Breathing spasms during sleep

[Janjina]

You know how when little kids cry really hard and then they do that sobbing, can't catch their breath thing? My 7 month old daughter, Faith does that all the time, without crying. She does it mostly in her sleep but every once in a while she does it while she's awake. She started doing it at 4 months or so but then it quit and she's been doing it at every nap and all through the night for about a week. I asked the dr about it originally when she started doing it and she didn't know what it could be and told me I should video tape it when it happens. But I don't have a video camera so I couldn't and I can't afford to buy one. But then it stopped so I didn't worry about it. And now its started up again.

[windsong]

Sounds as though there is a possibilty of your daughter having reflux. does she gag and choke while feeding?...does she puke up a lot?..have a lot of chest infections?
I would suggest getting a referral to see a peadiatrician.
In the meantime I would advise raising the head end of the cot, best way to do that is by putting towels/pillow/blankets under head end of mattress, or putting a few books under legs of head end of cot and try to get her to lie on her side rather than her back.
Also don't put her to bed immediatly after having a bottle of milk...allow an hour for it to go down..

[Concerned lady]

Maybe you could borrow a friend's video camera, so your daughter's doctor could see what really happens during these breathing stopping "episodes".

There's something called "breath holding spells", that is neurological, that can happen as a result of pain & crying.

There is also "pediatric gastric reflux" that can cause choking spells (also called laryngospasms, & called vocal cord dysfunction/VCD). This can be dangerous, even life-threatening, and needs to be stopped, gently, soon, to prevent breathing from stopping.

Also, if you have a "sleep lab" near you, your daughter can be observed (watched) while she sleeps, to see what happens, in case she has any "sleep apnea".

I believe that your daughter's breathing problems need to be diagnosed, and gently treated, soon! Good luck to you. You can call the LUNG LINE nurses, Mon-Fri, 8 am to 4:30 pm (Colorado time), toll-free, at 1-800-222-LUNG(5864), to get some good advice!

Sincerely, Concerned lady
http://cantbreathesuspectvcd.com

[National Jewish]

If you think your child is actually stopping her breathing during these events, this is a problem.  You need to impress upon your doctor that this is occurring.  If this is happening as a noise, but there is no real effect on her breathing, this is probably not a problem.  Since the potential is there that this is a problem, I would discuss this further with your doctor until you are sure this is not a breathing problem.