HELP: 4 month old stops breathing

[clemsterdarcy]

my dd scares me

she has had 4 episodes of crying and then suddenly seemimg winded and not being able to catch her breath

first time i thought she was choking on something and hit her back etc ... she wasnt, second and third time was on waking after a nap ... i was right in front of her and comforting her so not frustration at being left

each time she is noy breathing, swallowing and lookng at me with scared eyes to help

so far, hitting her back, blowing in her face has worked but i am terrified one day i wont be able to do anything or get to her in time

i honestly get scared she is going to die

we are both really shaken afterwards although she recovers and is smiley again far sooner thsn me

i've heard thst toddlers do hold their breath in temper but surely not an 18 week old

i am going to make a doc appt ... any advice in the meantime?

thsnks

Don't see why you should have taken a hammering about it either. Everyone knows these days how bad it is esp for newborn lungs!! Just the fact that you dislike it should be reason enough for someone not to do it around you or your child, esp child's grandmother. I have same prob with MIL. which has resulted in me not going there anymore. Very sticky.

Hi everyone

Paediatrician diagnosed reflux ... gaviscon before feeds and sit-up management etc. Says she is choking not fitting ...

I really talked through all the options ... back in 6 weeks (or sooner if I want) to see how its going.

Glad to have an answer that makes sense. Bit cross that I asked about this when she was 1 month and HV dismissed me with 'all babies vomit' ... could've been sorted 4 months ago and wee one likely to have been in pain ...

anyway ... we'll keep on truckin'!

Thanks for all your advice ladies.

Glad it was nothing serious. Know it'll be outgrown eventually.
My HV told me oral thrush was milk spots with dd1, even though I said are you sure it's milk spots and not thrush?????
Took 3 rounds of antibiotics to clear it up, by which time she had dropped off the bottom of the weight chart because her mouth was SO sore she couldn't suck properly on the breast. I had to give up bf and bottle feed as she'd only gained 1 pound in 12 weeks. No exaggeration.
Have had a loathing of HV's ever since.
I say go with your instinct, it's usually right!!

Yeah Mother knows best (even a new one).

Totally hacked off with my HV ... at 1 month she got it into her head that I wasn't feeding DD enough and told me my milk was inadequate. DD had consistently gained 2oz and never lost weight ... interesting now that she dismissed me saying 'i think she sicks a lot, sonmetimes I wonder if she has kept anything down, it's been projectile over the back of the sofa.

At that time as I said earlier she dismissed this and tried to get me to switch totally to formula (told me DD was at risk of SIDS cos small and not gaining enough) which I had to fight against and we settled on mixed feeding.

I complained about her manner at the time to my GP. I feel like writing a formal complaint about her now. She has simply been crap at her job in this case ...

What a load of bo**ks. Aaaaaaaagh. . .
I can totally sympathise. First I had the thrush thing, then I moved and had to go to HV visits on bus. Schlepped all the way there and she didn't turn up. This was tue. Got a letter on Fri saying she wouldn't be able to make it. Another one she didn't turn up for. Then her 8 month hearing check, same thing.
Got so pi**ed off I stopped going. She never called to see why.
Have a better HV withdd2, though dd1's still works there!! But am so wary now I just ask my mum or friends.
And now mum's net too!!

Am quite shocked and disturbed to hear of a HV telling you about the sids thing. Perhaps small babies are at more risk, but if she was continually gaining weight it shouldn't have been a big prob.

The medicine and sit-up management will hopefully do the trick and the reflux should settle further once solids are started at 6mths.

Do go by your own instincts though on the 'episodes'. She may indeed be choking not fitting, but what you described is all too familiar to me. Our middle son, now 7yrs, had his first RAS episode at a few days old and they continued, in varying frequency (with loads of them in the first 2/3 yrs especially), until about 2yrs ago. We believe his silent reflux was the pain trigger in the early months, but once this was under control, other pain triggers such as everyday, but unexpected, knocks and bumps took over and his episodes continued.

Hope everything turns out well.

butterfly

Thanks Butterfly ... yes ... I did grill the consultant yesterday about VAS and he didn't think she has it ... although conceded that I should remain observant and to come straight back if I still wasn't happy this is just reflux ...

like the STARS site says, there is often a mis diagnosis of VAS with Reflux ...

given that she 'zones out' independently of food and vomitting ... I am not convinced we have the full picture yet ...

it is hard tho isn't it ... I question if I am being paranoid/neurotic ... and you can see in the docs eyes that they are thinking ..."another new mum being anxious, another mum who's read something and thinks she's a physician ..."

I hate that look in the drs eyes. My dr is absolutely fantastic and has never EVER made me feel that way. So I hate when she's not there. My dd1 was poorly and would suddenly start screaming for no reason. She was 8 mths old, and very good, so this out of ordinary bhvr concerned me.
I had an inkling and took her to the dr. My usual wasn't there so took har to dif one. He told me she just had a viral infection (don't they always say that!!)
I was not convinced. I thought she had a urine infection cos she started crying when she wee'd. He assured me not. Until I took her back 2 days later, when she'd woken up from her nap absolutely burning up and physically shaking uncontrollably. After much trouble I obtained a urine sample and I was right (smug mode)
Cos she was under 1 we then had to go for kidney tests and scans etc. Was really annoying and could've been avoided if he'd listened to me instead of assuming I didn't know anything.