we'd still have to come in and turn on the lights and make sure there wasn't any vomit. So I borrowed a fold out mat for me and extra bedding for her, and made a commitment to make it happen and for a week I planned to lay down in her room until she fell asleep, that way hopefully she wouldn't get so worked up, or at the very least I would know as soon as she threw up, and I'd also know when it was just dry heaves and didn't need the lights turned on. (By this point we constantly had towels on the carpet around the crib) Anyway, the first night was awful! But I stuck to my guns and with minimal light, and zero talking we would change everything including her jammies and stick her right back in bed. Four times. The next night she only threw up once. And the night after that she lay down, talked for 15 minutes, then fell asleep without crying. There were still times after trips or when she'd get over-tired that we'd have to clean up some vomit, but we just understood that we'd have to. Just because a child has an easy vomiting reflex doesn't mean they should get rocked to sleep until highschool. (My daughter was 15 months when we did this) Anyway, hope that helps!

She's two and a half now and it's never been a problem, ever since I did that. (I hate hearing my children cry and wouldn't have been able to be strong about it if it weren't for the fact that I was 5 months pregnant then with my son.) Of course we had already ruled out any sort of illness or medical conditions behind the throwing up. If your child is happy all day long and just doesn't want to go to bed then it's probably not something physically wrong with your baby. (But you can check with your pediatrician just to be sure)

T.,

You may want to do your own research and get the facts. This is a great website: http://www.babycareadvice.com/babycare/general_help/artic...

My son had the similar problems. And he is 2 and 5 months. The first year and a half were not fun. Actually, his puking was what caused me to get a carpet cleaner! He didn't gain weight until he was put on Zantac due to throwing up everything. And he would scream after throwing up because the acid was burning his esophogus. My poor baby was miserable. I know most drs. don't want to use medication, but it was the miracle drug for us at the time. He still threw up, but not nearly as much and the screaming stopped--good for both of us.

From 2 months my son was on medication for Gastro-esophageal reflux disease and also had a "lazy sphincter." In addidtion he had a hernia which he had surger for at 3 months. My son actually aspirated the stomach acids which caused major respiratory issues that we are still dealing with. I could go into more detail, but you get the picture. I will say this, the medication really helped--more than I ever thought it would.

Thankfully, my son is no longer on medication, but will still throw up when he has a cough from a cold or cries really hard (which he did today over a scraped knee, poor guy), but that is not everynight!

Good luck and I hope you are able to get some sleep soon!
A.

Your story brings back many happy (and tired) memories for me. I have 5 children and when they were young, we were very busy with sports and scouts and camping and all kinds of activities. My youngest, like yours, used to spit up/throw up a lot. Yet, she was thriving. And, like yours, it took her much longer than her older siblings to sleep through the night. Fortunately, I had a very comfortable recliner and she and I spent many nights sleeping in it. That was because I was exhausted and finally figured out that I could get a pretty good night's sleep in that recliner with her warm little body on top of mine. She would occasionally wake up and nibble at my breast a little, then right back to sleep. At some point early in the morning, I could usually put her very gently in her bed and she would stay asleep and I could crawl into my bed for a couple more hours before needing to rise and get my older kids off to school.

At close to age 2, she started sleeping all night in her bed...just like that. And now, at age 18, she sure loves to sleep. Wow, the years go by quickly but I know when you're tired and needing sleep, it can seem like forever. The only other thing I would suggest is maybe get a second opinion from another pediatrician. Good luck!

Well, I mean no disrepsect,but I would find a new Doctor for sure!I would take him to Childrens hospital myself. Their clinics and specialist are THE best. Their is a Childrens Eastside over at Overlake. I had a little guy(I have four sons)who had reflux when he was brand new, it used to scare me to death! Always throwing up and it would cause seizures! And my husband wanted me to put him down?!! LOL! I just couldnt knowing that it happened when he was sleeping! He was just too tiny and precious! He is 11 now, and still gets tummy issues off and on. But we saw the head of the GI clinic there at the Children's in Seattle and he was wonderful! Reflux or not, its not OK or normal what is happening. Poor lil' guy, and you too! Dont feel guilty for going for a second opinion. He's your baby, he deserves the best care!! Hang in there Mama!!! big hugs for both of you!! Aw....your lil' man Tate!! How cute!!
J.
PS.. Big OOPS! I thought you were in the Seattle area. But isnt there a wonderful Childrens Hospital for you to go to? its in Portland prob. Really sorry about that but my advice stands the same. Get a second opinion, for both of your sakes!!
Hugs!

