Concerned

I remember this happened to my son when he about 6 months old. We were out walking and suddenly he just started shaking. Two days later he had Roseola (sp?). I asked the Dr. about it, and I think I remember reading about it too. He had no fever and he was perfectly fine right after the shaking. The rash came and went too.

Just to let you know.....sometimes when my daughter is sleeping really hard she is a bit shaky when she wakes up. It goes away within 5 minutes or so.

Hi J.:

Well this struck a nerve with me. I don't want to scare you but you should at least be aware. Could be a seizure especially upon waking. I would keep a very watchful eye on this. My son had seizures from birth. Diagnosed at 3 weeks of age-started with sort of a frequent startle reflex and then shaking and arms and legs coming up so this post really worries me. I hope and pray it's nothing. Babies do odd things. But should it be-please email me back.

J. that use to happen to my little boy when he was first born and a couple of months to follow..He was my first anyway I was worried about that too but it is normal he is still getting his motor skills together..If he is still doing it after 6 months I would ask your peditrician. or on his next visit ask the dr but by then he will be 6 months and it should subside.

Call your doctor! It could be nothing, but if there's a problem, you'll want to get it checked. My friend's daughter had a seizure when she was 6 months old. She's ok, but they have to monitor it. I pray it's nothing, but please don't wait.

Better speak to your pediatrician. Could be a neurological issue. Was he cold? My son is an epileptic so I am hypervigilant but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Hi J.
I am sorry to hear that you had a scary moment with you little one. Most likely it is nothing but you might want to check in with your doctor and describe what you saw. Sometimes seizures can present in very unusual ways especially in children. Hope that word doesn't scare you too much and most likely that isn't it but it would be worth looking into perhaps. Best to you and your family.

Hi,
My guess is this could be "benign myoclonus of early infancy" or "infantile spasms" aka West syndrome. But it could also be a seizure. I do know children who have had this activity and they seemed to grow out of it. Definitely let your doctor know and if the spasm/jerking continues and/or associated with high fever call 911 right away.

I would have your son checked for infantile spasms. These are basically infant seizures. Most of the time infants grow out of them or some times they can turn into a seizure disorder as the child becomes older.

It is not uncommon for the child to shake or "stare into space" and then go back to being perfectly happy.

I would keep an eye on it. Take him to the pediatrician and maybe push for an EEG just to be sure.

I have experience with this because my niece had the same thing when she was younger.

It's not the end of the world so I don't want you to be afraid, but I would want to know so in the future, you and your pediatrician could keep an eye on it.

Watch also now for fever and whether or not that brings the shaking on. Bristal's infantile spasms were exacerbated by fever.

If your son does have infantile spasms there are certain things you can or cannot do when he is going through them so be sure to discuss them fully with your pediatrican.

Good luck and God Bless. Let me know how things go.

PLEASE.....PLEASE.....take him to your pediatrician!!!! Keep track of how often & how long these episodes last. I am VERY concerned that he could be having seizures & if so it could affect him if not treated. Hopefully I am wrong but it's better safe than sorry! I am raising a grandson who has a seizure disorder & I know the reprocussions can be fatal. I'm not a nut who thinks everything is related to seizures & I don't know details of your sons episodes. I do think he's worth being checked & moniter any episodes that happen so you can rule things out! Good Luck & take care!
Cherise

OK. Very concerned here. I'm a paramedic and what your describing almost sounds like seziures. Seizures are an uncontrollable "shaking" of the body, either in only one part (petite mal) or throughout the entire body (grand mal) usually followed by a postictal period (a period of altered mentation). Does your baby have a fever? Children under 6 to 8 years of age (or so) tend to have febrial sezuries (brought on by the fever). This doesn't happen so much as people get older. It could also be just new onset seizures. With out actually seeing your baby it's difficult to say. If this ever happens again call 911 immediately and let them, at the least, assess your baby, if you choose not to go to the hospital. However, a visit to the ER or DR is best just so the Dr can rule out seizures. Better to be safe than sorry. Also, just because your baby doesn't see your husband that much he should still recognise his Dad and not be "startled" by him.

I do not want to scare you, but I would definately suggest scheduling a visit with your pediatrician about this. He may have a mild case of epilepsy. I have never known a baby to shake when he was scared. I have dealt with a lot of handicapped children and it sounds to me like it may have been a seizure. Please schedule an appointment right away. I hope for all of you that it was nothing but it is better to be safe.

