she cries, then coughs, then pukes - advice needed

beenbizzy · September 2011

DD is 8 1/2 months old. She goes to bed well and inevitably at some point thru the night wakes up. A few times she has cried for a few minutes and gone back to sleep. She was sick about ten days ago and had a cough. Now she has developed a new habit of crying until she starts coughing then she pukes.

If I go in to get her settled down (even before she pukes), then I struggle getting her back in bed without more crying.

If I wait, in hopes she will just go back to sleep, she pukes and everything is a mess. Then DH and I go in, clean it up and try to put her back to bed but she cries and cries and coughs more.

If I do nothing (and this was suggested to me by a co-worker) then she would eventually fall back asleep (probably covered in and sleeping in puke plus wherever else the puke lands... carpet, blankets, crib rails, etc left to clean up in the morning).

DS, who is almost 4, had the same habit and we ended up bringing him to bed with us. Big mistake.

Thoughts? Advice? I'd love some feedback because we should all be sleeping more than we are at this stage.

FutureMrsCaesar · September 2011

I think it could go 2 ways:

1. I read that when doing CIO or Ferber or whatever if the child pukes then go in, clean it up, and keep going. So you could do that.

2. Just do whatever you have to do to get through the next couple weeks, she might still have some extra mucus or drainage from the cold that is triggering cough and then her gag reflex. If you think it could be related to the cold then I def wouldn't let her CIO even though it sucks for you to have to put her back to sleep 50 times a night.

honkytonk_kid · September 2011

How long does she cry before puking?

Honestly, I would rather struggle all night with getting LO back to sleep than let him cry to the point of vomiting then sleep in it. Seriously, that's disgusting. I just can't imagine an 8 month old puking to be manipulative, kwim?

If bedsharing isn't an option, can you put her crib or pack and play in your room? Would that help her calm down?

If she has a cough (not just induced by crying) can you treat that? Humidifier, vapo-rub, etc.

Good luck mama

beenbizzy · September 2011

I think the cough could be leftover from sickness, so I'm not going to jump into a new routing too quickly. We've been running humidifier so I think that is helping and she is getting better.

It varies, but usually she usually cries maybe 2 minutes before coughing and then 30 seconds to one minute before she vomits.

I agree that I don't think the "leave her in the puke" method is a good one. I was just throwing it out there because it was suggested. Not a viable option in my book.

Probably I will just keep getting up with her 50 times a night for another few days until this cold seems to be totally gone. Thanks for the help!

sbuxsweetie · September 2011

Are her nasal passages all clear? I'm wondering if mucus could be part of the problem. If you haven't already, I would try using some saline solution and a good snot sucker (we use the NoseFrida). GL! I hope things get easier for you soon.