Breath Holding Spells in Crib

You do not have to hold them upside down, you can just blow in their face really hard and they will take the breath..

Hi! I don't know how to make them NOT hold their breath but we always use the "angel care" monitor that detects breathing and movement in their crib... if they go 20 seconds without breathing then an alarm goes off. Usually that sounds wakes them enough to breathe but not all the way awake and the alarm goes back off. if it continues to sound then you know they arent breathing and you can go check them but until the alarm wakes you up you can get some sleep AND know that your baby is still breathing! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this monitor! (It does sound also but the motion censor is just a pad that you put under their crib mattress! Hope this helps

I had a daughter that did this. My daughter would do it randomly when she cried. Most of the time crying didn't lead to breath holding. But I knew that if she was crying one second and quiet the next I needed to get to her immediately. She would just lose her breath, mouth wide open, ready to scream and then nothing, no sound, no air. Her eyes would roll up into her head. It was very scary.

My FIL taught me to hold her upside down and blow into her mouth. As odd as that sounds, it did the trick every time.

That was 25 years ago. To this day I've never seen it again. I've watched a few hundred children in my busy 24/7 home daycare. I still check on a child the minute they get quiet just to be sure. Oh yeah, if I heard a thump like she did fall, then I'd go running if I didn't hear crying. It's the silence that's the problem, not the crying. That's true of choking too. Choking is deadly quiet. So I check the crib for choke hazzards every time I put a child in them. I check the toys for cracks and pieces that could break off every time I see or pick up the toy.

If she is holding her breathe because she is mad and then passes out I wouldn't worry too much because once she has passed out she will begin breathing again. I would try and redirect her anger however so that she doesn't have these spells. You didn't indicate why she is crying so hard, are you trying to get her to sleep in her bed by herself? or is it because you can't get there when she wants you too? Also if she is getting that upset she may not be tired enough to go to sleep. You may have to work with her nap/bedtime schedule and see what works best for the both of you. My youngest son at 8 months only needed one nap and then 9 hours of sleep at night. Good Luck!

I've had children in daycare that did this. The first one I had they labeled it "white breath holding spells". No worries...they just throw their fit, and there they went! Both their doctors had checked them out and that's all it was. So just had to watch for it to start so they wouldn't fall on anything or the one when i babysat so he wouldn't do it on stairs. They'd usually sleep for quite awhile after. The one mother I just ran into the other day, her son is 4 almost 5 now and rarely does it (every few months when he gets real mad!). They outgrow it when they can start verbalizing and find other tools when they get mad.
If she mostly does it in her crib, I wouldn't worry too much. She's contained there.

Hi L.,

I have used BebeSounds AngelCare monitor with two of my kids, and I never had to worry all the time. I did have to jump several times when the alarms went off, but I relaly like the fact that I know the baby is breathing when the monitor is on.

The monitor kit has a big square flat sensor that you put under the mattress in the middle of the crib, and it just stays there. When the monitor is on, it detects every baby's breath and then times seconds in between each one. It goes off when there certain number of seconds passed since the last breath and no new movement is detected - then the alarm goes off.

When I had my first baby I could not fall alseep first two weeks without having the monitor on in the mode that makes a clicking sound every time the baby breathes - I could only sleep hearing that sound. Sometimes I would wake up even before the monitor went off because I dodn't hear the next sound. Then after the two weeks my worries disappeared.

I still always turn the monitor on when I put my second baby in the crib (he is 9 months old), just because I like that safety net, though I turned off the clicking sound.

I like knowing that I can go by my business and go to bed and not worry about my baby in the crib behind the closed door, because the monitor will always warn me when needed.

I think there might have been a couple of false alarms, but hey, I dont' mind, better a couple of false alarms than none at all.

If you dont' have that kind of monitor I would suggest trying it, it may help you worry less and also might have you better manager your time, as you would not have to sit by the crib so much anymore. The monitor kit is about $100 (there are also other kits of the same brand that are cheaper but they don't have the movement sensor, so always check for the movement sensor).

By the way, I agree about teaching them to sleep of their own. I was more dscrict about that with my first baby - she was sleeping by herself though the night by 4 months old.
With the second one I relaxed all the rules, and it was only at about 6 months that I realized it was time to change things - he got smart and would start crying even in his sleep as soon as I was not holding him. The first time I left him in the crib at night he cried for an hour before he fell asleep. The daycare also helped a lot - they managed to have him get used to the sleeping in the crib. Now I just fed him and he was fussy so I put him into the crib and covered with his blanket and left and closed the door. He didn't like that very much and he was watching me leave, but he did not cry at all, and now he is sleeping (oh joy!). So hang in there.......

oh my-thought my daughter was the only one that did this...however she started doing this right after she was born-id be feeding her an then she would stop breathing..cant tell you how many trips we made to the er..then they finally kept her for a week in the hospital-had everyone baffled...so the dr finally sat down-fed her-watched her an she did it....medical mystery solved-its only a tantrum-they will start breathing again...let her cry-its good for lung development..good luck

My daughter started doing that at about the same age. First time she did it she came too upside down with my finger sweeping her throat. (she has a brother 15 months older who had been nearby) Our Dr said it couldn't be breath holding fits at her age so I brought her in to be looked at. At which point we found out she was. Basically, all that meant was she was strongwilled. when it isn intentional as soon as they pass out they can no longer hold their breath and begin breathing again. My advice would to firstcheck with the Dr and make sure there is nothing else going on. After that, if it is just temper I would let her go. She will wake up and be fine. My daughter is now 15 and very much alive and well. Good luck. Remember... make sure to have her checked so you can be sure. If it is physical you will need the drs advice. Good luck