Emotional Vomitting

My "step" daughter is almost 7 years old. I put step in quotation marks because she is my ex-husbands child. I am very involved with her life i.e. I pick her up from school everyday, have her at least every other weekend, support financially. I am on good terms with my ex-husband, his family, her mother, and her mother's family....weird, but it works.

Anyways, she has always had an "upset stomach." She has been thorugh so much in her short years. I have done research on this. It says childrens emotions go to their belly,,,,,but they usually do not throw up. She throws up. For example, on a Friday, I picked her up early from school. She threw up her lunch. The next day, she threw up her breakfast. She has thrown up about 6 times in the past 2 weeks. She has been this way for awhile, but seems to be getting worse. Her mother had to drop her off at my house last week one morning because she was so "sick" and upset.

I want to know if this emotional vomitting is normal. I have a doctor's appointment scheduled and a psycholgost appointment schedule. Has anyone else ever been through this? I cannot ever seem to get into the doctors forum, so I thought I'd post here.

Thanks.  

[RockRose]

God bless you,  Lizzy.  It sounds like you are trying to do the best for this girl,  who is not your child or even your step child,  she's just a child left behind that you are willing to help out with.  

God bless you for that.

Yes,  being shuffled around like this child is,  could cause her to vomit frequently from stress.  It sounds like she is going here and there all the time,  and you are picking her up from school and others are taking care of her at different schedules.

It would be great if this girl was in one loving home all the time,  I think she would stop vomiting.    Is there a grandparent,  or one of the parent's homes,  or your home,  where this child could live?

[Lizzyloowho?]

Trust me, my husband and I would take her at anytime! Her mother and her father are not ideal parents...dad is too "tired" to play with her, help her with homeowrk, etc. Mom is a little "off." She yells at her constantly! For example, we had an Easter egg hunt this morning. Evidently, Haley was not looking for eggs correctly. She was yelling at her to concentrate and keep looking. She is a little immature.....very long story.

Her paternal grandparents are a mess. Many, many probalems occur at home. Her maternal grandparents recenlty moved about two hours away. She is very close to them. So, I am trying to establish some kind of a routine by picking her up and having her come over everyday, instead of wondering who is coming to get her. This poor baby just wants to be loved.

Thank you for your concern  

[anxiousmomtobe?]

Could very well be stress, however, I think a full physical workup is in order as well.

[Christy H]

Does your daughter know that if she throws up you are the one that picks her up? She knows that you are safe and make her feel loved and wanted, that odviously is not how she feels with her bio parents. In a stressful situation a child will often times create ways to be with the parent that they know wants them. You have created a positive enviroment for this child and it seems that a stable and positive environment is what she needs. This environment that you have provided for her will allow her to hopefully succeed in life despite the situation her bio parents have created for her. I commend you for taking care of this young lady and allowing her to excel in an otherwise grim situation.
Good Luck and let me know how she is doing!
Christy