14 month old clenching fist and shaking. Can anyone advise?

[El13]

Hi everyone, I was hoping someone could give me some insight on what this could be.
my little boy is 14 months, he has met all of his development milestones he’s a very happy and social little boy but I have notice over the past week he will randomly freeze, clench his fists, and shake. This will only last a few seconds.
I am a first time mum and looking on google just made things worst. I have contacted my HV but I have not yet heard back.

has anyone else had experience with this?

thanks

Film it and book a GP appointment

The best thing to do is to try to video at least one episode so you can show your gp. Can you remember if anything happens before/ after these episodes? Just eaten? Just woke up? Tired? You need to see your gp.

Absolutely do what pp's have said. If he does if for a prolonged time or they get very frequent, take him straight to a and e.

Thankyou for your advice, I have contacted our GP and they’re calling me back this morning.
I haven’t noticed a particular pattern. It happened yesterday while we were shopping and he was sat in his pram having a snack.
It happened again this morning when Balamory came on.

Mine used to do this when they were excited...I had no idea it could be a medical issue!

It may well be absolutely nothing but a good chat with the GP and referral will help. If you video it then a neurologist will be able to tell very quickly whether it is anything to worry about or just him getting super excited. Even if it is epilepsy, it is often a very manageable condition and I know several adults who have it with no other problems. They all work and have normal lives but just have to take daily medication. My son had it as a child and grew out of it.

hi there, I'm so so sorry to respond to this post months later. I am just really worried about my LO. I am a first time mum and recently my son has been doing the clenching fists thing and he will shake for a bit and then stop. He even sometimes clenches teeth and pinches down on me. It's all worrying me. He has been referred to specialist but in meantime I'm so sad. Can you please tell me what they done at your son's appointment and what questions I should ask if any? So glad your son grew out of it

Hi there, I'm so sorry I now it's an old. post, but OP I just wanted to know how is your LO now??

I still do it!

Bigly times!

My child does this, we managed to get it on film and showed the GP who has referred us to epilepsy clinic at the local hospital. It was deemed non urgent though and the GP didn't seem too worried about it. It could also be something called infact shudder syndrome. Apparently lots of children go through stages of having these mini seizures and just grow out of them.

@Mumtobe202310 . Start keeping a diary of the time and duration of the shaking episodes. Also video them if you can. The doctor will probably ask lots of questions about your pregnancy and birth and family history. They might check your child's skin or eyes because epilepsy can be genetic and might be part of a genetic disease. This is not necessarily a bad thing because it can mean that the seizures are very treatable.
You may be given a diagnosis or possible diagnosis at the appointment or you might be send for more tests or both.
They will give you all the information you need at the appointment. It would be sensible to take someone else with you and possibly record the appointment so you can check things later because you might not take much in.
Message if you need any other info.
Also if they ring and tell you they have a cancellation and can see you that day while you are waiting for test results, that normally means they have found something concerning.

I wrote a post about this in 2009. I was worried sick. My daughter at 8 months old would get excited, then clench her arms and fists and shake for about 3 seconds like she was having some kind of seizure. After many worried nights searching, I found this could be bad and could be normal. The greatest relief came from my daughter's nan, who said all her kids did it. I kept on updating on Mumsnet for many years until she was about age 5, saying that my daughter was reaching milestones. Now, at age 16, she's just won awards in school for her work, and she has never had any illness, so it was a lot of worry for nothing. However, I do realise some parents have challenges. I would love my daughter no matter what, and she would be special even if it were epilepsy or autism. My point is that remembering this after so many years is that I would like to reassure people that it's perfectly normal. My name is Andy Jackson. I have a fishing picture that any parent who wants to talk about it on Facebook.