Shaking

Newborn baby reflexes are weird, and a lot of babies end up with some part of them shaking. The most common spots are the bottom jaw, which can shake for a few seconds when stimulated, or an arm or a leg if it is feeling a weird new sensation, it can shake for a couple of seconds as well. The more classic reflexes are the Moro or startle reflex that baby will do if they feel like they are falling in space where they will spread their arms and legs out and in quickly, often with a bit of crying afterward. This reflex dissipates when the baby gets more independently mobile and less reliant on parents to move them around everywhere. 

Another common shaking or twitching occurs as kids are falling asleep or about to wake up; they can have a shaking event occur, sometimes looking like they are reacting from a fall (thus “falling asleep”), which is fancily called a hypnagogic jerk.  Older kiddos can also have episodes of shaking if they are low on blood sugar and hungry. Also, some families have a genetic predisposition for what is called a resting tremor, when a kiddo is perfectly quiet and still their fingers or hands can shake a little bit.

For all these shaking types, we want to make sure that no seizures are occurring. So if something is shaking, I always have family touch or hold that area. If it stops shaking with this new stimulus, it is normal shaking. But if it does not stop, it can also be normal, but we would need to rule out seizures especially if the shaking occurs when a patient is not fully conscious or responsive.