x-post - trembling baby

[OTmama]

Can any of you mamas that have experience with seizures describe to me what they are like?

I posted in life with babe but didn't get much info - thought I would try here.

My 5 mo old son had an episode of trembling today as I was nursing him to sleep - it lasted about 4-5 seconds and stopped. He kept sucking right through the trembling and then just fell asleep as usual. I have a chiro appointment for tomorrow for some energy work - the chiro thinks it could be his body just throwing off extra energy, and I have a ped appointment for Tuesday next week. I can't find a lot that really sounds like what my son had today, so I thought I would post here.

Thank you!

[mamastotwo]

I don't have any personal experience but i have heard from other parents that it helps when you see doctors if you have a videotape of what they are doing since they'll usually not do it in the doctors office. Good luck!

[RedOakMomma]

Just lost a long post! Goofy computer....

Is it more like a shudder? Just as your baby is falling off to sleep? I've read about this before, and I think I've seen posts about it in the babe forum. You might want to do a search. I think it's fine.

Seizures in infants (in my experience) are one of two things: 1) rhythmic twitching--in regions or whole parts of the body or 2) a blank stare or expression that you can't jolt them out of no matter what.

Keep your mama radar on high alert, though, and don't be afraid to take the next step and get an EEG. EEGs are just about the easiest office test you can get...non-invasive, non-medicated, and short. Takes about an hour, sometimes a half hour, and you can hold/nurse your baby while it's going on. NOTHING to be afraid of or to avoid...so use the technology if you need it.

I'm sure other mamas will chime in with their own nursing-to-sleep shudder stories, though. Try to be at ease.

[OTmama]

Thank you RedOakMomma... I will ask the ped about an EEG on Tuesday. I am hoping it isn't terribly expensive - we have crappy insurance and they won't cover it.
Anyway, I do hope others still look at this post and chime in. Whether or not you get a lot of responses seems really hit or miss - probably just depends who is on line at the time!
Thanks again!

[MotherWhimsey]

could it have been a pee shiver? some kids shiver when they pee sometimes.

[OTmama]

I guess it could have been a pee thing or a shudder. Shudder fits better then shiver somehow. It was a shudder that lasted a second or two longer then a shudder might... KWIM? It was long enough for me to put my hand over his arm, be surprised, and pull away -- by the time I leaned back in and he latched back on it was over.

You know how things that take you by surprise or are horrifying on any level seem to happen in slow motion??? Like when he is hating his car seat and screams the mile and a half or so between our house and the grocery store -- and it seems like way too long until I can park the car and get him out of that seat!! It was kind of like that, so it is hard to say how long it lasted. I think though it must have been at least a few or 3 seconds.

What is the pee shiver like? I would also love to hear about other babies that shudder as they nurse to sleep.

[ShaggyDaddy]

yeah, I was gonna mention the pee shiver. Was he upset before the nursing?

Here is the thing, when men(boys) pee their blood pressure dramatically and suddenly drops. If he was upset before nursing, he could have had a double whammy of those first few calming sips of BM and the blood pressure drop from peeing.

It is hard to explain, but as a kid sometimes my pee shiver would be uncontrolable and quite dramatic (caused me to pee on a friend's shoe once in 4th grade... humiliating), it has gotten less extreme as an adult.

[RedOakMomma]

nak

found these....

quivering head while nodding off on

Did my son just have a seizure?

Baby shaking while sleeping/nursing?


sounds like this happens in lots of 5-6 month olds.

[OTmama]

Thank you ShaggyDaddy (I love when Dad's post!!) I am going to have to pay more attention to when he is peeing - shouldn't be too hard to do since he likes to be naked and scootchin' around on a blanket for periods of time during the day.

And RedOakMomma - You are the bomb!! Thank you for those links - it sounds exactly like what Elias experienced. I am going to follow through with the appointments anyway since he hasn't been to the ped in a while and I think the energy work is always beneficial for all of us.

Bless you all for your time in responding - I feel a lot better today - and know we will be okay even if this turns into something else! I asked my dh what we would do if that was the case, and he said "we will just keep on loving him and do whatever we have to do" (once in a while he says just the right thing!)

[snangel]

My youngest son has epilepsy. Sometimes, these things just happen. When you put your hand on his leg did he stop twitching? If he stopped immediately it could have just been an immature nervous system response, if not you should probably look farther into this. Seizures will not stop simply by laying a hand over the baby. Did his color change, or his muscle tone? These are all things that could be signal to trouble. I hope it's nothing.

[mamaduck]

This happened twice with my oldest son when he was an infant (2 months) and I was fairly certain it was seizure activity. I have worked with people who have seizures, and it was just -- a lot like some things I saw/experienced with clients. It went on for just too many seconds, and then he would go to sleep much more soundly than usual. I mean -- this was a kid I had to handle so carefully when I was trying to set him down, and it would normally take 4-5 tries, but after these episodes - he was *out.* Down for the count. So it was scary.

We saw a neurologist and had an EEG and everything was normal and it never happened again. The neurologist felt it was reflux related -- said that sometimes reflux babies will have seizures in reaction to the pain.

[OTmama]

Just got back from the chiro who said he didn't find anything neurological going on (he uses applied kinesiology/MMT) but did find an allergy to something I have been eating. He says the allergy bit could have been a factor, but thinks it was likely just throwing off extra energy. I will talk with the ped on Tue at our appointment and just watch him closely in the mean time.

What were your youngest sons initial episodes like? And, how often did he have the episodes?

I can't say that my son stopped shaking immediatley when I put my hand over his arm, but it was in the next instant that it was over. He is generally a good sleeper, so the fact that he went to sleep wasn't surprising. We were in a pretty dark room, so I couldn't really see his face...and frankly, the whole thing took me so much by surprise that it is hard to recall the details. If it happens again, I will try to stay very present and mentally (and later on paper) record the smallest details!

[fluttermama]

This happened to my son often as a baby and toddler particularly when he was falling asleep. I wondered about seizures but my doctor didn't seem concerned when I mentioned it. It has stopped now that he is older (3).

[snangel]

My son had his first seizure, not long after birth. At first I just kept thinking he must be cold. My dh or someone would say, look he's shivering again, so I would pick him up, to try to warm him, I thought he was just to cold.: Then the nurses saw it, and sure enough he was having seizures. They have become much more pronounced as he has gotten older. He now has partial complex, and absence seizures, he also has febrile seizures. His breathing always changes, as does his coloring. I don't know if this helps you any, feel free to ask me anything else, I will keep you and your babe in my thoughts.