Vomitting 15 Month old - Only at night

[CCmommy]

My 15 mo. daughter woke up two nights ago at  3 vomiting.  She is breastfed & co-sleeps.  No fever, no diarrhea, and in a good mood.  We bathed and played for awhile back to bed.  She immediately vomited again.  Got her back up, cleaned her up. Got dry heaves, but in 20 minutes nursed, fell asleep on my chest in semi-upright position.  After an hour, carried her back to bed. She slept incident free until 8:30 a.m and woke up in a good mood.  

I didn't know the cause of the vomiting episode since there were many variables:  Had visited an outdoor play area 2 days prior, she did not have much of an appetite during the day pushed food on her at supper time (doing airplane spoon, etc), got into the dog's food & pretty sure ate a few pieces before we found the half of fistful of it, and she got a snoot-full of soapy bathwater.

I got her some Gripe water and made a tea of "sleepy time tea" (chamomile, lemongrass, peppermint, etc.) and ginger, some orange pedylite, ripe bananas, diced apples, and some ginger ale.  She ate the apples hardily, some carrots, a little bit of chicken, and drank water, pedylite, some tea, & Gripewater.  Still no fever, in a great mood and napped well during the day.  She had a big BM that was not either runny or hard.  She nursed well.

About 6 pm she acted like she was feeling a little poorly.  We gave her some Tylenol as cutting molars, too.  She ate a  light supper at 6:30 she played until about 7:15, took her bath, then went to bed at 8.  At 2 woke up & vomited again.  The night before was clear with bits of undigested food, this was mostly a bright-yellow (like paint) liquid.  It was quite a bit of liquid at that, as she nursed to sleep, and might have even woken up periodically to nurse during the night.  Gave her Gripe water and a little tea and pedylite and some banana.  After over an back to bed where she nursed and fell asleep at about 2:30. She slept until 10:30 (for a total of 12  hours of actual sleep, which is normal).  No more vomiting and again woke up in a good mood.  

The doctor's office said to give it one more night to see if it was a stomach bug, and bright yellow vomit can occur with the stomach bug.   I did see in my internet searches that "bright yellow" vomit is bad- although they never really say why.  I know it is bile, but why is that bad and when should I really worry.  What should I watch out for?

Another concerns me about the bile, is that about a few months ago she had a few episodes with light-colored stools.  Since a co-worker had been having endocrine problems and we had actually been talking about light stools, I became alarmed & called the doctor.  The doctor said it could be caused from too much milk (at the time we were switching from Goat's milk to Cow's milk).  Initially she had told me I could have 1 alcoholic beverage/day, and I asked if that could be affecting her liver and the nurse told me it could not. Beside the extremely occasional 1 drink, I don't drink at now.

[gene344]

A related discussion, help was started.

[Shebah]

I agree with Felix, and I would try to keep her diet simple. She needs time to let her body adjust to lots of bacteria's and will have the runs and vomit for no reason from time to time. BUT, if it lasts for a week or more, I would start worrying.

Good luck

[Kevin Pho, MD]

A referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist can be considered.

Reflux, pyloric stenosis or intestinal obstruction can all be considered. Screening laboratories should include a complete blood count, electrolytes, blood urea nitrogen, urinalysis, urine culture, and stool studies for occult blood, leukocytes, and parasites.

Imaging studies, like a CT scan, can be considered and guided by the physical exam.  

These options can be discussed with your personal physician, or in conjunction with a gastroenterologist.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_

[yoshi]

Wow,so much esoteric stuff for a 15 months old !!
Would the mother keep her diet simple and just give her water and toast?
charcoal may soak up all that **** and send it one way down the latrine!

[Felix'sMum]

I think, understandably for a new Mom, you're worrying way too much. Basically you're saying you have a toddler who vomited one time only, on 2 nights running. Boy, if that is all you have to worry about, you're doing really well! Toddlers are renowned for throwing up and having "the runs" for no apparent reason; it goes with the territory. It's really only a problem if a) the child has a fever indicating infection or b) is vomiting very frequently (once in 24 hours is NOT frequent!)and is at risk of becoming dehydrated. One thing I notice is the amount of fruit she eats...that's fairly hefty stuff for a small tummy. I would try not giving her fruit after about 2pm..it's quite a lot for an immature digestive system to cope with and last thing at night, might be too much for her, leading to vomiting undigested food. Good luck, hope all turns out well.