17mo regularly not breathing for 10 seconds while asleep - sleep apnea?

[Moomma]

I know newborns have a really unpredictable breathing pattern but my DS is 17 months so should be beyond that. He's not a great sleeper. He wakes up crying every hour or so during the evening, then has an unsettled patch before midnight that can last an hour or more, and wakes up through the rest of the night a couple of times usually, for a few minutes or two hours.

I have noticed while holding him (before putting him back down) his breathing stops for up to ten seconds before he take a great gasp of air. Sometimes it wakes him up again. Sometimes he cries in his sleep afterwards. He'll take three breaths and then just stop. It is really upsetting me but I don't know whether to take him to the GP or not. I know sleep apnea is rare in children, but he does snore a lot and the waking up suggests that something disturbs his sleep. Thoughts? Anyone?

an apnoea is defined as cessation in breathing for at least ten seconds and more than 5 times per hour is abnormal. I'm no expert in children ( but work with adults with OSA), but what you describe does potentially sound like it could be ( snores, gasps etc). Of course LOs have lots of reasons for being unsettled and for night waking but I would definitely get him checked out.

DS1 has mild sleep apnoea - we first noticed it when he was around two years old. He snores really loudly and then we started noticing he was also stopping breathing for up to 10 seconds at a time. I went to the GP and asked to see a specialist (ENT). We were given a monitor for him to wear at night which records his oxygen levels (I think). The results came back as borderline so we didn't persue it. He is now five and still snores really loudly but doesn't seem to have the apnoea anymore. Perhaps your DS will just grow out of it too? But I definitely think it's worth going to your GP and asking to see an ENT specialist.

Does he have reflux? I know that reflux can cause apnoea episodes.