The incredible shaking baby.

[ladbrokegrove]

I was feeding a baby boy this morning (not my child) and near the end of the feed his arms and hands started to shake. Not as though he was having a fit but as they would shake if his teeth were chattering with cold. I have never seen this with my dd's, or with any other child. The baby's mum says he did it last night also and she went to NHS walk in and they didn't know. Have any of you seen this or know if we should be worried?

WEIRD, no idea! I'd be really worried though, wouldn't you?

How old is he?

Can just be because they're little and their nervous system's not developed yet (not anything to worry about though). DS1's chin used to tremble when he cried when he was really tiny - could be a similar thing.

I found this somewhere on the net about seizures:

• whether or not you can stop the shaking or jerking. If an infant's arm is jerking and you can stop it by gently hold her arm, then it probably isn't a seizure. With a seizure, you would expect the jerking to continue as you held her arm.
• having movements that are bilateral (on both sides of her body), symmetric (for example, both arms do the same thing at the same time), and/or rhythmic, which may be a sign of a seizure. Keep in mind that some seizure disorders in young children can be rather subtle, like a simple head nod, lip smacking, or starting.

He's 4.5 months. When he did it I cuddled him closer but could feel him continue to do it. He's bottle fed and has ezcema (don't know if it's relevant!). His mum has made a gp appopintment for tomorrow am but I figured I'd get more info from mumsnetters than the gp.

Gosh that doesn't sound very optimistic about the medical profession.
"don't worry darling, i'm sure mumsnet will have some anecdotal evidence"

Ok they're back from the docs with a referral to see paediatrition (sp?) later today. Mum is VERY worried- think I'd be more inclined to wait and see but then it's easy for me to say as not my child!

bethron, did yr ds's arms shake like this or was it more general?

I agree with Bethron it's important to get the diagnosis as early as possible. Our dd had benign myoclonic jerks which presented as fitting. It all cleared up and there were no ill effects but it was an incredibly worrying time and took alot of tests to rule out all sorts. Hope your friend's baby has a good outcome.