7 week old suddenly stiffens and cries

[Hannaaakate]

Over the past day or two my 7 week old son has on three separate occasions outstretched all limbs and made a crying sound (different though, hard to explain but I’ll try) the sound is loud, and appears to happen when he’s taking a breath almost like he’s cried himself into a state of hyperventilation however, he doesn’t always cry first it’s just the way it sounds, he also goes beetroot red etc. I panicked each time (obviously) and raced to aid him as each time he’s been on his baby gym. The first time he was crying, the baby gym was a last ditch attempt after half an hour of crying to help him calm down and for me to have a quick breather (in the same room, knowing he was safe and I was there to watch as I was become upset and stressed too making him worse as I assume he picked up on my feelings) on the other two occasions he has been happily playing, babbling away, grabbing, hitting and kicking out at the toys above on his gym when these two episodes have happened. His body flings into a starfish and it begins, he can’t seem to snap himself out of it but the instant we touch him, are directly over him (in his line of sight) or pick him up he stops. His eyes are able to follow us while it’s happening and he appears to look to the nearest person as if to say HELP ME! In sheer desperation. This has not happened at night, so far, but curious as to whether anyone has experienced anything similar.

Not sure if this is related - He is a very gassy baby, who until 2 weeks ago was on SMA and in severe pain with constant wind and violently throwing up. Now on Aptamil and while still gassy not nearly as much and appears to shift it himself, also no sickness. Tried gripe water for pain appears to help generally (only used when necessary probably once or twice per week - not before he was a month old either).

Not sure if it’s a sudden attack of colic or something a little more serious. He seems 100% fine before and after l, they last mere seconds.

**Disclaimer
I WILL BE MAKING AN URGENT APPOINTMENT MONDAY MORNING JUST TO CHECK, IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN I WILL BE TAKING HIM TO GET CHECKED INSTANTLY.

The could be infantile spasm, is an emergency NOT A ROUTINE GP APPOINTMENT I would take them to A&E. Immediately!!!!!

At the very least call 111 please, infantile spasms look mild but are incredibly dangerous and can be life threatening and cause huge damage
Please please get them seem asap

This is really bothering me - I really hope you've called someone already!

The starfish and cry has been normal for us. However DS does snap himself out of it. It could be something or nothing but do get checked out. Trust your instincts. If you think it’s not right then I would trust that.

Definitely get infantile spasms looked into. If you type UKIST into YouTube you will find videos and information on it.
It could equally be reflux but as IS is a medical emergency best to get that ruled out. Make sure you have video footage to show the HCPs and listen to your gut.

Thank you all for your comments. He has had a much better day today, no gas and ZERO symptoms as he had yesterday. Health visitor has been called, he has tests tomorrow with the GP as nothing has happened since they all seem to think it’s colic/reflux however I will be pushing for EEG testing and potentially a MRI to rule other problems out (infantile spasms etc.)

Trouble is. If it is infantile spasms he needs to start treatment tomorrow or the next day. If you have any suspicions AT ALL then you need to get him to a children's hospital that has paediatric neurology. That's the best bet to get someone who can recognise them. You may get fobbed off otherwise.
Try to get video footage if he does it again.

It's probably colic or reflux, but seeing as infantile spasms are often misdiagnosed as colic and reflux it's certainly better to err on the side of caution and speak to the GP as soon as you are able to. If it happens again, Film the episode if you can. This will help the GP to assess.

I have called and been to A&E as he is generally fit and well before and after they wouldn’t admit due to Covid being present throughout the local hospitals which are now closed unless surgery is required urgently etc, almost all services are shut unless referrals are made via GP (I had asked/begged A&E to assess but as he has t had any following the three episodes in the two days prior they will not do anything)

I think with IS the episodes tend to be really frequent, so in some ways the fact that A&E weren't wiling to assess suggests they feel the risk is low maybe?

It's so worrying when you have a tiny baby isn't it? They can't tell you what's wrong and I think ive suspected the worst at some stage with all of mine, but often all was well. I hope this is the case for you. Your GP might be able to offer you reassurance, and more time to consider whether a referral is necessary. If not they might be able to diagnose possible other issues like reflux if that is the case, which is quite treatable