diff --git a/src/commcare_cloud/ansible/roles/couchdb2/tasks/main.yml b/src/commcare_cloud/ansible/roles/couchdb2/tasks/main.yml
index fff8aa8662..7f27e4d66a 100644
--- a/src/commcare_cloud/ansible/roles/couchdb2/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/src/commcare_cloud/ansible/roles/couchdb2/tasks/main.yml
@@ -92,6 +92,10 @@
     status_code: 201, 409 # 409 means already set up (conflict)
     body: '{}'
   when: inventory_hostname == groups.couchdb2.0 and item != groups.couchdb2.0
+  register: result
+  until: not result.failed or 'Connection refused' not in result.msg
+  retries: 5
+  delay: 10
   with_items: "{{ groups.couchdb2 }}"
   tags:
     - add_couch_nodes