If it’s 3:30am and you’re googling “why is my baby gasping or sobbing in her sleep?” DO NOT PANIC. It’s probably normal.
If your baby is making a sound like she had been crying hard but she’s completely asleep, you probably don’t need to worry.
My daughter did it. Let me walk you through it.
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Toot has been doing this in her sleep since she was still in a bassinet next to my bed. I’ve freaked out many times, frantically googled, and called the nurse hotline at 2:00am.
I was ever vigilant about her breathing because I thought she would just randomly stop and that would be it. Motherhood has turned me into a constant worrier.
Turns out I had nothing to worry about, and you probably don’t either.
What happens?
It sounds like the baby is sobbing. You know that kind of sob right after she has a big crying spell but she’s 100% asleep? It sounds like that.
She gasps or kind of hiccups for about 5 to 20 minutes. It’s like a quick sharp inhale over and over.
There’s no change of color. She doesn’t turn blue. It doesn’t seem to bother her at all.
If you wake her up, she just stops like it never happened.
It just sounds scary. The technical name for this is periodic breathing.
Why does it happen?
Babies will sometimes have irregular breathing patterns because their lungs and airways are still immature and basically still learning how to function.
Periodic breathing usually happens in the deepest of sleep which is why you don’t see them doing it during naps.
It mostly happens in the middle of the night. Prime freak out time for new moms like me.
It’s in the same realm as hiccups. Just kind of annoying but fine.
My pediatrician assured me that it’s completely normal, and she’ll grow out of it. He said there’s no definitive answer to when babies grow out of it.
Toot is 15 months old and had an episode the other day. It doesn’t happen as often as it did when she was younger, though.
It was most frequent when she was about 3 to 6 months old. That’s about when she was sleeping through the night and probably sleeping more deeply.
Update: Toot is now 3 years old and has grown out of it. She only did it a couple of times when she was two.
When to worry
If your baby is turning blue around her lips or face: call 911. She’s not getting enough air, and it’s an immediate problem.
If your baby snores a lot or stops breathing for more than 20 seconds at a time, call your doctor because this may be a sign of sleep apnea.
Talk to your doctor
It’s always a good idea to let your doctor know that your baby is having periodic breathing spells while sleeping.
You can mention it at your next well-baby visit or you can call the office anytime.
Most pediatricians will want you to call with any questions or concerns. They get that you’re a new mom, and they just want to help.
Most pediatrician’s offices have after hours nurses on call. You just have to call and get transferred to the right place. It’s usually a call center.
The nurse line is great. If you don’t know what to do or if you should go to the ER or wait for the doctor’s office to open or just let your baby rest at home, they’ll help you figure it out.
If you call your local tele-nurse hotline, the call center rep will ask for symptoms and have the nurse call you back once they look over your baby’s medical chart.
Your doctor’s office or local hospital should have a number for after hours calls. It’s good idea to program it into your phone so you don’t have to look for it at 3:00am.
Have you noticed your baby sobbing or breathing weirdly at night?
Let me know in the comments below!
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Kassi Chapman says
That’s so scary! This never happened with L but good to know. Thanks for the info!
Cat says
My son is almost 2 and has done this randomly as young baby, but more recently he’s done this about once a week. Seems like a night terror because his lip curls down and gives a long squeal. He breaths so fast like he’s running. But then he stops and doesn’t make a peep the rest of the night. Probably last 2 mins. Seems like forever!
Janaye Standifer says
I’m a new mom with a 1 month old. He constantly grasp while sleeping and now it makes sense so thank you very much
San says
Check the earth ley lines in the room. By moving the bed it may help.
Sowmya says
What is earth let lines ?
Allison says
This happpened last night to my 7.5 month old. I took him out of his crib and breastfed him and he kept doing it. Held him until it subsided- 30 min. Pretty scary… hope it doesn’t happen when he’s awake.
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
It is scary! Toot is 19 months old now and still does it occasionally. I hope she grows out of it soon. Hopefully your little guy does too.
