Sleep training is often difficult for both baby and parents, but what makes matters even harder is if baby vomits during sleep training. I'm going to walk through the challenges behind vomit and sleep training and how to manage it.
Why does my baby throw up from crying?
Sensitive gag reflex reacts to crying
The most common suspect for why a child will vomit during sleep training is from crying intensely. Prolonged crying can also trigger their gag reflex, leading to vomiting.
Loose Sphincter Muscles can cause a child to vomit
Physiologically, if a child has a sphincter muscle that is underdeveloped or loose, vomit can more easily occur, especially when they are crying hard.
Learned Behavior can result in vomiting
Psychologically, vomiting can be a learned response. If a child throws up and realizes it results in attention or it means parents will cave to rocking/feeding/bouncing, etc. to sleep, children can use this as a means of getting their way. This learned strategy can often then be used by children in daytime power struggles.
Will My My Child Stop Vomiting from Sleep Training?
Seeing your child vomit during sleep training can create a stressful situation, but there are reasons why the actual impact on sleep training is minimal. Here's the why:
Short-lived: When a child throws up during sleep training, it is typically self-limiting to the first one or two nights. The frequency at which vomit occurs will decrease or be eliminated altogether as your child takes on new sleep skills.
Involuntary Reaction: Vomiting is the body's natural reflex to mitigating discomfort, an irritant or excess food. A child who is prone to vomit or who has a sensitive gag reflex will require extra measures to avoid an episode during sleep training.
Common Occurrence: Vomiting can be a normal part of a child's response to change and often is not limited to sleep training itself.
How to Manage Vomit During Sleep Training
Remain Calm: Be the calm you want your baby to be. A parent's reaction sets the tone for baby and they feed off of that. Calmly reassure your baby to avoid amplifying your distress.
Offer Reassurance: If your baby or toddler vomits, quickly and quietly clean them up and offer some comfort without overemphasizing the incident. This will help give your child comfort while still moving forward with your sleep training process.
Modify Sleep Training Methods: If you cannot curb the frequency your baby or toddler vomits, consider making adjustments to how you're sleep training. For example, you can shorten your wait intervals between popping in or stay in the room with your child.
Refrain From Reinforcing the Behavior: When parents focus too much on the behavior, toddlers can develop a reliance vomiting to receive attention. Respond quietly and clean up while maintaining "night mode" and avoid making it a big event.
Caution with Rehydrating: Although it is important to ensure your child is rehydrated adequately after vomiting during sleep training, avoid following up with a full milk feed. If a full feed is offered after vomiting, it may trigger a second episode. Small amounts of water are often adequate.
Be Patient: Remind yourself this is a transitional phase and often a quick process. Once your sleep training routine is well on its way, vomiting episodes will be sparse or nonexistent. .
Highlighting the reasons why babies or toddlers vomit during sleep training can help you calmly and effectively respond. In most cases, it isn't a prolonged issue if it is managed using the correct steps and parents remain patient and consistent. When your child adjusts to their new sleep routine, vomiting will come to a stop. Keep positive and make small adjustments that will encourage baby to settle more easily.
There's no true magic in sleep training, but it just takes consistency in sticking to new, healthier sleep habits. Need help from an infant sleep expert? I offer a FREE 15-minute sleep assessment to ensure my expertise can help manage your sleep troubles. Book your call here!
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