Sandifer"s Syndrome

When A was about 9 weeks old Allan was changing her diaper.  I was in the living room working on something and suddenly I heard what sounded like her gasping for air and then a loud and long scream followed by crying.  Allan said she was fine and was comforting her, and when he came out he said she just looked like she got really scared and went really stiff.  He thought he just moved too fast, and it scared her.

A few days later it happened again while she was laying on the couch next to him.  I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready and still didn't see it.  We still thought she just got scared for some reason.

Then the next week A was playing on her play gym (she'd been playing for about 30 min.) and I was reading scriptures when it happened again.  I heard what sounded like her starting to gulp for air and looked over.  She was stiff as a board, bright red in the face, her eyes were HUGE, she looked terrified, and she was shaking back and forth.  It looked like she was having a seizure.

I picked her up, and she then let out the long scream and cried for a long time.  When I'd gotten her calmed down she went to sleep.  I took the opportunity to call the nurse line that Allan's work provides.  The nurse was really good and told me that since she was fine afterward it was probably okay, but if she did it again take her to an insta-care or an ER and have her looked at.  As she was telling me this A woke up from her nap and it happened again.

I called Allan and he came home from work so we could go to the doctor.  Thankfully our pediatrician accepts walk-ins, and we were able to see him that day.  We got in really quickly too.  During the appointment it happened every time we laid her down!  It was so scary, and she was so upset.  The doctor knew what it was though and reassured us a lot.

It's called Sandifer's Syndrome.  They don't really know what causes it, but they think it is the baby's reaction to pain from reflux.  It is also sometimes called silent reflux because the baby won't necessarily have a lot of spit up (A rarely spits up).  It is often mistaken for seizures.  There aren't any serious problems that stem from it, and they almost always grow out of it by the time they're 3 years old.  If it's really bad then the baby takes medicine for reflux.  Other than that it just looks really scary and is painful for the baby.

Thankfully A doesn't have it very bad, and we decided not to use the medicine.  It usually happens once a week and seems to be associated with her poop cycle.  If she's a little backed up and has to push harder she'll have an episode.

The days she has it she won't let us put her down, and we have to change her diaper and clothes while she's sitting up.  She's come to really love her bouncer.  We switched her formula to a thicker formula that is heavier, and that has seemed to help (and she's pooping once a day now too!).  We also make sure we hold her up for 30 min. after she eats, and that has seemed to help a lot too.  We're hoping she'll grow out of it quickly.