Erika Sorelle says
I have noticed this with youngest the last 6 months when she gets in bed with me in the middle of the night and goes back to sleep. She turned 3 in September. It’s been worrisome. Thank you for the post!
Charday says
Omg this post just helped me my 9mth old just did this. I thought he was gasping for air. I held him woke him up and it stopped but I really almost dialed 911. I’m so glad I found this blog…….
Kirsten says
This is exactly what is happening now with my 8.5 month old. Nursing him I’m his sleep in the middle of the night while I google what’s happening. Glad to find this post.
Lorna says
My bubba does this too. Or he’ll sleep then suddenly let out like a squeak or squeaky gasp. It gives me a heart attack in the middle of the night!!!
Allison says
Even the hiccups are part of periodic breathing? I bet this happens to a lot of infants… just some moms stay up to hear it! 😉
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Well it’s similar to hiccups in that it’s just a reflex and it doesn’t hurt them.
Allison says
Ok- I see. Thank goodness for this blog!
Cat says
My son has been doing this since he was born a year ago. Its always worried me, so I end up sitting beside his bed until he stops. Motherhood has definitely made me a very light sleeper now.
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Yes definitely! Toot is two now and she hasn’t done it for a while. I think she has finally grown out of it.
Gemma Kellam says
I am loving reading these comments because I’m sat here doing/thinking the exact same things! I’m so glad I’ve just come across this! Put my mind at ease for sure! Thankyou!
Jodi says
My child had sleep apnea was diagnosed at age 7 months. She stopped breathing 72 times in 6 hours during sleep study. She was ordered a sleep apnea monitor that goes off if her 02 dipped below 90. It went off every 12-15 minutes until she was 15 months old. She had a T&A at 15 months old. That helped with her apnea. She still snores & has bouts of apnea throughout sleep. However, she still does the “sobbing” while she’s asleep. The episodes are more frequent now. (She’s 4 now.) They have increase to 4-5 times a night they will last forever if I don’t wake her. I will be taking her for a referral to go back to the sleep apnea specialist very soon.
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Wow. Sounds like it was more than just periodic breathing. Glad you’re seeing a specialist for her. That sounds stressful as a mom!
Dani says
It really is about 330 in the morning as I’m reading this and my 10 month old just started doing this about a week ago. It’s loud enough that it wakes me through the monitor. I was really starting to scare the husband and I. I still plan on talking to his pediatrician, but atleast I have some peace of mind tonight! Thanks so much!
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
That’s how I started out! Just let your pediatrician know and I’m sure it’s fine.
Toni says
Phew ?
My boy only just 4 months old has just started doing this. But he’s been doing it for just over half an hour..
If I listen carefully I can hear him taking little “normal” breaths in between the gasps but he’s completely fine, fast asleep.
D says
Are you guys talking about that heavy sob after a bout of crying? My little one seems to continue to do that heavy sob, cries a little, and heavy sob again. He repeats this for 10-15 minutes. Seems like he’s settling and then starts again. He’s not holding his breath – it that heavy sob sigh or sniffling (sorry not if there a specific term for it).
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Yeah it sounds like that but they’re completely asleep.
Dana says
Actually googling this at 3:30am, exactly like the firsts sentence says! What a great article to find! My daughter is 14 months and this is the first time this has happened, that I’ve noticed.
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
I’ve been there! You’ll be fine!
Lois says
My son is 14 months and tonight is the first night I’ve heard him do this! His father suffers from sleep apnea so I was thinking the worst!
Mamijoy says
Well it’s not 3:30 am here, just an hour earlier though. And its exactly what i just googled after hearing my baby breathing like he just cried. This made me calm down a bit thank you
petro says
HI, my baby is 11 months, and this has never happened before but it happened last night, and then about 3 hours later the breathing monitor went off, not completely just the first beep. should i be worried?
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
I don’t know. I never had a breathing monitor. You can ask your doctor. Just give them a call.
