Is this the startle reflex? It freaked me out.

dmsmth

Last night we got home and she was asleep in her carseat.  I picked her up, and put her down on her changing table, took her diaper off, realized it wasn't wet and lifted her legs to put it back on when she flung out her arms and legs, arched her back and her eyes got all wide open.  I pulled her forward to purp her thinking she couldn't breathe, but she never turned blue or or burped.  But she just had this panic look on her face.  She also peed on the changing table.  Not sure if it was a coincedene since it had been a while since she had peed last, which she has done before.  I don't remember if she was stiff or not like she would have been if it was a seizure, but if i was able to pull her forward and burp her with in a few seconds I would imagine that I wouldn't have been able to flop her forward.  It really freaked me out!

BarnStar

I'm gonna vote normal on this one! DD does this all.the.time but only on the changing table. But just about every time I change her diaper or clothing, she throws her arms straight out to her sides and stretches her legs out. Whenever she does it, I just look at her and say, "Sooooo big!"

I think I read somewhere that it's a reflex to the way their head is tilted back when you lay them down/pick them up. Oh, she also does this when I lift her out of the bath - that's fun when she's already slippery!

Skatcat

Yep,, sounds like the normal reflex. Nothing to be alarmed about!

AB&TB

As the resident LO seizure expert...this does sound like the moro reflex or "startle reflex".  However, when my son started his Infantile Spasms I also thought that this was just a startle reflex.  However, he did it multiple times, later I learned that this was a cluster seizure.  I looked up Infantile Spasms on you tube and saw some videos that looked exactly what my DS was doing.  Check them out if you are worried.

ncsubride

Skatcat:

Yep,, sounds like the normal reflex. Nothing to be alarmed about!

Agree

 

ncsubride

Skatcat:

Yep,, sounds like the normal reflex. Nothing to be alarmed about!

Agree

 

jnealet

Sounds like the startle reflex to me.  EC used to do it all the time, almost every time we picked her up or moved her, even in her carseat.  It's gotten better with time but we still see it every so often.

candj07

jnealet:

Sounds like the startle reflex to me.  EC used to do it all the time, almost every time we picked her up or moved her, even in her carseat.  It's gotten better with time but we still see it every so often.

agree...Ava does it all the time too