Periodic breathing. Please help

[Shannonxoxo]

Hi all.
I really hope I get some reply's on here this is kind a stab in the dark for some reassurance I guess.
I have a 8 month old little girl ( second child ) she has always done this " periodic breathing" thing and did get seen my a number of gps and a paediatrician not to long ago. But despite all this I am still not sleeping at all and worrying myself silly. She goes off to sleep fine and is the happiest little girl during the daytime. But once asleep she goes through these stages of very rapid deep breaths that sometimes turn into a little cry and a little gasp.. basically her breathing is really up and down during the night and i am desperate to just hear other mums tell me this is normal. The pead said it was nothing unusual and put it down to the thing called periodic breathing but honestly right now my life is hell because of it.

No experience of it but didn't want to leave you unanswered. DS has silent breathing so I often think he's not breathing when he is.

I have three and this is normal in my experience to the extent that when my youngest started doing it as a newborn it brought back memories of my other two doing it. My youngest is current 5.5months and still does it. My 5 and 4yo don't do it any more

My son did this as a baby too, I also found it distressing and had a paediatrician check it out and was told its nothing to worry about. I monitored this for a long time and tbh my son was a terrible sleeper from birth, gets overtired easily, has sleep apnea and night terrors which started age 1, I do feel they are all related. He is now 4 years old and the periodic breathing/little cries and gasps have all stopped but been replaced with proper sleep apnea now which he is on a waiting list to have adenoids removed to help with this.

Hi! I know it's been long but my 7 month old still has what they called periodic breathing too. She is just fine through the day, has a bunch of energy, but when I put her to sleep she always ends up having these cycles where she would pause breathing for 5-6s and then take a few quick breaths. Also prior to that usually heavy breathing, very rapid and irregular.
Drs are checking this central apneas and keep saying she'll outgrow them but I'm terrified :(

@Martina2020 hi there I was wondering if the doctors got to the bottom of this as my DC who is 5.5 does the same thing and I'm worried sick

So sorry to hear that. She actually grew out of it almost completely. She's 2 now and last sleep study gave us the all clear. We never new what it was causing it, MRI was clear and the Dr just said it was developmental, she just needed more time to get over it.
Other than that she's a perfectly healthy child.
I really hope it gets better for your child to, eventually.
During the whole thing the doctor was always telling me not to worry it wouldn't affect her health, but I to was worried sick :( so I know the feeling. Sending you all the love!

@Martina2020 thanks for your reply glad to hear she grew out of it. My boy is 7 months today and still making all the weird noises sighing a lot in his sleep sobbing and being out of breadth I keep taking him to the GP they have referred him to Paed there is a long waiting list I just don't know what to do in the meantime I'm worried sick that I will find him dead one day god forbid :( how long did your referral take? Im desperate to get a sleep study done! What does it involve exactly from your experience? Thanks a bunch x

If there are significant concerns being seen by Paediatrics and/or a sleep study might be needed to reach a medical conclusion; but as with the original poster I would be concerned whether you had unaddressed health anxiety relating to your child as well?

Hi @Unseenentity I do have anxiety which is being treated but if he didn't do this weird sleep behaviour I wouldn't!

So sorry to hear that 😔 I completely get you and of course you have anxiety, how come you couldn't?! My daughter is ok but we still co sleep most of the time and I still fear having her sleep alone. It takes time to get over it, but you both will!
In our case I had to push hard to get to the specialist but then the sleep study was done right away. If not I would have gone private to try and do it as fast as possible. But I know that's not always possible either.
With regards to what to expect, it's a real pain. In our case it was only a polygraphy, so bands on the abdomen, pulse and oxygen sat on the finger and cannula on the nose. And a bunch of cables... She hated it so much, but they do still get data. We had a total of 8 studies done and the last 3 were home based. Sooo much better. I could put all the gear while she was already asleep and it makes a huge difference. So if that's an option, go for it!
I'm not going to sugar coat it, it was hard and upsetting for me, but it's just a night and it gives so much information and peace of mind.
Sorry for the long message but I hope you can get some answers soon!! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need!

Hello

I know this is an old post but I'm a new mum of a 5 week old girl and she is doing this with her breathing which really worry's me. Im Just wondering how did you got on with your little one when they were this age.

thank you for any feedback in advance x

@Newgirlmum I can honestly tell you having been through constant anxiety and worry about this that it is normal and not an issue. I drove myself insane with worry please don't do the same please enjoy your precious time with your baby. i wasted so much time worrying and obsessing but I did have full blown health anxiety over him.

Thank you so much @ scrabbledabbl. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. I'm think I have full blown anxiety too but hearing that has made me sigh a sigh of relief. So thank you so much x

@Newgirlmum you are SO welcome I know exactly how you feel and I found a lot of comfort in what other mums wrote on here so I wanted to give the same back. Health anxiety over children is hard I would suggest speaking to your health care visitor about it. But one things for sure babies are very resilient and they are still finding their way 5 weeks is young trust me you will look back over this and think god what was I worrying about a few months down the line. Happy parenting

Thank you so much @scrabbledabbl 🥰 yes health anxiety over children is definitely a thing Iv came to know over the last few weeks of becoming a new mummy. I'll definitely mention it to my health care provider . Thanks again for your advice and reassurance. sending you all my love x

So sorry to hear your going through this. I would never wish It on anyone, as you say the anxiety over baby's health is massive and any weird breathing only makes it worse.
Share your concerns with the pediatrician and advocate for yourself and your baby, keep pushing until you're heard if your gut tells you something is not right.
That being said my little one slowly outgrew it, she was regularly checked for central sleep apnea but never had an issue related to it. Main issue was and still is my anxiety over her breathing when asleep. Don't think that's ever going away, and she's 3 already 😅