Rebekah says
Bless you!! This has been happening with my little sweetie too! Glad to hear I’m not alone in my freak out! Our pediatrician is young and when I told her about it almost seemed like she was trying to freak me out with possibilities of sleep apnea although my daughter has no signs of that condition other than the abnormal breathing episodes. Definitely sounds like the same type of breathingthat everyone else has commented about! I’ll sleep easier tonight at least!!
Molly says
My first two did not do this, but I’m holding child #3 (8 months old) right now and he is sleep whimpering. They are all so different. Thanks for the post.
Sian says
Sat here at 02:36am with my 16 week old daughter, freaking the hell out until I read this – thank you!!
Even though she has started sleeping through the night I’ve just picked her up out of her bedside crib, woke her up & give her a feed. It has stopped now, I felt awful & couldnt let it carry on!
It was as if she’d had a huge cry before & sat gasping upset but no cry, just sleep!!
John says
Thank you all for the reassurance. Im actually the dad, my wife’s the deep sleeper in our family and I was blessed/cursed to be a light sleeper. So I kept googling and googling trying to find a match to the symptoms I was seeing. And lo and behold, I found this blog. Definitely gave me a sigh of relief. I started being frantic when I started hearing my 20 month old boy doing that after-cry breathing but I looked at him and he was completely and utterly asleep. I even woke him up then he was just his usual bubbly self then he went back to sleep and he started breathing like that again for another 10, 15 minutes. He’s ok now, back to normal but I do still plan on calling the office today just to verify. Thanks alot you guys! Now I can probably go back to sleep.
Annie says
Oh what a relief!!! I was googling all combinations of ‘strange breathing’ to try and find some answers. You don’t know how much better I feel now. This description is exactly what was just happening to my six month old baby girl. I was starting to panic a little. Google had me thinking it was infintile spasms, until I read that they usually don’t happen while asleep. I woke her up and now I have to get her back to sleep. But I am definitely grateful for your blog!
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Glad I could help!!
Katherine Ross says
E does something similar in his sleep. He’ll stop breathing for a few seconds and then he’s suddenly do a big gasp and cry out and sob (whilst still asleep) and then he’ll return to his regular breathing.
It’s deathly scary, I keep worrying he’s gonna go blue or something. I hate it so much 🙁
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
He’ll grow out of it! I’m so glad we’re past that part. Toot is 2 and a half now and I don’t think she’s done it at all for at least 8 months.
Katherine Ross says
I can’t wait! Although I don’t want to wish away the time too soon ?
Zoe says
We woke last night to our 16mth old doing the same thing. Freaked us out. She eventually woke and continued the same breathing for 5mins. And then went back to normal breathing so we put her back to bed.
Megan says
Hey Zoe! This is exactly what my little guy did last night!! I’m so glad I saw this! Have you have any other issues with this? I know this is an old thread..
Toni says
My 11mo has been doing this occasionally since he was quite young, so scary especially the first time when hubby was on night shift 🙁
I still google every time for reassurance lol
Thanks for the advice 🙂
Kelly Reed says
My daughter is 15 months old and has been doing this for the last couple months. It started as once every few weeks, but now it seems to happen a few times per week (more frequent), which is concerning me. She does seem to be sleeping deeply. The first few times, I thought she was having a bad dream, but I’ll wake her, and she’ll go back to sleep and start again. It generally doesn’t last more than an hour, on and off. Really freaks me out!
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
It is freaky! Toot just did it again the other night and she’s 2 and a half now. I thought she outgrew it but I guess not.
Levi says
Thank god i found this my son is almost 5 months he just started doing it i almost called 911
Emma Hammond says
My son is six and a half months old and has been doing this occasionally – it really panics me but your post has really helped. I’ll mention it to our GP and hopefully he’ll eventually grow out of it. I just hate listening to it and feel scared 🙁
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Toot did it last night again. She’s 2 and a half now. It does sound scary and I have to remind myself it’s just like hiccups.
