Vomiting at bed time

[Scrumpy]

My son is 16.5 months old and has always slept very badly. For months he has slept from 2 am until 11 am, then napped from 3.30 pm until 5.30-6 pm. He slept in bed with us most of the time.
For 6 days we have been using the controlled crying technique with a fair amount of success...the first 2 nights he went down asleep and apart from a couple of 4-8 minute bouts of crying slept for an amazing 12 hours!
The last three nights we've put him down awake, but as soon as he realises it's time for bed and we start to take him upstairs he panics and starts crying and within 2 minutes is violently sick..carries on crying and is sick again.
During the 5-10 minutes it takes to change clothes, clean the carpet and so on, he is quiet, lying on my bed...then starts crying again when I pick him up. BUT when I put him down *this* time he stops crying and goes to sleep!
My mother thinks we're feeding him too close to bedtime...he's been having dinner at 7-7.30, then a bath, then a bottle and a short story, then bed....but that's never been a problem before. He shows no signs of being ill.
I can't find any information on the web and we're so low and demoralised. Is he going to be so sick every night? He only has to cry for 2 minutes...it's not as if I leave him crying for long!
Help...please!

Scrumpy

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

In general, you're on the right track. Don't let this reaction dter you. It probably would help if he didn't eat so close to bedtime. The eating is not causing any problem, but when he gets all worked up he hasn't yet digested what's in his stomach. This will work out if you persist - you have to 'bite the bullet'.

[Scrumpy]

Me again! Last night he was spectacularly sick twice before I even got him in the cot. He was crying as I took him upstairs, but not hysterical...and only 2 minutes of crying then he was sick. He was a little sick earlier in the evening when I wanted him to stand in his cot for a minute while we did something in his room :-( After the big clean up, he went down awake with barely a whimper and slept 12 hours again.
I feel like giving up.

[Scrumpy]

He's still being sick. It's become a routine. Every night I say "time for bed" and he starts grizzling. 20 seconds later he is sick 2 or 3 times, I clean him up (making it as neutral and unexciting as possible) and put him down. He cries for 1 minute and then goes to sleep for 12 hours.
How long will he keep this up? Is it becomming part of the bedtime routine? Should I be cross when he does it to deter him, because *no* reaction hasn't stopped him yet?
Very miserable,
Scrumpy

[bacz]

Get off the net and contact your pediatritian.For years I had to listen to well meaning dummies say"you pick him up to soon"(like I am gonna leave him in a crib of peuk) during this control cry. and that "my baby was'controling me'." come to find out my son had a digestive problem,and reflux.  He is 9 now and he still has some of the symptoms left of a digestive system that is not up to par, like the inability to digest carrot and lettuse.Still at 9 he vomits almost dayly with little pattern to a which food cause.Get your doc proactive and stop living like "oh,my god I am mom and I am doing it wrong--how come my friends baby is not doing this".As a mom you diserve answers and your doc should rule out the physical questions first before getting into the whole baby psycology of wheather barf clean up should be eventful,boring or threatening.I spent my childs baby hood feeling lost and with noone to turn too and you don't have to do that.

[keggy]

I agree with the last poster. I thought my daughter was manipulating me with a similar scenario. Kids with swallowing issues like this would be thoroughly checked out by a neurologist and neurosurgeon. I found out years later then I should that my daughter had a Chiari which causes this type of vomiting also.
Get them to do a MRi of the brain. A chiari can cause developmental problems and can be very dangerous.
You can look at my site for more info or email me with any questions. I have talked to many parents of babies with Chiari's.
Keggy
www.geocities.com/keggy11789