My son since about 7 months old (now he is 10 months old) shakes his head..it's like he's saying no. He is having fun when he does it he smiles. He does it when he's sleepy, excited, or when he is full and doesn't want any more food or just when he feels like it. It seems like he does it alot. Sometimes he hits his head on the side of his carseat on purpose. It drives me crazy and I worry that there is something wrong with him. Has anyone ever experienced this before with a baby? Please help. Also when he gets upset and cries really hard he passes out....has anyone seen this before?
M.,
http://www.postgradmed.com/issues/2002/05_02/jennette.htm
This is a very good article about Breath holding spells, Ann was talking about it.
I.
Hi M.,
I don't know about the head shaking, but my son used to pass out occasionally when he got really upset and started crying hard. Once he got old enough to verbalize what was happening to make him so upset, he stopped doing it.
It is scary, but my pediatrician told me that it happens to alot of little ones....they go thru a phase where their emotions can run higher than they can handle. When they start crying, they simply hyperventilate and pass out. As soon as they pass out, they regain their breath. He should grow out of it.
H. (mommy to Mandy, 6 and Joey, almost 2)
I'd definitely bring it up with my ped... but I did a search and found this -- a couple of moms said it's completley normal..
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/babies/tremors.html
Good luck!
My son who is now 7 used to shake his head and actually would sit next to the wall and hit his head on it for "fun". I guess it is normal. I read somewhere at the time that this is how they develop their sense of rhythm?? He never injured himself so I really never worried about it and he obviously out grew this. If he was 7 and still doing it I would worry :)
Lots of children do the shakind the head thing. Mine is 18 months old and does it. As far as passing out- I had a friend who had a little boy that did that ever since he was 3 months old and still does it sometimes when he is mad. He will throw a fit and hold his breat until he turns blue. It may be part of throwing a tantrum and there are alot of articles on the internet about that. Good luck!
N. B.
Mom Advice-http://www.mymommycentral.com
Tantrums-http://www.mymommycentral.com/toddlertempertantrums.html
My 13 month old thinks it's hilarious and does it to get dizzy. Now that she's been walking and climbing, she spins around to get the same rush. She is my 4th child and I have daycare children that do the same thing mimicing her...completely normal. Call your Ped. if you are not comfortable, though.
My younger brother (20 some odd years ago) did the same thing. He did it up until kindergarten. He did outgrow it.
For the passing out, he's probably reached his exhaustion point and is running on fumes if he is passing out that easily. I think it's quite normal.
M. S.
Have you seen the doctor?
I would definitly talk to your pediatrician, just to be safe. You can never really tell with these things, without a physician examining them. I've seen both sides of the story. My son would roll his right eye to the center, usually when he was tired. It really freaked me out, but the doc said to just watch it over this next year to ensure it wasn't something else. However, a friend of mine's daughter was rolling her eyes when she came in contact with the sun, and she was diagnosed with a seizure disorder. TRUST ME, I'm not trying to scare you, because you likely have nothing to be scared of. I would just make an appointment with your doctor to speak with he or she about it, that is what they get paid for.
M.,
Your message could have been describing my son when he was around that age - he is now 4 and doesn't do either anymore. He did both of those things - shaking his head and crying to the point of almost passing out - although I don't think he ever actually passed out - but when he was really upset he would hold his breath and turn red and finally start breathing right before passing out. I spoke to my doctor about both things, because they both really freaked me out. Especially the head shaking thing. He would be sitting in his car seat or stroller smiling at you and then just start shaking his head back and forth just like you described, it was unsettling to watch. My doctor said that the head shaking thing was normal, that he was just discovering something new he could do, and eventually, he stopped doing it. He also said that many babies will hold their breath until they pass out when they are upset, and that this was normal. I would call your doctor and ask them about it though, so they can make sure there is nothing else involved - but with our son, they checked him out at his next regular visit, and since he was developmentally on track with everything else, they said the head shaking was normal.
I have heard about the banging heads from other moms , I think it is somewhat normal. If he gets to a point where he really hurts himself, talk to his pediatrician.
I definitely would call his pediatrician about passing out, that doesn't seem right.
M.,
I don't know anything about the shaking head issue; however, my daughter has "breath holding spells" which sound similar to your son's passing out. You may want to look online for "breath holding spells" and see what you think. My daughter has them when she gets hurt sometimes. Mostly when it happens and she is surprised that she got hurt (like when my son gets in her way and she gets knocked over). She cries and midcry stops breathing. She passes out and usually her face turns blue when this happens. It is something that the pediatrician says is involuntary and that she will grow out of by the time she is 3. They did do tests to rule out epilepsy because petite mal seizures look like the passing out situation. Online you can find charts that distinguish the two. Mostly the breath holding spells occur under the conditions you are describing, while seizures can occur without provocation and while sleeping. This may not be what your son has at all, but just something to look into.
Good luck.
A.
Next time you are in the Pedi office, mention it to your Doc, but 99.9% of the time the passing out thing is normal. My friend's nephew started at 2 DAYS old!
The head shaking is baby fun.
D.
Pedi RN
It may be nothing...but why risk it. Discuss it with a pediatrican. He may have some sensory issues that it is easier to deal with now than later.
It sounds like he might be trying to get some sensory input. Does he like deep hugs too? Was he born prematurely? Is he meeting all his gross motor milestones? You can take him to a developmental pediatrician (different than a regular pediatrician). They can let you know if there really is something to worry about.