Bell bells mummy says
It’s 12:51 am and here I am googling and I too, wound us here. Grateful for the blog and all the parents leaving comments. My little girl is 5 months. I noticed this recently and I thought she was dreaming. I woke her up the first time it happened but this time I let her stay asleep. I still rubbed her back and tried to calm her just to provide a subtle reminder that I’m here in case she’s dreaming. I hope she only has good dreams!
Jo says
My little girl does this, but it is usually as a result of stress through reflux illness teething or all of the above. She also holds her breath in between… scary stuff!! Seeing a specialist soon although pretty sure they won’t know what causes it. Nice to find others experiencing the same x
Mila says
01.33am here in sunny South Africa (not too sunny this time of night…). Sitting with my 6.5 month daughter, rubbing her back while she settles after a bout of this ‘sleep post-crying thing’. Third time this week! So scary. Hubby (a doctor) says it’s nothing to worry about but it’s just so frightening. Thank you for your blog & reassurance.
Jonathon says
Hi, Again thanks for this blog. Our 14mth old baby girl has started this post sob crying/ periodic breathing, for the past few months and it was a mystery. But it’s exactly as described, like hiccups but with quick sharp intakes of breath, she’s just settled and gone back to normal breathing, after a 30 min spell. Thanks again.
Gina says
We just experienced this on Saturday night. I found this at 2:00am but my brain was so worried and sleep deprived I wasn’t able to comprehend. I ended up calling the 24 nurses Line and they sent an ambulance. After waiting in the ER with a 9 month old, having chest X-rays and being examined. Ugh it was a rough one. I have an appointment on Wednesday with a pediatrician. I also took a video when I was holding her while she was doing it. As others have said, thank you for this blog post.
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
I hope your little one is fine and it’s just periodic breathing!
Juliana says
My 3 month old just woke me up doing this exact thing. This is the first time it’s ever happened. I thought it was him waking up/ starting to cry bc of hunger. But it was just a whimpering sob with short breaks in between and it continued as he slept for about 10/ 15 minutes. When I starred googling it I doubted I would find something that would even come close to describing what he was doing. So thankful to find this blog. He finally stopped once I woke him and started breast feeding. As a first time mom anything that’s different or weird can be worrisome. Thanks again!
Shahd says
I would like to thankyou from the bottom of my heart for sharing this information, this was very helpful and a relief for me. My tot had a long episode last night and his tummy was literally going up and down as if it was hiccups. He is 25 months old and it started since he was 12 weeks old. I freaked out and googled many times but never seemed to find out the right answer like the one you provided.Also I am currently outside the states and the pediatritions here doesn’t seem to be as good.
So thaaankyouuu
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
You’re so welcome. This post was the whole reason I started my blog. To share info like this.
NewBu says
Omg! I have been going through hell with this; I thought my baby boy had stertor or stridor or sleep apnea or maybe allergic rhinitis if not asthma. Ever since K was 5 months he began what looked like hyperventilating in his sleep and gasping for air shortly after or waking up with a miserable little cry. He was on ventolin nebulizer for so long and allergy meds. Now he is almost 8 months and I am fed up with the sleepless nights and worry. He had bad reflux when he was younger so I was medicating him for whatever it may be, but this blog filled me with relief and hope because it seems like nothing I thought of and my pediatrician probably didn’t consider this because we are a family plagued by asthma and allergies. Thank you so much. Sadly there is no pediatric ENT in The Bahamas.
DEL says
Finally!! these are the exact symptoms My baby girls has done from 3months old. We cosleep and she is 7months now everynow and then it happens only lasts maybe 10mins but freeeeeks me out and i google for hours. Just happened again and of course googling again thankfully led me here to clearly see it is not unusual. For piece of mind and a better sleep better i bought a little device called a snooza it was about $120 (im in Aus) it clips onto nappy and if she was to stop breathing for (15sec it will vibrate to rouse her) (20sec will set of an alarm) and has other alarms based on shallow breathing or under 10 BPM etc. Also lights that let u know in the morning if anything has happened.