Hello T.,
I just want you to know that my little girl, my first, had this problem as well,she threw up everytime I fed her, and then I learned that I was over breastfeeding her, or her stomach was abnormally small, so after I had nursed her on both sides, and after she threw it all up, then I would feed her what was left from the both and she would hold it down. I knew I was overfeeding her because when I started pumping I was producing 4-8 oz of milk on both sides, and everyone knows that a newborn doesn't need that much milk! Nobody knew why she spit up all the time, I had to figure it out after baby number three, but she did get bigger and was able to hold more down. Once she got to one and a half ( when I decided to move her to a toddler bed, I did the same thing you did with your first four, I let her cry it out at night, and yes, she did throw up every night for maybe four nights, BUT, she did get used to what I was doing, and she just started going to her bed and falling aslepe on her own. when she threw up, I would go in there and say nothing but,'it is bedtime Loralai', and then clean up the mess, and close the door and walk out. (So you know though I only nursed for 11 months, and had her crying herself to sleep earlier to sleep through the night at a much younger age, maybe 3-5 months) It was hard as ever, but she did learn fast, and believe it or not they don't like getting sick any more than you do, so they learn to control it, at least that is what Loralai did. If Loralai gets really upset, she does occasionally get sick, from now that she is 6 it happens very rarely. I just knew that I had to get her to learn to sooth herself because I ran a daycare and needed sleep very much, like you. It does get better within two weeks though, at the worst. If you have any questions for me just write me and let me know and I'd be happy to answer them, good luck, L.

Have you tried taking him to a Naturopath about his throwing up? I would highly suggest it, since the doctors have not been able to help you. The little guy is obviously crying for a reason and spitting up that much for this long doesn't sound quite normal. Also, if he is spitting up so much, he is probably not keeping enough food down so I would not replace his food with water. I'm so sorry you are going through this but I would very much recommend you take him to a Naturopath. Just get their opinion and see what they say. It might just surprise you how great they are!

I have a little guy in foster care and he came with a rice sock from his former family. It's a man's nylon type sock filled with rice and tied at the top and we warm it up for 2 minutes when he goes to bed and it keeps him toasty. If he wakes up at 4AM we zap it for a minute or so and it helps him settle right back down. I don't know if that would work but I'd try it.

Has your doc screened him for pyloric stenosis? This can cause the vomiting symptoms you are describing. How is his growth? is he gaining weight well? I have to work so hard to maintain routine with just one, i really can't imagine how you do it! I think you need to solve the vomiting before trying to tackle the sleep problems.

I've not got the time to read every response right now, but thought I'd share with you a book that has some really great stuff on getting babies/toddlers to sleep without having to let them cry (and in your case, throw up :) ) A friend of mine introduced it to me, and while it's not an immediate gratification solution, it does work. Here's the URL for it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/No-Cry-Sleep-Solution-Gentle-Throug... It's called the No Cry Sleep Solution.

I wish you the best!
S.

Go to a naturopath. I find most MDs just do their standard checks and miss the obvious. He needs to be checked for food allergies, particularly wheat, dairy, and soy. Naturopaths are great, because they DON'T give up trying to find the problem, and a pediatrician (at least in my experience) gives up whenever the tests show negative. It sounds as though your son's stomach lining is still very irritated. So when he gets upset, it ads to the stress and causes him to throw up.

You need to find out why it's irritated. My daughter would be autistic right now if I hadn't found out she was celiac when she was 3. It was destroying her brain.

Also, my daugther when she gets really upset throws up as well. I know a couple of really good naturopaths in our area if you're interested (I live in the Seattle area).

That sounds strange to me that he would still be throwing up and eating every 3 hours. I think that if your mommy gut instinct says something is wrong....then something is wrong. I would get a second opinion...or even a third opinion. I have had lots of family memebers that have had kids that have reflux and that sounds a lot like it. I would definatley get it checked out again.

I hope that everything works out.
D.