4 month old stiffening

[abunoor]

Hi,

My DD is 4 months old and has had colic few days after birth. HV colic should go away on its (my elder DD also colic and she did fine after few months - difference is she was mix fed but this younger one only breast feeds does not take bottle).

Every now and then - either when she is hungry or wants to go to sleep - she could get really stiff with her hands and back.

She would pull both her hands next to her cheeks moving her head on one side, pull legs up and keep her mouth open

She won't bring her hands down or become normal until either she starts feeding, goes to sleep, or we distract her to something that would grab her attention - see attached image.

This has been happening for 3+ months which is a bit worrying for us but HV it's fine.

Appreciate if anyone can provide some information on what this could be.

I've seen babies with reflux do this so the lansoprasole/ Gavin might start to work after a while. If it's when lying down, that might be a trigger, far easier for food and acid to come back up if you aren't vertical. Have you elevated the head end of the cot to try to help the reflux stay down? Worth trying.

My son had severe reflux and displayed these kind of movement. He was originally on Ranitidine and Domperidone,he was admitted to the Brompton hospital for PH studies . It took until he was about 2 to feel better and was generally quite stressy !
He is now 24 and an amazing human being,academically successful and today’s biggest stress was Arsenal loosing the penalty shootout 😂

Are the movements like flapping or twisting?

If you can distract her and she does it only when she is laying down and she finds time to actually actively do this herself, its unlikely to be a seizure i would say a more trait of Autism

So we went to the GP and DD did those same exact movements in front of GP when she was on her back for examination.

She said because her motor milestone are progressing well (holding things, standing up, sitting up, and she did started walking by herself the next day) it most likely not cerebral palsy.

Also as she is fine in new environments, plays with other children, cousins, not fixated to something, it also doesn't seen like autism.

She said she will write to Neurology department for further guidance and asked us to upload her pictures.

Now we are awaiting to hear back from them to see where we go from here.

The fact that you can distract her from it (and have been able to since the beginning) and it appears to be deliberate now she's older (the lying down) might point to a self-stimulatory behaviour rather than any disorder. It's more common than people think and not really an issue as such. Maybe suggest this next time you see the doctor and see what they think.