Hi J.,
My son did it when he was 4-6 months. It was usually when he got nervous or over excited - his nerves basically. I would definitely let your pedi know just so that its recorded somewhere but as long as he's not running a fever he's probably fine.

when my daughter was really young (up to about 6 months i'd say) she would shake for many reasons. she would shake as you described if she saw someone (or an environment) that wasn't there when she woke up until she'd see me, she would shake almost violently when she got REALLY REALLY excited, and even to this day when she goes to the bathroom (mostly pee) she has that 2-5 second whole body spasm. but the shaking did worry me, everyone i talked to said that it was normal. they'll do it with temperature change, sometimes sleeping. the dr. told me that at such a young age their little bodies are still reacting to new things, and tend to shake because of these changes...i had to assume that that included a change of environment. if it really worries you, or happens too often, just have the dr. check him to make sure it's just that, something normal, and nothing to worry about. always better to be safe then sorry. though i only asked, no tests were done on my daughter, and she's perfectly fine (a bruiser, but fine lol) gl. and congrats.

Yes!! My daughter is 19 1/2 mos old now, but when she was that age - there were a couple different instances that alarmed me. Once - she began shaking - more tremors - and then it stopped and she was fine. The other couple of times - she "shook" a bit - then became more stiff and stared off into space (which is also a sign of seizure). But, every single time this happened - it was like a little switch went off after a bit (a minute or just a little more) and then she was responding completely normally. I spoke to my pediatrician about it and he said it was nothing to worry about (of course as long as it didn't change and get worse) and to keep an eye on it for changes. She has been absolutely fine! I actually can't remember when these moments stopped and only your letter triggered the memory - I had completely forgotten - but I know she was little - around the age of your little guy. Regardless - mention it to your pediatrician, but if you aren't seeing anything more - especially no behavioral changes following - try not to worry too much until you speak to the doc. These little people do so much to make us worry!!!

Hi J.,
Congratulations on your first baby! His body (nervous system) is still getting adjusted to being outside the comforts and warmth of your body. It could very well be a reflex, but to keep your peace of mind, just get him checked out by the pediatrician. My son shook a little bit around that age. At two, though, he started having seizures, but that was due to a high fever. The seizure activity lasted intermittently for a period of 6 months, and never happened again. He's 8 now. Hopefully not, but in case they are diagnosed as seizures, have him followed up regularly by a good neurologist, and you all will be fine. Good luck.

Sorry for the delay in responding, but they told me with my now 5 year old son that when he would shake as an infant it was probably an immature nervous system, nothing to worry about. CAll your Doctor to be sure. Good Luck.

umm, it sounds like seizures... you should be telling your doctor this and not asking us!!! Shaking is more like a shiver from the cold, convulsing is an entire body shaking, and the muscles and arms and legs will become very rigid while the convulsing is happening.

get on the phone and call them, no matter what. This is your child, and nothing is more important than his heath (I know you know that)

J., I would highly recommend that you talk with your pediatrician about the shaking. It sounds to me like it could be a petit or grand mal seizure, not to scare you... but it is important that you speak with your ped. and watch for any other signs of siezures. They can be as minimal as unbreakable blank staring, eye fluttering, a hand twitching, to a full blown siezure. Please, just have him checked out to be sure. This is not something you can ignore. It could also be something completely different. When my daughter was doing "fluttering", they put her on several siezure medications, but it didn't turn out to be siezures at all - she has distonia, (along with Cerebral Palsy) which is just a lack of control of the muscles, and they sometimes "flutter". I'm wishing you the very best of luck! J. R.

My oldest son is such a deep sleeper that he has done this as well. And yes, it scared the daylights right out of me the first time I saw this. He is perfectly healthy so I attribute it to his ability to be such a deep sleeper.

I am not a sleep expert but I think there is a sleep stage that if we are awakened from can cause this. I wouldn't worry if I were you. But I would mention it to his dr. at his next well visit.

A.

J., although it is not unusual for babies to shake a little when they wake up, keep an eye on him and any other unusual behaviors and keep your doctor apprised always. It's probably nothing, but just be observant and keep track of any other symptoms he may exhibit in case it is mild seizures. N.

I would call your pediatrician and run this past him, just to be safe.

J.,
i would make a phone call to your peditrician. or since you are in the service go to the military dr. and voice your concern, better to be told by a professional that the baby is fine and document it in their medical record than to find out something may have been wrong.
please do that. i am a mother and a wife of a military husband of 24 years. i have done daycare for 11 years and have not experianced that. and i also i am a mother of two bys. 15 yrs and 22 years.
again better to hear that the baby is fine and your a great mother for listening to your instincts. and may i say what a great dad that he goes off with the baby alone.

best wishes,
kisa joy staulters

It doesn't sound like seizure activity. It may be that his nervous system was overloaded by the mall. Maybe he was too hot. I would still call your pediatrician and run it by them. This past summer my three year old did a weird thing that lasted a few seconds. We had been out in the heat too long and then went to a restaurant that was really cold. All of a sudden, at the table, she started shaking and her eyes rolled back. It passed with in seconds. I made sure she drank fluids and she fell asleep in the car. It never happened again. A real seizure would last at least 1-3 min. Babies nervous systems are still developing. It may be nothing.