Spinning an Infant

It sounds to me like she is just fine since she is not acting any differently. So many parents do stuff that they wished they hadn't. I gave my toddler a double dose of Tylenol (it was the correct size for his 5 year old sister) and it was scary. He took a nice long nap and today he is a straight A college student, but it scared me at the time.

Nope! You didn't do any damage at all! Her brain didn't "spin" as someone else suggested. She was probably just dizzy. My baby is 8 mos old and we spin her all the time. You were just being silly and playing with her.

You did not do any harm. This is in no way similar to shaking a baby. When you shake a baby their brain bounces back and forth. When you spin her,her brain goes along with her head. There is no jolt against the skull. So, please don't be frightened. If you're still anxious, call the advice nurse and ask her about it.

Gently bouncing on the knee is not dangerous, either. The brain stays with the skull. it's force that moves the brain faster than the skull that does the damage with back and forth force doing the most damage.

Tossing a baby into the air is also OK and does not result in injury unless you drop her.

Unfortunately, we seem to go from one extreme to the other. We didn't use to pay attention to shaking a baby and now we're frightened by everything that sounds like it might be similar. To really understand the whole movement thing we need to understand physics which most of us find complicated.

It might help to think about what happens to us when we move our head quickly in one direction. Spinning is moving in one direction only. So is tossing in the air. Yes, the baby comes back down but not with force. The brain stays with the skull as it moves up and then down; ie; it is not forced in the opposite direction.

Seriously, a "parenting coach" told you that you harmed your child by doing a playful, innocent act?? Crazy! Of COURSE you most likely didn't do any harm - as most everyone else has verified for you. And YES - if she shows outward signs of a problem, then by all means, get it checked out. You're the parent, you know your child best. I think your original assesment of why she reacted the way she did is correct - end of story. Now go relax & play away, mama! :)

It sounds like you startled her and made her feel dizzy. I wouldnt recommend doing it again but in the absence of any after-effects, she is probably fine. Have her checked out to put your mind at rest. Definitely have her checked if she develops any signs of having a head injury like prolonged dizzyness, vomiting, being overly sleepy, fussiness or crying from pain, focus problems, pain or difficulty holding up her head or other similar issues.

nope she prob was just startled, blow air into her face she will have the same reaction. And no you can not give a baby brain damage by spinning with, gently bouncing or raising them over your head and moving them around. The only damage you risk if you drop them while doing it, or if they throw up on you while over your head. BTDT not pretty.

I did something similar with my baby and I have been worried about that too. She's now 11 and fine but it did stick in my mind. But the behavior you are describing is the startle reflex. We lived in San Francisco when my first was a baby and when we walked to the grocery store we'd turn down a street that led to the ocean. There was always a wind that came up the street and when we turned onto that street her little arms would stick out and she'd be very rigid for a couple seconds when the wind hit her. We thought it was sort of cute.

I think what happened was a nerve reflex. If you were to have your partner or a strong friend hold your hands to your sides as you try to push against them upwards for about 1 min and then let go, then you will experience the same sensation that your 4 month old did. I guessing there was no injury to her brain as she is acting normally. Another idea is that spinning causes disorientation for a while. I am guessing this is the 1st real good spin shes been in and the 1st time can be very disorienting but the more it occurs (maybe when she a wee bit older) the less disorienting it becomes. I wish you good luck.

It's called the "startle reflex" (or moro reflex)... it's a natural thing we gradually grow out of.

Here's a brief thing about it:
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/newborn/newborn_reflexes.html

Spinning (up against your body, not held out) is generally fine. Held out is WAY too fast. But up against your body, they'll get dizzy but a person can't spin fast enough on their own feet to do more than mess with the inner ear, as long as they don't fall down. What you DON'T want to do is bounce them (shaken baby syndrome)... even the knee stuff you see lot of mums do is reeeeeeally dangerous. I almost left my DH on the spot when I caught him lofting our infant onto the bed because he thought the baby "liked it" (same problem, shaken baby syndrome).

I'm betting that it was just your baby's natural startle reflex and that she's fine. If you feel concerned (or your intuition is telling you something is wrong) call the pediatrician's office and talk to the nurse to put your mind at ease?

In fact, I read that spinning your baby can actually help them develop their sense of vestibular motion (being able to maintain focus while the world is moving), and 3-month-old babies who were regularly spun around with an adult holding them in an office chair were more likely to walk earlier. (From _What's Going On In There?_ - a book on baby brain development that I highly recommend!)

This is a natural reaction, in fact it is part of the test they use when babies are born to test their reflexes (startle reflex) called the APGAR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apgar_score .
I wouldn't recommend spinning your baby though, their necks are pretty fragile.

My instinct tells me she was just startled which is why she froze up. If her head didn't jerk violently then I doubt she has any injuries, but it can't hurt to see a doctor just in case, at least to ease your mind. They may even tell you over the phone that she's fine, that would be better than waiting and looking for signs of injury (which will be nervewracking!). She was probably really dizzy and didn't like the feeling or know what to do, its very disconcerting. I hate being dizzy myself.

If you actually think it's possible that she had a brain injury then don't ask people on a blog about it! Go to the doctor!

Having said that, I bet she's fine. You probably just scared her.

She probably put her arms out as a stabilization maneuver. You probably just scared her - and you. Get her checked out and don't beat yourself up for being a good mom.

I think you are right on track with feeling that she was just dizzy. If it still causes concern to you a call to the Doctor's office or advice nurse isn't out of the question.

Everyone seems to be trying to make the situation seem less serious, probably to decrease worry. I think it is encouraging that the doctor checked her out and she seems fine, and that her behavior since the incident seems fine too. I would, however, disagree with the consensus that seem to indicate that this is basically safe. I have been to many trainings about shaken babies and have worked with shaken babies. Spinning may be somewhat less likely to cause damage, however, any overly rapid movements can jolt the brain. It is very soft and pliable. Pressure against the skull caused by abrupt movements can damage it. People who go on high velocity rides at amusement parks have also developed blood clots & aneurysms. Not to scare anyone, but just to point out that we need to take a baby's brain very seriously. While the "startle reflex" is normal, if we over-activate it we can cause damage, so just be careful to be aware of this with future play. Many new parents are not aware of this. People also often underestimate the effects of holding children upside down and over-tickling. While these won't cause brain damage, they do share a similarity in that they are dangerous for a child's boundaries and emotions if they feel there is nothing they can do to stop it.

Probably not. Just keep an eye on her. I still have a terrible memory of spinning my 2 year old son on a swing, and all of a sudden he got too dizzy and let go and fell off. Poor little baby. But he's 20 now and fine.

chances are she is just fine! babies are meant to survive and thrive, if she was affected you would probably know by now...