Lori says
My boy will be one this month and I have been trying to figure this out since he started it at 4 months old. I guess I finally just googled the right thing! I wasn’t sure what to call it or how to describe it, but what everyone is saying is exactly what he does. I feel a lot better now, thank you!
Beth says
My daughter is 2 almost 3 and is doing this. Scares me Everytime. Do you think this is normal for a toddler?
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Toot did it a couple of times when she was two. You might mention it to your pediatrician. But I wouldn’t worry if it’s only a couple of times.
Sarah Garden says
I remember all of my children doing this. I used to sneak in and stare at their chests to make sure they were rising and falling. I totally get what you are saying when you become hypervigilant, that’s the truth! I think I finally started to relax when my kids were around 1. I have 4 kids…that’s a lot of years to be amped up.
Jamuna karki says
It happened to my baby boy when he was around 5 months since then he is having this occasionally..
He is now 17 months old.. He already had 7 episode within a year. It he does this in night it goes for whole night if he refuse to wake up.. if i am able to wake him up while doing this kind of breathing and make him wake up for some hour it goes itself..
It scares me lot when i see baby doing this.. Tired of taking him to pediartician to conclude the cause of it but no exact answer from them.. Some said its normal baby does this after crying hard.. some said because of gas problem or allergy baby doing this after crying hard.. What is the exact cause of it? Will my baby grow out of it? Does he require any medication?
Need help..
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
If it’s the same thing that my daughter had, yes they grow out of it. All of the other comments here have said their baby did it too. So it’s normal. But I don’t know if it’s the same thing. Take a video of it happening and show your doctor. If it’s periodic breathing, no medication is required and he should grow out of it by two or so. But I’m not a doctor so you should ask them about it.
Jamuna karki says
Thank u so much for your response..
A kind of relief..
I have already taken him to several reknown paediarticians everybody say its normal while showing the video and baby doing it live..
Hope he will get rid of this problem soon..
Julie says
This has been very helpful and as I read your article, my son is doing it right now and right before I finish reading, he’s already done sobbing too.
Daisy says
It’s 5am and my 6 month old started doing this. I immediately turned to google as always and found this. She did it for about 5 minutes and now is back to her normal sleep. definitely scared me though
Marie says
Thank you for posting this. My little one is almost 5 months old, and this is the second “episode” like this.
The first time it happened, it only lasted about two minutes, this time it woke me up and lasted for about 15 minutes, he is my youngest of five children and I don’t remember my other ones doing this, so I was riddled with anxiety!
Courtney says
OMG so happy to find this blog post!! My 4 1/2 month old has done this several times and we showed a video to the pediatrician who wanted us to get him checked out by a neurologist to make sure it’s not a seizure. The neurologist doesn’t think it’s a seizure but wants him to get a sleep deprived EEG done just in case! How the heck am I supposed to keep a 4 month old from sleeping more than 4-5 hours the night before an EEG?! lol wish me luck! But very reassuring to finally find a post describing EXACTLY what he was doing and know that it’s nothing to worry about! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Malak says
My 1 year old daughter who just bowled her eyes out for no reason .. went to sleep and started doing this. I naturally got worried and took a video and sent it to her doc.. turns out she will be fine.
But I agree it looks scary like your baby can’t breathe. I kept checking how often she took a breath too.. all food and she eventually but what seemed like a really long time.. stopped. Phew
Missy says
My daughter is 5 months old and does this. Is it normal for them to start crying from it as well because my daughter does?
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
My daughter never did. I would check with your pediatrician.
Manpreet says
My LO has been doing it since she was 4 months old. She completed 10 months now . She still does it.. the episodes are very random , may or may not happen every night. But every time this happens she wakes up whining and I tend to feed her back to sleep. This way the episode is never more than 5 minutes . But she does snort when I start feeding her during this, which subsides whithin a minute or two .. but I have been happy relieved that I found something relatable after 6 months of frantic googling.. thanks for documenting this!!
