Bilateral Ankle Clonus 10 Week Old

[Síomha]

We’re seeing a paediatrician on Monday having been referred 3 weeks ago by our GP - who was unconcerned, he couldn’t make it happen, and I didn’t have a video of it at the time.

My beautiful littlest DD was born at 38+3. I had Covid at 12 weeks gestation and was asymptomatic (second time having it), I only knew I had Covid as I had a test ahead of cervical cerclage placement (spinal anaesthetic at 13 weeks).

She was born at 38+3 via elective section and had APGARs of 9 and 10.

I had severe hyperemesis from 5 - 18 weeks with multiple hospitalisations.

That’s the background.

Unfortunately she has bilateral ankle clonus that range in the number of beats but some can be up to 20, most often 5-10. It doesn’t always occur when you press her feet back but will occur within a half hour if you try again.

She’s as bright as a button, smiling, trying to laugh. She coos, follows everyone since early on and although I’m no expert seems to have good muscle tone. Her movement otherwise seems fine. She will hold her head up by herself and look around when held, and is okay at tummy time although not great. She’s a happy baby, only crying to communicate hunger or tiredness.

If anyone has any experience of ankle clonus after the 6 week mark - be it a good or bad outcome, I would be so grateful if you could share. Thank you.

If your appointment is that soon you are really better off not collecting a load of anecdotes (which could include worrying stories, just by chance alone) that may not be relevant to your child at all.

It would be good to hear from someone who has experienced it with their LO, while acknowledging outcomes differ. I’ve been worrying since we noticed it, so the worry ship has sailed unfortunately.
I think in these situations it’s always good to hear from those with shared experiences. If anyone has them, we would be grateful if they shared. Monday feels like a long way away.

Hi,

how did your appointment go?

DS2 was born at 37+5 and had sustained ankle clonus (up to 40 beats) on both sides. He also had high muscle tone in both legs (his legs would stiffen and cross at the ankles when you picked him up). We saw a wonderful neurologist when he was 6 weeks old. He is now nearly three years old and perfectly healthy! It was a truly dreadful period of anxiety. His clonus remained (although much less dramatic) until about the age of 18 months. There is a great thread on babycenter (called Twitchy foot = ankle clonus) which was a great support x