Was he asleep or had he stopped breathing???

[SebsMummy]

Last weekend my 10 month old baby boy was fast asleep in his pushchair. All was fine, nothing at all unusual about the day/his routine/health etc. Then I tried to wake him up. Nothing. Gave him a little poke. Nothing. Said his name and shook him a bit. Nothing. Shook him harder. Still absolutely nothing. By this point I was frantic: I started to shake him quite hard and I was shouting out loud. It took a good few seconds before he even flickered his eyes!

Everybody keeps saying, "Oh babies sleep like that sometimes." Well mine never has done and nobody has actually said, "Yes that happened to me."

I am terrified. My docotr said, "Oh just see if it happens again."

Does anybody have any advice for me? Anything would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks
Cx

It is unusual but it can happen to most babies. DD did this a couple of times - mainly when she'd had immunisations or was recovering from an illness. Basically if you catch them in very deep sleep it can take up to 30 seconds to raise them - it feels like longer, but it doesn't mean they have stopped breathing.

If your son had stopped breathing he would have been cyanised (had blue lips and pale/blue pallor).

Also I'm sure this is what you are concerned about, bear in mind the peak period for SIDS is 2-4 months and once a child can roll over the incidence plummets.

Hope that reassures you a bit

It did happen to me, or at least to dd. She was in her car seat and we couldn't rouse her. We had to stop the car and drag her out of her seat to get a response. And yes, it was terrifying. She has been fine though, and it was several years ago now.

It happened to me with DD she was just in a very very deep sleep.

Please if it happens again even though you are anxious and panicky, try pinching their finger/arm quite hard to get a reaction rather than shaking them. I also agree about the cyanosis, blue/very pale colouring around the mouth area would indicate dc had stopped breathing, rather than deep sleep.

Are there any parent first aid courses in your area(speak to HV) having some basic knowledge can be very reassuring and helpful

Thank you soooooo much. Feel a bit better now.

Very much appreciated oh Mummies out there x