It's Been a Year.

A year ago today, was one of my scariest moments as a parent and I had to call 9-1-1 because Claire had fallen, passed out & wasn't breathing.

Turns out Claire has Breath Holding Spells.
Basically, this means that if she gets hurt or has a temper tantrum, she will cry & get so upset that she will (sometimes) hold her breath which causes her to pass out.
Since it first happened a year ago, we had no idea what we were dealing with.
It's not life threatening, but it sure is scary when it happens.
And, it happens about twice a month.
It happens mostly when she is overly tired.
At first, it only happened when she got hurt, but lately it has been happening when we try and discipline her or she doesn't get her way.

She will pass out for about 10-15 seconds and then she will come to.
It freaks me out every time it happens. It is so scary.
Even though I know she will start breathing again, it still rattles me.
How can it not? Seeing your child turn blue & stop breathing is scary....even if you know she will start breathing again.
I talked to our Pediatrician about it a few weeks ago because her spells had been getting more frequent.
Basically, he said there is really nothing we can do to prevent them. But, not to worry because it isn't causing brain damage and that she will start breathing after a minute (or less).
He reassured me that some kids have them 2-3 times a week (which made me feel better that we only deal with this a few times a month).
He told me to get her some vitamins that have Omega 3 & Fish Oil because that will help with the neurological part of it and will help her brain remind her to breathe and not hold her breath when she gets hurt/upset.
Yesterday, Claire had a really bad one.
It was the longest she had passed out in a few months.
And, it was Sunday...it reminded me of exactly one year ago when it first happened.
It was a bad case of deja vu.
But, after 20 seconds, she started breathing again, just like she always does.

Most kids grow out of it by age 4 or 5.
But, I told Kevin last night that I am going to start specifically praying that she out grows it immediately. I don't want to wait another year or 2 having her pass out.

Because Claire has Breath Holding Spells, it makes it really, really, really hard to discipline her because (most times) when we try to discipline her, she gets upset, cries, usually holds her breath and passes out. This has lead to us giving in to her and not disciplining her like we should because we are fearful of passing out. It is a double edged sword, because we are still going through the terrible 2's with her and she really needs to be disciplined, but yet we are so fearful of her passing out. We try and use a gentle tone with her to avoid this, but even with a gentle tone, sometimes you can't reason with her. Even though I know she will start breathing again if she passes out, it is just awful to see your child limp and not breathing, even for 10-15 seconds.

Does anyone have a child that has or had Breath Holding Spells?
I would love any input or advice on how you deal with the spells and tips you have regarding disciplining a child who has Breath Holding Spells.
This parenting stuff is hard.