Jerky movements while falling asleep ...SO WORRIED! is it seizure???

[Carmen2]

DD2 is 5 months old. I recently noticed that she has a few jerky movements when falling asleep. It's not an everyday thing but I would say maybe 1 every 2 days and only when she's falling asleep as she's finishing up her bottle. Aside from that, everything is normal with her. Her weight gain has been pretty well. She currently weight roughly 16lbs... her birth weight was 8lbs8oz. I have been scaring myself from googling signs and symptoms of seizures... does anyone else's bub go through this??? I never had this issue with DD1...

thank you

[Eenee]

as far as I know this is usually normal- it is known as the startle reflex and usually happens whilst falling asleep. I found the following info for you

Infants are born with this primitive reflex, also called the moro reflex, that helps them adapt and adjust to situations. You will often see a newborn jump when laid on a bed, even softly, showing that their muscles and reflexes are working properly. More common is having your baby startle when you start the vacuum cleaner in the room they are in, however not wake up. This is a good sign that your babies hearing is working up to par.

There are several things that may set your babies startle reflex off. They include but are definitely not limited too:

?Running the vacuum
?A telephone ringing
?Being in car seat when it is places on the floor
?Being touched while asleep
?Other children screaming
?Loud crowds
?TV/Radio turning on/off

If you aren?t sure when your newborn is demonstrating the startle reflex, look for him to quickly extend his arms and legs, and lift his neck when asleep. This may or may not also be followed by a short cry, before he is quickly quiet and back to sleep.

Generally this reflex will be apparent at birth and will generally disappear by the time your newborn is 6 months old

But if you are still concerned mention it to your doctor. HTH

[Nelle]

That's why we wrapped our babies, because their startle reflexes would wake them up. Is there a reason you've not noticed it before? Perhaps you've recently stopped wrapping or something?

I think it's common as they fall asleep too, I've noticed my 18month old twitch a little, I guess as his nervous system relaxes...not sure the reason.

If you're really worried you can always get it checked out, see what your maternal and child health nurse thinks?

[Ellie]

I was worried about this too...but SIL is a sleep technician at the Childrens Hospital and she assurred me it's totally normal.

[Mumma2three]

Yep I panicked too. Even my almost 4 year old still does it to some degree. but my DS is a big jerker. It's funny but the Doc said to me it's because I spend too much time with him when he's falling asleep (not that he meant that badly) but sure enough, now he self settles, I hardly see it at all.
Both my DD and Ds have eye rolls, mouth twitches, leg/arm twitches, you name it! xo

[diannescruffy]

My youngest twitches slightly also in her sleep but I'm a real big twitcher. I wake up myself sometimes and DH, he thought there was something seriously wrong with me .

Regards,
Dianne