Crying That Doesnt Seem Normal....

My daughter who is 13 now, healthy, normal and sweet (most of the time) was the same way: VERY sensitive and intense when she cried. If she bumped herself or got her feelings hurt, we would see the breath-holding and had several seconds' warning that IT was coming; then...WAAAAAAAH! It was so cute, yet heartbreaking. I honestly can't relay any medical opinion on it; I never asked or worried about it. Maybe I should have. Whatever advice you get here, I would recommend following it up with your Pediatrician. From a psychological standpoint (not that I'm an expert, just very passionate on the subject): I would really embrace this trait in her, and not try to "It's o.k., shhh, that's enough..." her, to prematurely stop her crying. I recommend, "Oh sweetie, I know it seems terrible, I hear you, Mommy's here," and let her VENT. She may just be intensely sensitive, which means she'll be intensely intuitive and empathetic - and probably highly intelligent.

J. Smithson
Loving Hands Learn 'n Play
http://www.lhlearnandplay.com

Dear M.,
As far as I know even if your daughter passes out from holding her breath her body will automatically start breathing on its own. I have heard of this several times. Even though your daughter is so young it can become a form of manipulation. Talk with your baby's doctor to rule out other problems. If dealt with correctly this too shall pass. Best wishes.
M.

M.,
My sister just had a baby who is now 3 months old. He also holds his breath before letting out a HUGE cry. His cries sound like a big kid's cry, so intense and loud, especially after his holds his breath, which is almost every time. The doctor at first said it was due to colic, but now after lots of observations and even tests, they determined that he has acid reflux and his system is super sensitive because of the pain he's experiencing. Their doctor said the holding breath shouldn't be a problem. Sometimes the poor guys even turns purple before he catches his breath. Kinda scary sometimes. Good luck with your daughter!
-T.

My oldest daughter use to do that. She was always fine and it never caused any damage. I use to let her cry her self to sleep and when I did not respond to her she would pull that cry to scare me. It worked the first few times and then I got wise to her plan. I would not worry should not be dangerous at all. If you are really concerned though ask your doctor to be safe.

My inlaws (hispanic) have a big issue with this and would always blow on the babies face and bounce her and worry and fret. I never did any of these things. I would just watch her and hold her and let her cry. They would get really concerned and upset. I would feel bad that she was so upsset/hurt. I don't know if either way is right, but babies will do that, and when they need a breath, they will breathe, and freaking out about it will not make it stop or go away. I'm not sure if it is a culture thing or not, but to this day, my husband and his family members are very frightened of this, and all babies do it, on varying degrees. Your daughter is fine and will not pass out or anything and it is not a sign of problems, though I would ask your Dr. if you are really concerned. (Though if my Dr. didn't agree with them, they would say the Dr.'s here aren't any good, lol) You will know in your gut if it is a true problem or just a scary thing your kid does. Trust your instincts and continue to read, search online, and watch programs that can assist you in being a calm, controlled, loving parent.

My daughter does the same thing when she gets extremely upset. My husband and I freaked out the first time this happened. She was about two weeks old and she turned bright red, then purple. We flicked her foot once because we thought she wouldn't stop crying to breath. She cries like that hardly ever. Hope it all works out. We ended up finding out she had GERD and that was causing her to have these wicked crying spells.

Dear M.,

I know how scary that is. Go online to www.drgreene.com, and see what they say about that. They have a very long list of subjects to help with babies. Also, there is About.com/pediatrics.

C. N.

I am totally NOT trying to scare you but my daughter did this as a baby and she went on to having "breath holding spells" when she was 1-2 years old. When something would bring on an unusually "strong" cry (such as a cry brought on by an injury like slamming a finger in a drawer, stubbing a toe really bad etc) it would cause her to pass out. It is unlikely that it will happen at this age but when your little one gets a little older you may or may not have an issue with it. The first time my daughter did this I FLIPPED (obviously). I called 911 not knowing what the heck was going on ... within about 20 seconds she had "come to" and a few minutes later she was totally fine. The EMT and my ped. said it is often seen in very "strong willed" children and it is more common than ppl realize. He told me to expect it to happen several more times as tempers flare and tantrums get worse which really freaked me out. Luckily it didn't happen more than a couple more times but I have a friend whose son would do it like once a week. It doesn't hurt them in any way, just scares the hell out of a parent!!! You can google it and find a lot of info on it. SO... just in case you experience this in the future I wanted to kind of forewarn you that it could happen and if it does try not to panic (I know - yeah right):)