Research
I’m a researcher… Big time! If I want to buy something, I take a look at all the brands available, read hundreds of reviews, compare prices, search for discounts – you name it… If we’re going on vacation – same thing, I will spend hours learning about the area, figuring out the best place to stay, the best places to eat, the best deals. It really can get to be a bit excessive… but I like to be informed – really informed. Just my personality I guess.
So knowing this, it shouldn’t surprise you that after Annika’s “episode” last week, I had to research. And research I did. I have concluded that we are likely dealing with this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breath-holding_spells This is also what her dr. felt was going on. So… good news is it is not really a super major thing and she should grow out of it. Bad news is, it still scares me to death (even more so now – after last week) when she holds her breath when she cries. We have been blowing in her face and telling her to breathe when she starts in, and it seems to be working for the most part. She actually has done this (held her breath when she cries) since she was tiny, but not to the extent she did it on Tuesday. I think as she gets older and ventures through toddlerhood, learning how to share her opinion, it is getting a bit worse.
All in all, we are completely blessed to have four healthy children. God gives us periodic obstacles and trusts us to lean on him to overcome.
C-
February 11th, 2010 at 7:46 am
I have a friend that her son passes out sometimes from crying because he holds his breath so long. It’s super SCARY! Her doctor said pretty much the same thing – he’ll grow out of it. They do the same thing you have been doing – blowing in his fact, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. I haven’t read the post from when Annika had an episode so I’m not sure if she passed out or what happened but regardless as moms anything like this sort of stuff is scary!
February 15th, 2010 at 8:59 am
My grandson, 17 months, does this too. It is so scary when it happens. He cries until his lips turn blue sometimes, sometimes afterward he goes limp and even twice he’s had a seizure…the scariest of all. He’s been checked out by the doctor and he says it’s normal and that he should outgrow it by age 4. Ugh.
Try not to worry too much, though I know how hard it is not to. I run and scoop him up every time he cries and I can tell he’s going to hold his breath. We blow in his face too, talk to him and I even clap my hands which has helped a couple of times (could just be coincidence though that he caught his breath after I clapped).
Just wanted to pipe in and let you know you weren’t alone in this