Am at a loss as to what to do with nearly 3 yr old - vomiting /nights

[lisalisa]

I am at the end of my tether with my nearly 3 year old dd4.

Every night she wants me to sit by her cot until she falls asleep. ~This can be minutes or hours. If I don't do it and merely go through her bedtime routine - we always read the same 2 books which she loves and I sing her a song - and then say goodnight with a kiss and leave sh ewill scream. I don't mind the screaming - I can happily ignore it and go in and out every few mins to reassure her . Its the fact that with only 5 mins of screaming she will vomit. Every single time. Every single night. Apart from the fact that it is very bad for her throat and stomach it is also creating a mountain of washing and making me dread bedtime.

She also wakes during the night at least once. Sometimes she demands that I sit by her cot and if I don't we have the vomiting again and sometimes she demands a bottle of milk.

She is a very sweet and delightful child - intelligent and with a a good level of understanding. She has always been anxious even as a baby and whilst I do want to help her and comfort her I cannot be chained to sitting by her cot every night for hours and going in to her whenever she vcrieds in the night ad in finitum. It is making me exhausted weepy and ill too.

Any suggestions please?

Why not switch her to a bed? Change the routine. Also promise her that you will leave for one minute and make sure you return after one minute

Do that for a few nights. Then extend the time to 2 mins, then 5 mins, then 10 mins etc etc.

Give her a night light as well If that helps.

Also I wonder if her being an "anxious" baby is a sign that something is wrong? Eg reflux or food intolerance or ear problem which means she's uncomfortable and cant sleep properly. Does she snore?

Thanks creatureretorts. I was wondering if the vomiting was medical actually although as she is perfectly happy all day and it doesn't happen unless she cries for a while ( by which I mean 5 solid minutes - I don't as a rule leave her to cry) I think it must be linked to her crying.

I'm scared to swtich her to a bed as then she can just hop out rather than crying to come out. then I'd get no sleep.

Ok I'll try the 1 minute leaving then up to 2 minutes. I'll also buy a nightlight.

Blimey you would think with 6dcs i'd seen it all but apparently not!

I don't think the vomiting is a medical thing - I mean I wonder if she was waking because something was up then when you leave she gets anxious and then vomits to get you to stay?

I found the one minute thing was the way to get ds to trust that I would be back and he wasn't abandoned!

I'm doing it now creatureretorts and its working !!! No crying yet...

Good luck! Hope it goes well!

My DS1 does exactly this!! He's 2.5

I'm lying on his bedroom floor waiting for him to fall asleep as I type this

We've tried just about everything. He hasn't been sick for a week or so now but that's because we've played bedtime EXACTLY as he wants to.

It's sodding ridiculous

You have my sympathy!

thank you phantom - you have mine too.
She went to sleep in 5 mins..... holds breath for the night waking. That is the tough one.....

That's a result!