Answers About Infants Choking on Salivia

L.,
I suspect that what you might be dealing with is breath holding. My oldest daughter sent me screaming to the ER the first time when she was about 11 months old. She was crying and then nothing was coming out of her mouth. She passed out, eyes rolled up in her head and she went limp. After that she was breathing, but exhausted for hours. They told me in the hospital that breath holding comes on for some children when they become upset. If they start to cry but immediately stop breathing, they are not clamping their mouth shut and puffing out their cheeks like some cartoon of a spoiled baby holding their breath on purpose!

One time when it happened my father in law was nearest to her. He flipped her over and held her upside down and blew straight in her mouth. It startled her into breathing again. After that, I tried to do the same. There was almost never any warning at all. The good news is that today she is 24 and a half years old and she's healthy as a horse. These little incidents only happened once or twice per month. They always scared me. She grew out of them by the time she was 3 or so.

You still need to have him checked out and I would buy a monitor that goes off when he sleeps if he stops breathing. They make them that are not too expensive anymore.

Suzi

Many times, infants begin to teeth between 3-4 months of age. They tend to REALLY drool (or mine did)...and yes, choking and coughing also started. I would see your doctor when he/she is available--but don't panic...they can always sense that! I did stretching exercises with my little one (stretch her neck side to side) and used the bumbo seat to encourage her to turn her head...now, she sleeps on her side and drool pools on the bed, rather in her throat. Doesn't sound like anything we didn't deal with...and fyi, infants turn blue fast. Just ensure you have your aspirator with you at all times to help...he might be teething early (ours started at 3 months!)

I would say that the flat head preventer had a lot to do with it,babies can adjust their head when they are uncomfortable he may have gotten into a position that obstructed his airway from the positioner behind him causing him not to move his head.Tummy time will help your lil guy avoid getting a flat head.Just to let you know from what I have learned from other educated resources if your product doesn't come with it you don't need to buy it.There is so many additional things put out on the market geared towards safety and prevention but if your (example) carseat didn't come with a builtin bunting system or rest straps don't buy it.

He may have an underdeveloped esophagus

L.,

Just to be safe, ask your doctor to rule out apnea. My daughter had it and she was on a monitor until she was 8 months old. It could have been the flat head preventer, but only a monitor will tell you for sure. If you don't want to deal with a monitor- wires and all that-I have heard there is a mat you can buy that goes in the crib that will shake gently to stimulate the baby if they do not breathe (feel movement) for more than a minute.
Also, you might ask your doctor about acid reflux. Lots of babies have it, and it could be the reason he is gagging and coughing. There is a ph test they can do with a probe down the throat, doesn't hurt or bother the baby, but they usually need to do it over a 24 period of time. Might be worth checking out. Good luck!