Toddler Randomly Vomiting in the Night

Updated on February 28, 2014
T.Q. asks from Ballston Spa, NY
11 answers

Hi there, my 2.5 year old daughter vomited in her sleep last night. I heard her happily calling for me and jumping in her crib this morning, and when I walked in her room it reeked... I quickly realized that she was covered in vomit and there was a puddle of it in her crib. She didn't seem to notice until I reacted. I figured maybe she has a bug and gave her a bath, bracing myself for the next episode. But, she seemed ok. She proceeded to ask for a waffle... ate the whole thing and is still happily playing and ate a granola bar too. I find it very strange that she never even called for me in the middle of the night- normally she would (I wake up to everything) and it certainly doesn't seem like a typical stomach bug. This same type of thing happened right befor Christmas, except she woke an called for us right before it happened. That time she was awake for several hours, seemed a bit under the weather, but never got sick again and was eating the next morning. Also, several weeks prior to that, she woke calling for us, heaved a few times and was awake for a while, but never actually vomited. Ofcourse, each time I braced myself for it being a stomach virus... and I know some mild stomach virus' may make a child vomit only once and seem ok shortly after, but usually (atleast from experience with my older 2 kids) with a virus, they do not want to eat for a while or much at all and act lathargic. Even when my 2 year old has been "sick" she has acted sick and not wanted to eat. So, I am confused.... I am not sure what this could be but don't think it is a bug.... being that this same scenario has happened other times in the past 3 months. Could it be reflux? Eating right before bed? Migraines? She has no medical problems and has never had reflux even as a baby. Has anyone else experienced this?

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N.M.

answers from Detroit on

Did she have a cold at all? Sometimes kids can vomit if too much stuff is draining down their throat, or if they just cough too hard

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B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

I'd talk to the pediatrician about it.

2 moms found this helpful
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D.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I would try keeping a food diary for her. Maybe you can narrow it down to a particular food to which she is intolerant.

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K.H.

answers from Richmond on

my toddler did the same thing, vomit in the middle of the night and then fine the next morning, turned out it was the sprinkles on her favorite cupcakes that was making her puky, no more cupcakes with sprinkles..no more puking in the middle of the night..thankfully
K. h.

1 mom found this helpful
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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

What did she eat last night?
What were the things she ate in the last half of the day?
Re-trace her eating habits from the day prior & right them down.
Then possibly put in a call to her pediatrician.
It could just be an allergic reaction to what she ate. By writing down what
she ate, you can avoid that in the future.

Edit: Also, was anything she ingested pas the "use by date" like on her
milk etc?

ღ.7.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I think it sounds like a food allergy or intolerance.
My daughter does that with milk and two of my sons do that with red dye. The red dye took us a while to figure out with my older son.
I think keeping a food diary is a good suggestion!
Good luck!

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H.G.

answers from Lancaster on

MY DD used to vomit at night a lot. When she was about 3 years old, we found out she had allergies that caused a nasal drip that would drip down the back of her throat while she slept. That untreated drip would then cause her to vomit pretty regularly. Whenever she was sick with say, a cold that caused congestion, she would vomit phlegm and then she'd feel better and sleep fine.
She also had some reflux as a baby.

DD is now 14 and when her allergies cause a drip, she gets neauseous and has to take extra meds till it clears. Worth looking into some basic allergy testing in my opinion.

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M.C.

answers from Washington DC on

I would keep a food journal. It sounds like there may be something that isn't sitting well.

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K.G.

answers from Albany on

Post nasal drip can make them feel sick and throw up and then they feel better. Does she have allergies? Getting over a cold? Sniffly? I'm bet it is nothing serious. Some people throw up more than others. My 2 year often throws up when she gets congested. Good luck!

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K.D.

answers from Dallas on

This is common I think. Both my kids have this issue at times for a couple reasons. I noticed that my daughter cannot have a big dinner and then go to bed even two hours later without possibly waking up to throw up. When we were visiting my MIL when she was 5, she actually threw up in her sleep...just rolled over and hardly noticed! She ate so fast at dinner and was exhausted and fell asleep soon after, that seemed to be the problem that time. With my son who is 3 now, he will throw up at night if he has been coughing. Maybe with yours its one of those two things?

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L.S.

answers from Greensboro on

My nephew did that at that same age and it was Reflux. I would check with the doctor.

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