Kind of Emergency: Calling all nurses or others who know.

[Karen sn]

My son is 7 months old and has a resting in his daddy's arms heart rate of 172. I counted for a full minute.

80 to 140 is normal for babies 3 months - 2 years according to my old notecards from peds.

So - he's 32 points higher than 140.

 

So 32 points above normal doesn't sound bad when you think that it is so high already. But when I listen to his heartbeat it freaks me out.

 

The only reason I dug out my stethescope is because 5 minutes earlier he projectile vomited a volcano of breast milk. And shortly after the volcano I was cleaning us all up and he puked a little more - yellow, slightly smelly - like baby vomit...not just sweet breast milk spit up. So I wanted to hear his intestinal sounds. Which I can't hear for the heart beating so loud.

 

The yellow color I suspect is partly the store bought organic pured plum with apple.

 

My son is 7 months old.

He has had a good day in the sunny spot of our back yard, we even napped in the shade. We took a bath. He ate a little babyfood. We played charades. Then he fell asleep nursing. Woke up. Puked. And here we are.

 

Should I be worried?

 

I have to confess - I haven't been paying attention to his heart rate....I don't know if he EVER was lower than the newborn heart rate from his birth (ped notes say 100 to 175 for a newborn to 3 months).

 

Maybe he is just growing into his adult rate more slowly than others. Is this normal? Resting....NOW ASLEEP.

 

He is not running a fever and his breathing is fine.

He's a little gassy.

Lately he's been constipated - we're working on that.

He was 100% breastmilk only very recently - and now he OCCASIONALLY gets an organic formula (he was constipated before he got the bottles).

 

It's probably nothing.

Tell me if I should worry about the heart rate.

Thanks for reading this far.

 

ETA: I think you only have to really worry if they are older than five with a heart rate of 160 or more.

Edited April 13, 2009 by Karen sn

[claire up north]

I would have no idea what to think in your situation, so I would probably call the on-call pediatric nurse at the hospital. They should be able to tell you if it's something to worry about or not.

 

Go ahead...call...you'll feel better.:001_smile:

[dragons in the flower bed]

What do your instincts say? They're good. Hold him close and close your eyes and feel him.

[Cindy in the NH Woods]

When my son was a baby and in the hospital after some surgery, we were told that an increased heart rate could indicate rising pain levels. Hope your little one feels better soon!

[Mommyof4ks]

I would call in to be sure that he is ok.

 

All three of my kids have high pulse rates when they are sick, so maybe he just has some sort of bug. I would still call in though just to check if you are concerned, because it never hurts to be too cautious.

[Pink Fairy]

I'd definitely check with an advice nurse, if you have access to one. If not, I'd probably give my pediatrician a call in the morning. I'm not an expert, but if it's that much higher than the higher end of average, I'd want it checked out. :grouphug:'s to you! It always seems like these things happen on the weekends, doesn't it?!

[Tree House Academy]

Call the dr on call tonight and ask. Always better safe than sorry...and the fact that you are posting it here means that your mommy instincts have kicked in and let you know this is NOT normal for your baby. You didn't pay attention to his heartrate before...but if it had never changed, you would not have a reason to pay attention to it now either. IMO, call the doc.

[Christy B]

I'm thinking that vomiting was pretty aerobic for such a little tyke. Has his heart rate slowed down? Maybe it was just the exertion. I always feel like my heart is racing when I throw up. Also, if he's coming down with a tummy bug, doesn't fever raise your heart rate? I wonder if in a little while you'll find that he has a fever.

 

Is his heart beating harder or just faster?

 

Keep us posted!

[brehon]

but one who deals with sick kiddos in the field.

 

Usually a ht rate of 170 or so in a 7 mo old wouldn't *necessarily* get the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up (IYKWIM) if everything else seemed OK. As I'm sure you remember, these little ones can only compensate for anything by raising their heart rates (i.e. no Starling's effect yet for them).

 

The big thing you want to worry about is dehydration, especially in infants. How is his fontanelle (generally a late sign of dehydration)? How have his diaper changes been today -- wet diapers? the usual amount for him? Just one episode of vomiting? Approx how much? (i know you said projectile, can you guesstimate how much?) Is he lethargic (I mean more so than just it's past his bed time and he's tired)? You said his breathing was fine; so, no nasal flaring, retractions, or grunting?

 

It's entirely possible he's in the first stages of a virus and either is normothermic or even a little subthermic. Of course, you should definitely call a nurse line (especially to the children's hospital in your area if you're so lucky to have one) and double check with them. The above are some of the initial questions I ask parents -- my follow-up questions depend on their answers. And call his ped tomorrow for an evaluation, even if you do end up calling a nurse line/taking him to an ER tonight.

 

As I said initially, I'm not an RN/MD, I don't play one on TV, and I didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night. So, all the usual caveats apply. Good Luck with you little one! Hope everyone feels better soon!