6wo cries till she stops breathing

[LaMadrilena]

This has been happening for the last couple of weeks, at least once a day. She's crying for whatever reason (hunger, nappy, wind), and if we're not quick enough to deal with it, she cries so hard that she expels all the air from her lungs and stops breathing for around 3-4 seconds, and goes nearly purple. It scared the life out of us the first time. We pick her up, pat her etc, and she recovers instantly and carries on crying.

We're not intentionally leaving her to cry, these are just times when for example I'm not quick enough getting a boob out, or when we just give her a couple of minutes to see if she can settle without feeding.

Is this normal?

From my own experience, including volunteering at baby groups, yes. They feel everything utterly intensely. They have no middle gears, so yes - it's full on!

Completely normal! Can’t remember who told me this, but it was a medical professional - blow some air at their face will get them breathing again.

I'm not sure if this is advised for babies, but when DD was a toddler we used to blow in her face when she did this, just seemed to make her catch her breath.

Blow on her face. Just a little!

Thanks all. I wasn't too concerned until my MIL saw it and was really worried. She's brought up 3 children so knows a bit about babies, so I thought it might be more serious!

A couple of minutes crying for a 6 week old is too long. Don't leave her to cry like that.

Blow in her face when she does it. My dd did it all the time, but they grow out of it.

She isn't left. She's in my arms practically 24h a day. Sometimes it's hard to tell what she needs - if she's just fed 10 minutes ago, it seems logical to try other things first before putting her back on the breast. Sometimes we get it wrong. First-time parents here just trying to get to grips with everything.

Yes to the face-blowing! My friend's DS did the breath-holding thing and GP told them to do that - it works. My DD only did it a couple of times, and it worked for us too. They do grow out of it, just a phase!

@Shmithecat2

A couple of minutes crying for a 6 week old is too long. Don't leave her to cry like that.

Oh get a grip. 2 minutes?! What's your suggestion if op needs the toilet etc?

Op don't listen to this complete nonsense - my dd used to do the same, and I blew gently on her face and would stop her.

@Shmithecat2

A couple of minutes crying for a 6 week old is too long. Don't leave her to cry like that.

And this is the kind of comment that sends new mother’s into a spiral of guilt and shame. It is not possible to hold a child ALL the time. Many babies can cry for hours even when being given all the attention in the world. This is totally normal. Get to her as soon as you can (might even be 5 whole minutes while you dare to have a shower 😱😉) and she’ll be fine!

@Shmithecat2

A couple of minutes crying for a 6 week old is too long. Don't leave her to cry like that.

Back the fuck up Mavis. OP already said that it can be a matter of minutes - she doesn't need this kind of comment.

OP - the blowing in the face thing, it works, both my DC did it as small babies and they outgrew it pretty quickly

For the triggered ones above, the OP said she was leaving the baby to see if she would settle, not because she had to leave her for a shower/toilet etc. Leaving an infant to cry for no reason for minutes at a time isn't necessary at all. So no @Mamamamasaurus, I won't 'back the fuck up'

@Shmithecat2

For the triggered ones above, the OP said she was leaving the baby to see if she would settle, not because she had to leave her for a shower/toilet etc. Leaving an infant to cry for no reason for minutes at a time isn't necessary at all. So no *@Mamamamasaurus*, I won't 'back the fuck up'

"we just give her a couple of minutes to see if she can settle without feeding."

That isn't just leaving a baby crying

Your comment however, was unnecessary.

I also notice that you've only quoted me and not the other 2 posters who've called you out for your post

I '@' you when referring to 'back the fuck up' @Mamamamasaurus - you can't directly quote a message that's already been quoted, which is why I didn't quote you, or the the others - I thought I made it quite clear who I was referring to by stating 'triggered ones above', it's not hard to guess who's included in that.

'we just give her a couple of minutes to see if she can settle without feeding.'

So what are they doing, if not leaving her to cry?

As stated earlier, she is hardly ever out of my arms. If I feed her both breasts and burp her, she falls asleep in me for a few minutes but then wakes and cries, I wonder if it's something rather than hunger so try rocking, singing etc. She's still in my arms. She's not left, unless I'm on the toilet or washing my hands after changing her. We even co-sleep (safely according to guidelines), and that's going to trigger a whole new group of people...

Honestly, some people seem to come on here looking for problems. I don't normally get involved, buy it's annoying. If I was younger/more susceptible/ exhausted/ depressed, it might really affect me.