4 week old has spells of arm stiffening, eye slightly shaking...?

Question

when these occur they only last a couple of seconds and she screams after they happen. They happen randomly, one or twice a week.

Tonight she had one and she screamed like i had never heard her scream before, like she was in pai after it happened... it scared the crap out of me.

Anybody else experience this with their babies or know what is going on?

Ive read about seizures and my daughters spells are only a couple seconds where as the seizures are more than a minute.

Answer 1

Is she trying to do a poo at the times these happen?

Babies do all sorts of funny movements and crying spells for various reasons (pooing/passing gas being just two of them), nad the majority of them are completely normal.

I don't think you should panic and run to hospital at this point, maybe just check with your doctor or baby nurse next time you see one of them (if they can witness one of these episodes, all the better).

Please don't let some of the other comments people have left here scare you.

Answer 2

I would make a doctors appointment immediately. Epilepsy can be diagnosed in anyone, so I'm thinking that it can happen in infants, too. My son was diagnosed when he was 5, but had been having them for about 6 months before that and we didn't know that is what it was. He would be eating breakfast, drop his head and hands (which made him drop his food). They were mere seconds and that was how his seizures showed up. He hasn't been on his meds now for almost a year, so he has (hopefully) outgrown it. In Canada one out of every 35 people are diagnosed with epilepsy a day. An EEG will determine whether they are seizures and it is painless.

Answer 3

I would def. call her dr. It sounds like she is having seizures. They can be any length of time. Her eyes can just be glazed like she has a blank stare. Usually after a seizure you feel very tired. Does she sleep along time after? The arm stiffening and eye shaking sound like seizures just not the screaming. Seizures happen more frequently in the newly born than at any other stage in life. They occur in preterm neonates (babies born earlier than 40 weeks) somewhat more frequently than in full-term babies. Babies who have seizures in the first few days after delivery tend to have more severe outcomes than those whose seizures begin later in the neonatal period.



Neonatal seizures syndrome



Seizures in newborns differ from those in later life. They are often subtle and difficult to differentiate from other normal behaviors the baby might display. Of neonates with seizures, about 22 percent will have more than one form of seizure. However, one form usually predominates.



Symptoms



Among behaviors or symptoms that may be neonatal seizures are the following :



* Repetitive sucking

* Repeated extending of the tongue

* Continuous chewing

* Continuous drooling

* Long pauses in breathing (apnea)

* Rapid eye movements

* Blinking/fluttering of eyelids

* Fixation of gaze to one side

* Body aligned to one side

* Pedaling/stepping movements of legs

* Paddling/rowing movements of arms

* Rapid muscle jerks

Answer 4

As someone who has worked closely with CFS and kids who come from bad situations - i've seen very similar symptoms in children suffering from withdrawal. Is it possible that you drank a lot of caffeinated beverages while pregnant? It has been reported that infants can go through caffeine withdrawal.

Answer 5

You know seizures vary in degree and in length with.. so maybe because your baby is so young that hers last less.

I would make an appt to take her to her pediatrician ASAP.

Answer 6

It still sounds like infantile seizures. They don't have to last a long time.

Answer 7

i would record her on a video camera when she does it. since they are sudden and only last seconds, i would keep one nearby. bring that to your doctor. if you cant get it on tape, just explain it. it may be nothing, but i would not necessarily rule it out because it only lasts seconds. good luck!