Baby got blue around the mouth in a Kozy??

[StrawberryFields]

NAK and wrestlinng a squirmy 8 month old

Hi mamas,

I took my 8 month old for a walk today. She was in a Kozy, just a regular front carry, nothing fancy. Suddenly I noticed she was all blue around the mouth! First, I thought maybe I was seeing things but I looked at all different angles, stroking her cheeks, bouncing her a bit, and finally it got to the point where I was sure of what I was seeing. The skin surrounding her mouth had an obvious bluish cast and I started to freak out a little and lifted her out. Once she was out of the sling she began to improve. Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? Of course I made an appointment with the doctor when we got home. But I just don't understand if it was a coincidence, or what. She is my 3rd child and I used the Kozy with my older two as well, but this was the first time I used it with her. Normally I use a ring sling in a hip carry but I wanted to try something different. I just don't see how it could have caused her to be low in oxygen, it wasn't too tight, she didn't seem to be struggling to breathe or anything.

Any thoughts??

[lifeguard]

I had ds in a front carry (facing out) in a stretchy wrap one time & he turned blueish. Scared the heck out of me & I never carried him like that again. That said, he has on other occassions gone blueish around his mouth. I brought it up with my dr. & she didn't seem concerned at all.

[klemomma]

I too would not think it was the Kozy, but something else. I would definitely discuss it with the dr!

[StrawberryFields]

Originally Posted by klemomma

I too would not think it was the Kozy, but something else. I would definitely discuss it with the dr!

I can't imagine why it could be the Kozy but it seems like one heck of a coincidence that she started turning blue when I put her in it and pinked back up when I pulled her out..

I don't get it though, she wasn't positioned with her chin to her chest or anything, in fact she was looking up at me so she had her head all the way back for much of the time.

[P.J.]

Definitely discuss it with the doctor, and it seems like it had to do with the carrier. But one book I have says that blue around the mouth can indicate being overstimulated.

[Super~Single~Mama]

If she was pink when you put her in, turned blue in it, and then pinked up when you took her out, I would be VERY cautious putting her in next time, and definitely no back carries.

Talk to your doctor, and go back to using your other carriers.

[hollytheteacher]

Has your baby's heart been thourougly checked out? My ds has a congential heat defect called Tetralogy of Fallot but the old name for it was "blue baby syndrome"

2/3 of all heart defects are NOT detected at birth OR by a ped. I would seriously consider asking for an ekg.

[StrawberryFields]

Thanks for the advice/stories/information... I want to reiterate that I did make a doctor appointment as soon as I got home. Just in case that was missed in my first post, since I am getting a lot of advice to talk to the doctor. This is definitely not one of those, "My baby is choking! Quick, message board, what what should I do?" posts. I do like to walk in there as informed as possible though and absorb any and all input into the situation. I did check her mouth at the time and her lips, gums and tongue were all still pink. While it seems so odd to be pink outside the carrier, turn blue in the carrier, and recover as soon as she was lifted out, at the same time I look at the Kozy and the positioning and think, how exactly does this differ from carrying her in my arms. What is different about her position or the way her weight is distributed that could have led to this happening. All pieces of the puzzle to get to the bottom of whether it was a coincidence, or the carrier, or something larger....

I feel like I m babbling now but I really do appreciate all the responses.

[lilangelmelanie]

me and both of my kids have been known to turn blue right around the mouth ever so often. it is very rare, and I've talked w/ my dr and the kids pedi and they both say it happens more than we realize. Not saying don't check everything out, just sharing a positive story of it being "nothing". and like your LO it comes on and then quickly resolves it isn't something that lingers most of the time, so while it 'could' have been linked to the carrier (again not telling you not to see the dr) it also could have just already been starting to resolve itself at the time you took her out.

[Carrruth]

Definitely keep an eye on it and see if it happens again, but positional asphyxia in a baby carrier is usually only something you have to worry about with newborns since they have little muscle control to hold/move their heads. It seems highly unlikely that the carrier should have been causing the issue unless your 8 month old has some other issue.

Could it have been a body temp issue? Both my kids have had VERY blue lips when cold, although that never happened while babywearing!

[mama2mygirl]

Originally Posted by Carrruth

Definitely keep an eye on it and see if it happens again, but positional asphyxia in a baby carrier is usually only something you have to worry about with newborns since they have little muscle control to hold/move their heads. It seems highly unlikely that the carrier should have been causing the issue unless your 8 month old has some other issue.

Could it have been a body temp issue? Both my kids have had VERY blue lips when cold, although that never happened while babywearing!

This is what I was going to say. Eight months is long past the cutting off air worry that new baby's have.
I hope everything is okay.