What happened to my baby?
Until recently, our favorite little Bean would, when we put her down to sleep, fall asleep without a fuss. She would either roll over and fall asleep right away or hang out in her crib for a while, entertain herself, and then fall asleep. Either way, if we heard anything at all, it was just her babbling to herself for a little while before drifting off. Very rarely would she cry. And even then, she might cry for a little while, but then would eventually fall asleep.
Well, we have entered into a new phase here, I'm sorry to say. It started this past week, right out of left field. It started with vomit. And it usually ends with vomit. Heh. One night she vomited at night toward the end of dinner. The next couple days she vomited when I put her down for her afternoon nap. The following day she vomited when we put her down to sleep at night. She would immediately cry when we put her down, which was a new thing, and if we let her cry for a while (as we would have done in the past), instead of falling asleep she would end up vomiting. At first we thought that she was vomiting as a result of either eating too much food or eating too soon before going to sleep, so we tried to make changes with regards to both of those things. However, after several days of this, we've determined that it has less to do with food and more to do with wanting comfort, for whatever reason. (She doesn't seem sick.) She didn't used to hug or want to cuddle up, but in the past few days, she seems to need that more as well. When we put her down to sleep, she now cries when we try to leave, then gets riled up and ends up making herself gag and, if we don't intervene, vomit.
It probably goes without saying that this is displeasing for a number of reasons. The fact that she is no longer falling asleep easily and on her own is distressing. The fact that she has learned how to make herself gag and vomit, and does so, is more distressing. I wouldn't mind if she cried a little before falling asleep sometimes, but the risk of vomit-induced crying is too much. Because, vomit? Don't like it. Don't like looking at it, smelling it, cleaning it up, or even saying the word. So vomit on a daily basis? I am not a fan. I've said and typed the word at least 50 times in the last week, which is at least 50 times too many for my liking. It's also frustrating that this just came out of nowhere. One day she's seemingly independent (as much as a 10.5 month-old baby can be), falling asleep on her own, and the next she cries when she's left alone, to the point of making herself vomit. What happened? What's caused this change? What can we do about it? How can we get her to stop? Is it because she's teething and feels bad, therefore needs more comfort?
I'm sure more experienced parents are laughing at my naivete. Don't get me wrong. I understand that babies are not predictable, they sometimes act up, and they like to switch it up. Perhaps - no, I did - take it for granted, what an awesome sleeper she could be. But, man, this is frustrating! I hate not knowing what's going on, and I hate not knowing what to do about it even more.
So I decided to mention it here for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, if anyone has any ideas about either why she might be doing this, how to prevent it, or how to stop it, I'm hoping you'll chime in. It's been a rough several days over here. I am exasperated and severely bummed out. Any advice or words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated! Also, since I have been talking up a storm about what a good sleeper she was, maybe I jinxed myself (remember- I'm superstitious). Maybe if I now talk about this behavior, I'll re-jinx (or de-jinx?) myself and things will go back to the way they were. One can only hope!
Well, we have entered into a new phase here, I'm sorry to say. It started this past week, right out of left field. It started with vomit. And it usually ends with vomit. Heh. One night she vomited at night toward the end of dinner. The next couple days she vomited when I put her down for her afternoon nap. The following day she vomited when we put her down to sleep at night. She would immediately cry when we put her down, which was a new thing, and if we let her cry for a while (as we would have done in the past), instead of falling asleep she would end up vomiting. At first we thought that she was vomiting as a result of either eating too much food or eating too soon before going to sleep, so we tried to make changes with regards to both of those things. However, after several days of this, we've determined that it has less to do with food and more to do with wanting comfort, for whatever reason. (She doesn't seem sick.) She didn't used to hug or want to cuddle up, but in the past few days, she seems to need that more as well. When we put her down to sleep, she now cries when we try to leave, then gets riled up and ends up making herself gag and, if we don't intervene, vomit.
It probably goes without saying that this is displeasing for a number of reasons. The fact that she is no longer falling asleep easily and on her own is distressing. The fact that she has learned how to make herself gag and vomit, and does so, is more distressing. I wouldn't mind if she cried a little before falling asleep sometimes, but the risk of vomit-induced crying is too much. Because, vomit? Don't like it. Don't like looking at it, smelling it, cleaning it up, or even saying the word. So vomit on a daily basis? I am not a fan. I've said and typed the word at least 50 times in the last week, which is at least 50 times too many for my liking. It's also frustrating that this just came out of nowhere. One day she's seemingly independent (as much as a 10.5 month-old baby can be), falling asleep on her own, and the next she cries when she's left alone, to the point of making herself vomit. What happened? What's caused this change? What can we do about it? How can we get her to stop? Is it because she's teething and feels bad, therefore needs more comfort?
I'm sure more experienced parents are laughing at my naivete. Don't get me wrong. I understand that babies are not predictable, they sometimes act up, and they like to switch it up. Perhaps - no, I did - take it for granted, what an awesome sleeper she could be. But, man, this is frustrating! I hate not knowing what's going on, and I hate not knowing what to do about it even more.
So I decided to mention it here for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, if anyone has any ideas about either why she might be doing this, how to prevent it, or how to stop it, I'm hoping you'll chime in. It's been a rough several days over here. I am exasperated and severely bummed out. Any advice or words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated! Also, since I have been talking up a storm about what a good sleeper she was, maybe I jinxed myself (remember- I'm superstitious). Maybe if I now talk about this behavior, I'll re-jinx (or de-jinx?) myself and things will go back to the way they were. One can only hope!
Comments
Oh my goodness! You poor thing. It sounds like you both could use a hug. As dad says, babies throw up. You've been very fortunate so far. I think all moms and dads have gone through their babies throwing up. Like you say, she appears healthy. Heather's little Chloe use to throw up after she ate because of acid reflux, so someone had to keep her upright after she ate. Could it be something in Lucy's diet that's triggering her vomiting? I'm sure you already may have considered this. Maybe Miss Lucy has in fact figured out how to get your attention for a bit longer before she has to take a nap. After all, we all would agree she is indeed a smart little cookie. Oh, by the way and not to alarm you, the 3-year old daughter of Ashley's first babysitter used to hold her breath until she blacked out(fainted) and fell backwards when she didn't get her way.
p.s. Dad said to tell you, if it'll make you feel better, Tobi threw up tonight.
I think if E were doing this exact thing (he's been through similar things at about the same age), I might try to go schedule free for a couple days. Use his tiredness queues as a signal of naps and night sleep to hopefully have the sleeps times more in sync with his current biorhythms. E's sleep rhythms have changed periodically and maybe (now that she's getting older) this could adding to the stress of not wanting to be alone. If she needs you AND doesn't feel ready to go to sleep, it might make it worse. I'm just throwing this out there as another thought. You are a great mom and are listening to your baby and sometimes all you can do is what your gut is telling you, not matter what the baby books say.
Also, I just wanted to say, that this will certainly pass. She is fundamentally a great sleeper and they all have hiccups from time to time. Remember when you were so worried about the sleep training? And look how well that settled out. She's a great sleeper and she will continue to be :)
Anyway, hugs from us over here. This, too, shall pass.....just another one of the many blessings of parenthood!!
love u