Still Throwing up and Daycare Problem

Why is she being punished for not eating and/or throwing up? I think you need to find a new daycare, something is going on there that doesn't sound right.

Hi, Hollie:
Have you asked Kassie why she throws up?
Ask her for her experience about eating and throwing up.
Just wondering?
D.

Aside from Kassie throwing up, dump your sitter!!! I've worked with children for over 25 years and I can tell you that Kassie needs a more compassionate person to help her get through this transition. Pop tarts probably irritated her acid reflux. My niece has acid reflux and sugar (especially chocolate) make it worse. All I can say is that if Kassie were my child, this sitter would be history. You can get an au pair to live in your home for less cost than most sitters and you'd have a wonderful young woman fully trained in child care available 45 hours a week in your home! Sorry for rambling on, but I'm a little passionate about children being in good care. If you need any information about an au pair, feel free to email me. Good luck H.!

~P. G.
Portland Preschool Directory
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I agree with the previous post! It sounds like there's something going on at the sitter's place that is upsetting your daughter. Question your daughter and see if you can figure anything out. I'd also think about looking into other places to take her.

I have no advice about what could be wrong however it sounds like your babysitter doesn't have the compassion or the patience to work with your daughter. I think you should try another sitter, doesn't seem like a good fit.

What does your daughter say about the throwing up. any belly aches? what does she say about the babysitter? Likes, dislikes? yells, calm or playful?

good luck

I would find a new sitter. I hate to imagine how she is treating your daughter all day.

have your daughter eat more smaller meals my doctor told me to eat 6 small meals instead of 3 big meals and snacks for my GERD real bad reflux. Also stay away from acid foods, juice, chocolate and pop. Try and talk to your daughter as well about what goes on at the babysitters maybe she can shed some light on what is going on. God bless

I would definitely get a new person to watch your little girl. Not sure where the throwing up is coming from...could be physical, but it is interesting that she doesn't do it at your family friend's house. If she knows her current babysitter will call home everytime and the babysitter is as aweful as it sounds, she may be doing some of it on purpose to go home.

One note to remember as you look for other care, however, is that many licensed child care facilities (home daycare and center-based) have policies stating that if a child vomits they must go home. This is for the safety of the other children and the staff.

For many other reasons noted in your question, however, I still would find a new sitter. And talk to your daughter and doctor about what to do about the vomiting.

You said that she wasn't throwing up at the friends on the weekends, but didn't mention if she was throwing up at home. (Sorry - I didn't see your original post) If she isn't, I would be VERY concerned about why this is only happening at the baby-sitters and wonder if something at the baby-sitters is making her sick (new products/foods/pets etc.) or if it is psychological.

Perhaps the brevity of your post doesn't portray the baby-sitters real attitude, but is she as hard as you are writing? For example, is she saying, "I am so sorry, but I have to call you to come get her if she is vomiting." or is she saying, "Every time you kid pukes, I am calling you to come get her."?

On the bad list? IMO, putting a kid on the bad list because of an eating issue is psychologically harmful. I would be furious that there was a bad list to begin with, let alone that my kid was on it for this issue!!

My gut (which is based solely on what you wrote above) says, get your girl out of there and find her a childcare professional who is willing to work with you and explore why this is happening.

I would be challenging this woman on why this only happens under her care!

HTH,

C.

Food allergies. Or rather, a food intolerance. I say this because my son (almost 3) threw up a heck of a lot (about 3 times a day) and it took us months to figure it out. It took us months because food allergies don't typically manifest themselves as vomit, so it wasn't a food allergy, right?! It turns out, he has an intolerance to wheat (which he'll hopefully outgrow), along with some real food allergies (nuts and some others). When we began removing food from his diet, I only removed wheat to humor the doctor. Of course it wasn't wheat! He ate wheat 3 meals a day (bread, pasta, crackers, cookies, etc.) I did the food test (remove and re-introduce) 3 times because I couldn't believe it. Wheat -- he thew up. No wheat -- no throw up. I strongly suggest you remove things from his diet for that it could be for 5 days, and begin reintroducing them one by one in 3-5 day stretches. Things like wheat, eggs, dairy, etc -- I know, big, in everything you eat foods, so it will be a pain in the neck. But, it won't last forever. If you find it IS wheat, the initial home conversion is also a pain, but, now it's no problem. There is lots of info on the internet. I got a cookbook, there are many gluten-free foods out there (we buy crackers, pasta, graham crackers, animal crackers, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, panko, pretzels, and make our own flour blends, in order to make his own bread. But you can buy flour blends and pancake mixes). It's expensive, so we still eat the regular versions of those things, while our son eats the gluten-free. But he doesn't throw up, he doesn't have celiac disease, and he feels much much better. Good luck.

