To be so worried

[Tripleespressoandchocolate]

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LO (7mo) has started dropping his head forward when sitting up. Just a quick down and up again as if his neck is tired. No other odd behaviours, seems totally with it when he does this. Physical and mental developments all on track as far as I'm concerned.

I'm really worried about head drop seizures, though I tell myself to get a grip regularly.

I will of course go to the GP if this continues, and I'm watching him like a hawk, but I know that this will put us in a one way track to things like EEGs and MRIs so trying to be sensible here.

A lot of people online seem to say their LO did this and grew out of it. So please, tell me if you had a similar experience

Ps I appreciate concerns but please don't tell me to go to gp or hospital ASAP as it could be very serious, unless you have personal first hand experience when it was something serious

This sounds tricky for people (like me) to gauge without seeing your kid do his tired head drop. I reckon you’d feel more reassured if you saw someone face-to-face. Your local HV drop-in clinic or local breastfeeding drop-in group will have lots of local moms who can give their opinions on how it compares to their own babies’ neck strength/behaviour. Plus, you’ll be able to observe other babies yourself and see if they act similarly. x

I would advise you to try to get a video clip of him doing it if you can so you can show the GP.

Deffo get a video. We did this with our LO when she did some weird things that looked like infantile seziures. The Dr was concerned enough to refer us, the consultant was sent the video, reviewed it and confirmed that our LO just liked doing weird things and not to worry!!! He offered an appointment but there was no need. Obviously she grew out of it and into other weird things!!!!

Get it checked for your own piece of mind but take a video because I guarantee you baby won’t do it whilst your in the surgery 😂😂

You’re not your 🙄

We recently thought DD was having infantile seizures, got it on video and showed it to the doctor. It turned out to be nothing other than a weird behaviour she does and the doctor said they saw it quite a lot. However I do think you should see a doctor, they referred DD for an EEG which didn't take long and didn't bother her at all and they could rule out seizures from that, they don't send you for an MRI. All the doctors we saw said it was good that we got her checked asap as seizures in under 1s can be very serious and affect development quite badly.

Thank you all, and ceecee- it's good to hear that the eeg isn't too invasive. One person (online) said it was awful as baby had to be confined to a bed for 24h!

24 hours! Nothing like that at all for us. We went to our local children's hospital, DD was almost 8 months at the time. We had to wake her up a bit early and not let her nap until the appointment, which was a pain. But the actual test took about 2 hours. She hated having the sensors attached to her head as she had to stay still, but that took about 20 minutes. Then I had to get her to have a nap on my lap, but there was a little bed there if you preferred to use it. They needed about 30 mins of her sleeping and then about 20 minutes of awake time where they chatted to her after and that was it. It only took so long because DD took ages to fall asleep as she was too busy looking at the paintings on the wall. The worst part was that they had to film her the whole time so that meant I got filmed as well. It was really easy and was great to have the peace of mind afterwards.

Both of mine had weeks and months of infantile seizures-type behaviour - I was so worried at the time. Completely grew out of it! Agree with the PPs saying to take a video.

I completely stressed out when my DD seemed to have an obvious tic about the same age and worried about what it might mean long term.

I videoed it and GP watched and said it seemed like nothing to worry about. It stopped and she's fine. Video it and get a doctor's opinion.

My son has a mild form of epilepsy (absence seizures) and my advice is to get a video and go to the GP.

We were referred to a neurologist and long story short, after several EEGs and scans, it’s something he will hopefully grow out of. 18 months after diagnosis they have noticeabley reduced.

Sending I know it can be so scary when you suspect something but for us once he was diagnosed so much of the anxiety went away.

Take a video. Go to your GP. But it's more than likely that they have discovered they can do it, they keep experimenting with it, and it's kind of fun! Try mirroring it back to them and see if they'll do it prompted.

Thank you again! I have a video and phoning to day for dr appt. My concern won't abate until this has been seen to, and given that potential consequences if left unchecked are serious, I'm going to deal with this now (rather than my usual wait and see approach)

Chances are it's just a thing he does and he'll grow out of it, but, in case it is infantile spasms, it's absolutely vital that you get him checked immediately, and as other posters have said, if at all possible, film him doing it so you can show the GP.

It's rare but the longer it goes on (and it's not just what you can see happening, but what's actually happening with the electrical activity in their brain that you can't see) then the damage is being done all the time and the risk of autism as a result gets higher and higher. My friend's child had exactly the same thing, which went on for a few weeks before anyone realised what it was and although he outgrew the epilepsy after a couple of years, he is autistic. www.childneurologyfoundation.org/disorders/infantile-spasms/

I know you asked that people not push you to rush to the doctor and I don't want to scare you, but please get him checked today, and ask the GP specifically about infantile spasms - don't leave it and see if he stops doing it on his own. He's more than likely one of those for whom it's just a habit or phase, but with this particular issue, time really is of the essence.

I do appreciate it, I'm sorry to hear about your friends son.

We have booked an appointment

Oh I'm really glad you've got an appointment. Hopefully it's nothing and the GP will be able to reassure you when you see them.

Thank you!

My son did exactly the same at around the same age (about 8 months). His head would suddenly drop forward and up again. He was alert and happy afterwards. I was terrified- I showed the GP a video and he was referred to a paediatric neurologist (of course by the time he went, he had pretty much stopped doing it!) He had an EEG which lasted about an hour, with him needing to go to sleep for about 20 mins which they videod. He was fine, they decided it was just a thing that he did! So definitely get him checked but just to try and reassure you that it may be nothing. I hope he gets an appointment soon.

Both of mine would do really crazy shit with their eyes. Went to the doctor. Not seizures apparently. Just fun.