Baby appeared to stop breathing

[BumperliciousAteTooManyEggs]

I've just been having a little doze with my 9 mo DD. She was breathing quite heavily then suddenly I couldn't hear her any more, she seemed to have stopped breathing. I sat up and tried to see if her chest was moving and couldn't see that it was, but before I could do anything she seemed to choke a little then wake herself up with a cry. I stuck a dummy in her mouth (I had been holding it, as I was feeding her to sleep then going to pop it in her mouth).

The thing is she has been waking up in the night this past week crying (four times last night, when she usually sleeps though) not particularly hungry, just waking up then needing comforting to go back to sleep. I wonder if this is what has been waking her up.

Do anyone have any similar experience? Is this something I should be worried about.

my dd did this but it was much earlier on. apparently this is normal in newborns. I'll be honest i'm not sure whether it's the same for older babies. hopefully someone will come along who knows a bit more about it. must be very worrying for you.

Thanks total, bump for any other advice?

ime babies have a habit of stopping breathing for long enough for me to have a minor heart attack and then give them a small prod. At this they tend to wake up and cry and I don't know which of us to be cross with. That or they tend to start again, I go Phew! and promptly walk on the creaky floorboard and wake them anyway [dunderhead]

I'm not saying there's nothing wrong and she's absolutely fine. It could be nothing, but I can't offer you medical advice, so I would suggest you have a quick trip to the dr to put your mind at rest. I don't think it's something you should ignore completely. Sorry if that's worried you more. Keep an eye on her and see if there are other times she does this - maybe sneak into her room when she's asleep in there and see what her breathing pattern is like. Does she have a cold at the moment? Is she well at the mo?

If you're v worried call nhs direct 0845 46 47

Thanks WT, part of me is worried for her safety part of me just wants a good night's sleep! I will make an appointment with the GP though I wonder if there is anything they can do?

When my DTDs were in Special care (obv v v v different) they used to stop beathing briefly quite regularly. I thought it was a prem thing because their lungs weren't mature enough. We had to prod them to give their brain stimulation to start breahing again.

BUT then a couple of full term babies came in (although they were obviously poorly enough to be in special care) in and you could see on their monitors they were doing teh same (except they didn't need the prod to get going again). This probably wouldn't have been noticed if they weren't on monitors.

What I am trying to say is that it may be normal...but I would see a Dr for reassurance as breathing is obviously important.

Hi,

I'm sure everything is fine but I'm sure it will help reassure you to speak to your GP or get back in contact with your health visitor just to make sure.

I have no experience of this but there is infant sleep apnea which has similar symptoms and they grow out of:

kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/apnea.html

sleepdisorders.about.com/cs/sleepandchildren/a/apnea_kids.htm

Generally, it sounds scary but nothing to be worried about in most cases. But it would be worth confirming with a professional.

I have 2 friends whose DD's have both suffered from sleep apnoea (sorry, I've no idea if that's exactly the right word or spelling) They would stop breathing in their sleep, then they would automatically wake and start again. They were in no danger, but did have very disturbed sleep, which in one of them, who wasn't diagnosed until she was 6, led to her generally not thriving. (she was very under weight, lethargic etc)

She had her adenoids out as soon as she got the diagnosis and the difference in her was amazing, within a couple of weeks. The other one has also recently had the same op. I obv. don't know if this is your DD's problem, but IME it is not unusual.

Be reassured that she's not in any immediate danger, apparently the brain automatically wakes them so they start breathing again, but get her to the docs and have her checked out.

my ds did this too! Use to scare the hell out of me. Ring nhs direct or can you see a gp today?

Thats odd, i knew newborns could do that but i'm not sure about older babies either, did you find anything out?

I woke during the night recently and noticed DS2 wasn't breathing (10mo), he was perfectly still, I watched carefully but he was definitely not breathing. I put my hand on his back and gave him a shoogle (technical term) he just gave a big sigh and started breathing again.
so freaky.
not sure why i woke in the first place though.

no idea bump

my DS2 used to stop breathing / held his breath for long enough for me to run downstairs, shove baby at DH, scream a bit and then he'd take a big breath... turns out he has asthma. they gave in and diagnosed it at 13mo - usually they won't til a child is two yrs old. he had done this breath-holding thing and had a wheeze from birth, don't know if that's relevant? Just another angle to add to your list.
Thing is, if you're worried, which probably you are, even just a little bit, see the GP. They would rather see over-cautious mums [err, like me] than risk baby's health. Get her checked out, IMO.

Ok, I am going to make an appointment with the GP next week, she woke up 3 times last night for no apparent reason and as soon as she woke up she just wanted to go back to sleep, wasn't hungry or anything, just woke up crying.

Thanks for the replies, I don't care what the GP thinks, I just need a decent night's sleep!