Have her dentist check her mouth for Geographic Tongue. You might do some research on it too. Our pediatric dentist took one look at K's mouth and told us that's what she had. She can chow down on something like mac and chz. for weeks and then suddenly start throwing up if it touches her tongue. Her taste buds do odd things and her tongue looks like it has had burning hot food put on it sometimes.

If it is acid reflux, then the Zantac has already worn off. LO's build up a quick intolerance to it (it's an H2 blocker, PPI's - Proton Pump Inhibitors - are much better at helping AR), usually within 7-10 days. Do your research on Reflux, and the meds that are commonly prescribed for it. Most dr's prescribe H2 blockers first, even though they very rarely continue to work past a week. Untreated, or undertreated, AR can cause major problems.

My LO had reflux. He was first put on Zantac and it lasted 1 week. Then he was on Prevacid Solutabs, but that caused insomnia. Nexium worked miracles!! He is now med free:) He still has some occasional minor flare ups, but Mylanta Cherry Supreme helps with that.

Here are some great sites to check out.

www.refluxrebels.com (they are doing amazing things to help raise awareness, in both the medical community and the public, of AR, and just how serious it can be!)

www.marci-kids.com (site is under construction so check back soon, but they are doing tons of great research into better treatment options for LO's with AR. One of the dr's with this group is the creator of Zegerid)

If my daughter threw up everytime she was with a babysitter, and the babysitter said my daughter had an attitude and was "on the bad list," I wouldn't use that babysitter anymore. The babysitter is being unkind to your sick daughter.
I might think about what is different at your family friend's house, where you say she is generally well and able to eat.
I do NOT think throwing up is a "behavioral" problem. If I were throwing up nearly every day, I would be trying like crazy to figure out what was wrong, and it would be horrible to have anyone who loved me think I was just misbehaving.

What kinds of foods does she eat at the sitter? What had she eaten each time she threw up?

Food allergies or intolerances possibly. My friend Ashley threw up a lot as a kid just like that. It was headaches, and turned out many years later, to be celiac disease which is just an intolerance to foods with wheat in them. It's actually fairly common. You can get her tested for that with a blood test. The "stick test" where they prick the skin, isn't always accurate and celiac disease is an intolerance, not a true allergy. It can still tear up your digestive system.

On the other hand, my sister was once forced to eat green beans at daycare when she was about the same age, and she vomited. So for years, decades even, she couldn't look at a green bean without gagging and sometimes vomiting.

I'd also suggest sinus drainage. I had a problem with that when I was little and even a little bit of snot can cause you to get a little choked when you eat and are also trying to breathe and swallow. My daughter occasionally vomits when she gets a little gagged on snot and has just eaten.

Oh, and I just thought of this. My sister's friend in grade school, Erica, used to get upset and throw up all the time. She didn't like being yelled at or forcefully told to do anything. She was very prone to stress, and any little thing would set her off: an argument at dinner, a mean comment at school, ultimatums. Her eyelashes all fell out too.

Get a new babysitter.
Your child may by stressed, at the Babysitter... thus, can't eat and throws up.
A child should NOT be forced... to eat.
Does she throw up ONLY at the Babysitter?
What about at home?
Or ONLY at the Babysitter?
If she is only throwing up at the Babysitter... then find a new babysitter.

It sounds... like an emotion based issue.

Has your daughter always thrown up... or only since having this new Babysitter???? If only since having this babysitter... then I would guess, that THIS is the problem.

By the way, a Pop-tart... is NOT 'lunch.'
Why is she getting junk food?
And WHY is your daughter... being denied 'snacks' or snack time???
AND, is your daughter being given liquids???

I would REALLY not like this babysitter... if that were me.
It does not sound like a good environment for your daughter to be in.

H., I would definitely find another sitter. I would ignore the fact that she has been there 3 years. If your sitter is behaving this way in front of you, imagine how she is treating your daughter in your absence. Children are very perceptive and can sense when there is tension. Stress is a big trigger for acid reflux also.

As a person who has suffered through the years from acid reflux and recently diagnosed with gerd, I can testify that it is a very unpleasant feeling. It literally feels like you have acid in your throat. There are a lot of foods that need to be avoided like chocolate, juice (except apple juice), tomatoes and tomato sauce (very bad).

Fresh pineapples work wonders for digestion. Yogurts are also good. Apple cider vinegar is excellent, but your daughter is too young to drink it. I sometimes add a little in my food while cooking, depending on the dish. There is a whole list of offending foods on the web. I wish your daughter well.

Both of my boys have sensitive gag reflexes. They throw up rather quickly if they are upset. Maybe the sitter and your daughter are no longer getting along? With my middle guy he cannot drink any juice otherwise he throws up. If either one starts to cry too hard or are over tired they throw up. So maybe consider that it isn't reflux but maybe something else...