Bonnie says
My son just turned 5 months and this is the second time it’s happened to him. He’d be in a deep sleep when he starts the sobbing sounds, so I’ll wake him up to see if he stops but he starts crying because he can’t catch his breath and it scares him. I get so scared but try to stay calm and talk to him, then I nurse him and he falls back to sleep. It’s so scary to have that happen to your baby.
Charlene says
Our LO is 4 months and he has had 2 episodes of kicking frantically from not breathing in the middle of the night. We didn’t hear a cry, cough, or gag. His movements were so strong and “panic-like” that we heard his feet kicking the bassinet. When I got to him both times, he was trying to get a breath. So I picked him up and he was totally fine. The first time it happened, we’d set him back down and he had a hard time breathing again (congestion or saliva?) called the nurse hotline and did the typical questions. It wasn’t necessary to go to the ER. Two weeks later it happened again but we were able to set him back down flat on his back just fine. There was also a small puddle in his bassinet next to his head. I’m thinking this is choking on saliva or spit up?? Any thoughts are appreciated! In the meantime, we are monitoring and have a doctors appointment scheduled.
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
I don’t think that’s the same thing. I bet you he is choking on his spit though. That sounds more likely.
Mariam says
Thank you for this!!!
Hayley says
My 10 month old daughter did this tonight woke me up at 12:30 am I was so worried I went in and rocked her until it slowed down. She woke up when I put her down and was so happy to see me now back to sleeping regularly but I have been sick to my stomach worried! So happy to find this post and have peace of mind. My husband suffered from night terrors as a child, do we think this could be related?
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
No it’s not so much a sleep problem as a breathing issue. It’s specific to babies because their little bodies are so new to the world. I wouldn’t worry about night terrors yet. The worst my daughter has dealt with is sleepwalking when she doesn’t get enough sleep.
Samantha says
Exactly as explained. The “after cry breathing” but sleeping and didn’t cry. Started happening while she fell asleep breast feeding… they lasted a long time until I came across this article. Based on what I read I decided to wake her up. She stopped breathing like that and then when back to sleep. Thanks again!
Adam says
Thank you so much for this. My 8mo son just did this for the first time and had me worried he inherted my sleep apnea.
Sarah says
Hey! My little boy who is now 8 months has done exactly this too and it freaked me the F out to the point I went private to consult with a paeds who said it was normal but my god is it scary.
Does any of your babies sigh in their sleep? My boy has always done this and it freaks me out too because he does these big exaggerated sighs then pauses.
Taylor says
My 6 month old has been doing this for a long time, maybe since birth I can’t remember. But this week it’s happening every night. I think it is a form of sleep apnea. My girl does the same sniffling and sobbing but she will usually do a big cry/wail after about 10-15 mins of it. We bedshare so I wake up when she does it and try to feed her or pat her and sometimes I pick her up and wake her but ya my suspicion is that it’s sleep apnea which I guess is “periodic breathing” ? Just a nicer term it. Some Babies have sleep apnea apparently but they usually grow out of it by 5 years old. I would look into it further though because the gasping and sobbing etc may be “common” but it’s certainly not normal and maybe cause issues as an adult.
Cathy says
Started Googling around 1:30 am here. My one-year-old daughter just did this. Pretty sure this is the first time and I don’t remember my other 2 kids ever doing this. She did it for about 30 seconds while sound asleep and woke herself up, crying fiercely. I nursed her, which calmed her, but the weird breathing continued for 5-10 minutes. I was especially concerned since she had a low-grade fever before bed. But she doesn’t have a fever now. And she’s breathing and sleeping normally again. Googling was so frustrating because stridor kept coming up as my search result, but the description was not at all what she was doing. Thank you so much for this. I don’t understand why your blog post seems to be the only (findable) place on the internet that talks about this! Was planning to try to get her in to see the pediatrician tomorrow because of the fever. Will definitely bring it up. Thanks again! From all the comments, it is clear that you’ve calmed the nerves of countless worried parents over the years! God bless you!