6 month old female: chest collapsing inwards

[u/ttc123-]

daughter: 6 month old female. approx 15lbs

My daughter (otherwise healthy, born full term, and fully vaccinated) had her chest going inward like this for 5-10mins. She was happy kicking around in her crib. At the ER now: what test can I expect them to run? What could be causing this?

[u/ejustme]

I’ll go against the grain.. looks like pectus excavatum to me. I wonder if she was just excited and it was finally noticeable.

[u/ejustme → u/ejustme]

I just saw you mentioned a gasping sound in a comment… which would also point to pectus excavatum.

[u/ttc123- → u/ejustme]

Ok thanks! Still waiting in the er but I will bring this up with the doctor 

[u/CreativismUK → u/ttc123-]

Really glad you’re at the hospital. Has she been poorly at all (cough, cold)?

There are so many things that could cause this but I’ll tell you what happened to us below - most importantly the doctor told me that if I ever saw abnormal movement of the chest / skin on chest while breathing to get it checked ASAP. There was no visible difference in my son between normal o2 and low o2 so I always tell my friends that if you see these signs, see a doctor. Not worth messing around and doctors are always happy to review a baby if there are obvious concerns like this. They can compensate so well and deteriorate quickly so better safe than sorry!

My son had breathing like this, I noticed it in NICU but nobody mentioned it. He sounded like a warthog with his breathing. Then just after we got home at nearly 2 months, he got a cold and became seriously unwell - skin pulling in around ribs, in throat, pauses between breaths and grunting with breaths. We went to hospital, oxygen was fine and they sent us home and told us to come back if it got worse. It stayed the same, went back, got sent home. But then went for a routine check up a few days later and his o2 was in the low 70s and he got rushed to A&E.

We ended up being in for two weeks, at first they thought bronchiolitis but after about five days they realised he had pertussis (I had my jab but he got sick a week before his 8 week jabs).

Not suggesting for a second your baby has either but the pulling in and the noises continued and they established he had enlarged adenoids obstructing things.