3 Month Old with Low Body Temperature

My infant neice was just hospitalized with an infection that required iv antibiotics for exactly those same symptoms. Go to the Dr.!

Try dressing him a little warmer. I know it's not exactly the same thing, but when my second son was born he was two months early and had trouble with low body temp and had to wear cold weather things even through part of the summer. Where your little guy hasn't been feeling weii, I'd say try dressing him a little warmer than usual and see if that works.

Hi,
It sounds a bit low, and hopefully was just a malfunction. If you think those temps are accurate, I would advise staying calm and seeing a pediatrition. A blood pressure reading might be just the thing to put your mind at ease. As a baby, my son was often blue-tinted around the mouth and nose and suddenly cold. After ruling out circulatory problems (simple, non-invasive tests--okay, one was tricky because it involved a monitor with wires stuck to him as he slept) we were eventually told he has a mild "autonomic instability". It can be treated with meds if it becomes serious, but thank goodness, he seems to have the episodes far less frequently as he gets older (3 years now).

We avoid cold foods unless he has an extra layer of clothing on. He learned to tell us if he started to feel cold while eating, and I would remove him from his high chair and rub his arms while I held him. He stops shivering within a few minutes. If this sounds like what you are dealing with, I hope it helps to hear that it can be dealt with easily. I kept asking questions until something fit the symptoms. Babies are not normally cold, but he was my first, so it took me a few months to catch on to something being different. Good luck, and let me know what happens if you get the chance.

Hi K.,

I haven't read the other posts yet so this might be duplicate:

Thermoscan thermometers are famous for inaccurate readings, if they are not placed in the ear in just the right spot. I have two boys and learned this the hard way.

I would definitely dress the baby in layers, if it is chillier than you'd like at the daycare, or ask the daycare provider to keep your son away from the windows when they are open.

I would also double check with the pedi about his color, just to be safe.

Good luck to you!

Kristen, I know you responded back already but it does not sound to me like you brought him back to the pedi to get checked out again. Also on infants you should really use a rectal thermo not anything else! Like others have said the ear scans are not accurate at all most of the time.
Also knowing he has a heart murmur and his temp was low and he was GREY!!!! You should really bring him back to the pedi and tell him/her what happened and have them throughly check him. I would not mess around.

Hi!any thing under 97.5 and over 100.5 you should call the doctor. When my son was 2 days old we left the hospital like normal, the next day i sensed something wasnt right. So i took his temp it was 94.9. Scary. I would strongly suggest calling your pediatrition. My son had a bleed in his head that caused a temp fluxuation. I guess he couldnt regulate his own temp. I was told that the trauma of natural labor can cause this and it should dissolve, which in my sons case it did, however it caused hydrocephalus,he now has a shunt in his head to regulate the pressure of the spinal fluid. Hes normal. Sorry i dont mean to scare you this im sure could be caused by a number of things. Hope this is helpfull. Good luck

A couple of things come to mind when I read your post. First, being in an area where there is an open door or window where a child of your son's age that is dressed for the weather and perhaps even in a blanket should not significantly effect body temperature unless he is exposed for a long period of time. Secondly, unless you are taking a rectal temperature, the digital ear or axilla thermometers are really not reliably accurate. Especially with small infants. A rectal temperature is the only really accurate way to know what your baby's core temperature is. If your son was looking pale and grey and his rectal temp was more than a degree below normal, you need to consult with your doctor asap. I would, because of his very young age consult with your doc at this point anyway. difficult regulating body temperature can be a serious condition, it's worth checking out. Let your home daycare provider know about your concerns and ask her to keep your son warm, wearing a knit hat is a good idea, we humans lose 90% of our body heat through our heads, particularly infants as they rarely have a lot of hair for insulation. Hope this helps.

how do you take his temp? if it is an ear therometer it is unlikely the temp was read properly.the ear one is not the best therometer. rectallytaken is the best and accurate reading.it could also be that he was a little chilly.i would send a sweater and or warmer clothes and ask your daycare to dress him if windows are left open.

I use to work in a pediatric office. Thermoscans read notoriously low, and are not even recommended for infants since their ears are way too small for the device to work. It irks me that a daycare provider wouldn't know this. Don't use them. The gold standard for such a young child is a rectal temperature. It will be accurate every time, and it is easy to take at a diaper change. True subnormal body temps are usually not more then between a degree or two less than normal.

From the description I would say, please take him to the pediatrician and have him evaluated. Discuss the situation with the physician. My child was diagnosed with a heart murmmur(ASD)at 2 months. Also, you need to discuss this with the childcare person. I would like to think, if I was caring for someones child, especially such a little one, I would be aware of their skin tone and body temperature.

Hi K.,
My first had a heart murmer at birth, and also a pedicardiologist consult when she was a few weeks old. At that time, the specialist that saw her was the Chief of staff at Yale. His determination was that she was fine, but to follow up in 3 months anyway. They did not do an echo on her then. At her 3 month check up, they did an echo and found several VSDs and also mitral valve prolape. She ended up with open heart surgery at age 5 months.
Obviously, not every heart murmer is serious ( I have a son with one that is 'functional') but in the absence of having an echo done, you really don't know. In our case, they initially thought my baby was 'too active' to have a heart problem and even they were fooled. To be on the safe side, I strongly recommend getting that test done, just so you know for sure. It is totally uninvasive, painless, and you won't need to worry about it again.
L.

I agree with Mimi you must take him to the doctor. My youngest had a heart murmur, a VSD. His hands and feet were always cold, his heart was working to hard to fully circulate all the blood. He has since had surgery and is now toasty warm. Hopefully this is as simple as bundling him up, but plaese find out for sure!