Breath-holding episode in 9-month-old...

Emma Rose (who is almost 9 months old) scared the crap out of us tonight. She was fussy and wanted to be held, but I had to put her down for a moment while I checked on dinner. When I lowered her to the floor, she started to cry... And then she couldn't catch her breath, and turned blue and passed out. DH grabbed her and was holding her and shouting her name, and after what seemed like an eternity, she started to wake up. She was out for probably 15-20 seconds and was limp and blue until she started to breathe again.

We were totally freaked and took her straight to the A+M up the road, who are sending her for a blood test tomorrow, as apparently breath-holding is sometimes related to low iron levels. Putting her to bed tonight was a nightmare, as I'm terrified she'll stop breathing for some reason.

She's never done this before -- she's lost her breath when crying a couple of times, but usually I blow in her face and she catches it. That didn't work tonight. I'm still shaky, writing this and remembering how it happened.

Has anyone else had experiences with breath-holding in their baby? When did it start? Did they ever turn blue and pass out like my baby did? How did you cope with it?

Thanks for the hugs -- it really helps. I am really, really, really having to stop myself from going into her room to check on her, now that she's down for the night. We have an AngelCare monitor as well, and I turned the sensitivity level right up to 5 when I put her to bed. I have a feeling I won't sleep well tonight!

I've been reading about breath-holding episodes on the internet and the info out there doesn't tell me much except that she might start doing this several times a day, and eventually she'll grow out of it. Yeah, like that makes me feel better when my baby is blue and not breathing!!!!

Okay, calming down. Taking deep breaths. It's all going to be okay...

Well, I took Emma Rose for her blood test on Thursday. They took it from her heel, which took FOREVER. She screamed the whole time. I got faint and had to lay down by the end -- I always get woozy at blood tests, but I thought I could handle it if the blood wasn't coming out of my own body! I guess not!

We go to the doctor early next week for the iron level results, and for Em to be checked over once more to be sure that the breath-holding episode didn't have any lingering effects. I'll let you know how it all turns out... In the meantime, every time she cries, I have a mini anxiety attack, wondering if it'll happen again. I need to get a grip!

P.S. Emma, we MUST come visit you! Every time I want to, something comes up!!!! Maybe this week will be the magic week?

UPDATE: Well, I took Emma Rose to the doctor this morning for the results of her blood test. It turns out that her iron levels are on the low side -- just below normal, so not low enough to really worry about, but low enough to pay attention to. The doctor wasn't convinced that low iron levels had anything to do with the breath-holding episode so didn't recommend iron supplements or anything like that. She suggested that we try to identify possible triggers for breath-holding and minimise them... Which I've been doing anyway (meaning, I totally stress every time I put her down and she cries!). We're also supposed to get more iron into her -- fortified cereals, meat, spinach, beetroot. She'll go for another blood test in a month to see if her iron levels have increased at all, and in the meantime, we're supposed to watch her with regards to the breath-holding.

Thanks for letting me get all this off my chest and out of my head -- I feel like the world's most paranoid first-time mama at the moment! So it helps to be able to talk it through. Whew! Now I think I need a nap!!!