I need to know if others have dealt with this and what they did to stop the problem. When my son was 9mos, he got sick and it made him throw up. Since then, sometimes when he eats now, he makes himself puke for no reason. He starts coughing and then forces himself to puke. Its very frustrating and afterward he won't eat again. The Dr's told me to scold him when he does it and to make his food bland and smooth again and start like I had when he was 6 mos. But, it doesn't seem to help.
** I mis-spoke. They told me to scold him when he's coughing. Not after he pukes, to try to get him to stop before he pukes. I think I made that unclear. Sorry.
Well, its been a while since I posted my request. I did what most of the moms said to do, I just ignored it. It was difficult for me cause I worried about his weight and he seemed to never keep anything down. But, I kept ignoring it and it just ended one day. I appreciate all of you who took the time to respond. Thank you!
My son used to do that when he was little. He seemed to do it for attention or as a way of "throwing a fit". I just cleaned him up and gave him no attention or affection for that behavior. He soon found it didn't benefit him at all and he stopped. Maybe this will work for you. Good luck. I know it can be frustrating and scary at the same time.
Have you seen a Gastro Dr. It sounds like acid reflux to me. Both my boys have acid reflux and they both cough and then puke. They also arch there backs when they are in pain from it.
I would have to disagree with the doctors on this one. Scolding him is drawing attention to the issue and at that age, attention is probably what he is trying to get. I would try to ignore it as much as possible. If he's doing it because he doesn't want to eat, then let him down and when he is hungry later, give him the same food to try to eat again. He will eventually catch on to the fact that the behavior (throwing up) isn't going to change anything and won't get a reaction from you and will likely stop. He won't starve himself, so when he's hungry enough he will eat. This sounds like a tough one, so hang in there! Best of luck to you.
First be sure there is not a physical reason that he forces himself to throw up.
Two approaches that MIGHT work.
1) totally ignore that fact that he is throwing up. Clean up the mess and do not speak to him about it. Don't rewared the behavior by reacting. Act like nothing happened. I had a friend whos child was litterally FORCED to eat and he refused anyway he could...when he came to my house he ate like a little pig because I told him he could eat or not...I didn't care. The refusal was just not given any attention.
2) Try to find something to get him involved in immediately after eating, a trip in the car, a game, something he would enjoy. And tell him that you are going to do this "special thing" immediately after we eat. Hopefully he will not have the time to prepare the upchuck.
And get yourself a diary to put somewhere it is easily written in and record what he eats when he does throw up, and any circumstances involved in that occasion. Maybe there is a pattern that you are not seeing.
lol
I have always found that most things shrink when given no attention- plants, pets, it is mostly a sad fact but can work wonders with negative behaviors. Ignore it totally and think of it as early training for raising him as a teen!
haha
I've had somewhat of a similar experience with both of my sons. Ages 2 1/2 and 16 months. Both have gone through gagging themselves stages, usually sticking their fingers down their throat. I didn't change their diet. I did reprimand them, usually slapped their hand when they would do it. My oldest one no longer does it, my youngest is a work in progress, but doesn't do it as often. You must be consistent. Hope this helps.
H. H.
I have never heard of this with such a young child, however I am surprised that the docs told you to scold him at such a young age. Maybe someone out there has been through this and can help you!! Good Luck!!
Maybe he just doesn't like the particular food he is eating. If he has teeth and is as hungry as any of my boys was, he will probably do fine with some cut up grapes or fresh green beans, etc. They get a kick out of going to the local health food markets to sample different fruits and veggies to make sure we should buy them. As for scolding advice from the doctor...find a new doctor. Eating shouldn't be a negative experience especially not for a baby! Don't give up and he'll eat when he gets hungry! ;-)
Consider taking him to an ENT. Perhaps he has reflux. I recommend Dr. Timothy Trone at Medical City.
Hi J.,
Sorry to hear about you son doing this. Children can sure come up with some whoppers for you to try and stop sometimes!
My son used to stick his finger down his throat and make himself sick when he was about this same age. It was hard but I ignored it. Even when he did it in his crib and I would have to strip his bedding and him and clean it all up. The most that I would do is maybe try and divert his attention to something else if I saw it coming at dinner time! And soon it just stopped. Sometimes he would try again after some time would go by but still I did nothing but clean it up. I think that by scolding him it gives him attention causing the problem to grow. Sorry but I don't agree with the doctors on that one! It will be even harder and take longer now since it's drawn attention to him for the "habit" to be broken. I personally would NOT give him any attention about it. Even when he doesn't eat. It would be hard to just let him go hungry but by doing this you are letting him take control of it all and "fix" the problem himself. If he doesn't seem to be bothered by drinking you could give him a Pedisure type drink after meals when the possibly of throwing up is over. You can also use a breakfast drink mix for milk to throw in some extra calories while this is going on.
Hope this helps,
C. :)
