Jim Is In Hospital - He's OK Though....

My baby boy is in the hospital tonight. His dad is staying with him so I can get some rest.

I took Jim for a sleep study at the children's hospital Friday night (last night). We wanted to check out an odd breathing pattern he was exhibiting, and to check him for sleep apnea (runs in both of our families).

They determined he does have a relatively serious breathing issue. He cannot seem to maintain a high enough blood/oxygen level while he sleeps. For your RN types, he is dropping into the mid/low 80's during deep sleep. For you non-RN types - that isn't good.

So, during the sleep study he had to be put on oxygen - 25%.

They told me to take him home after the study, and that my pediatrician would call me with further instructions, if any. The tech wasn't sure if they would order further testing, etc.

Just for the sake of being obvious - Jim is 3 wks old... He sleeps all the time! So, I figured waiting around until someone got the report was not in his best interest. I, being the proactive and protective type, called the Dr ASAP after their office opened.

My pediatrician DID NOT get a call from the sleep lab. No one was aware there was any issue with his oxygen levels.

Dr. WonderfulPed said they should not have discharged him. She called the children's hospital and got more info, then called me back and said to be back at the hosp in an hour, they were admitting him. Dr. WonderfulPed then answered all my questions and put me at some ease about what might be the issue. We were to go in for testing and observation, then we'd see where we were.

We took him back to the hospital. Admitted him. We met with the hospital's lead pediatrician. The first thing she asked is if I liked my Dr. WonderfulPed. I told her I did, and that she was very "on top of things.", the hosp Ped agreed. I figure you've found the right Ped Dr. when the hospital's Pediatrician compliments her and is impressed with her after one case.

So, she ordered a chest X-ray. It came back normal. She then had him monitored while sleeping, and reviewed the sleep study with the hospital's Pulminologist. They concluded that Jim has an immature nervous system, and so he breathes too shallow to sustain his oxygen levels (this was the"weird breathing" we were noticing). Score one for observant parents, eh?

They've put him on oxygen, and are monitoring him. Assuming this fixes the issue they will prescribe 1 month at home on oxygen during sleep.

He's staying in the hospital tonight, with Dad, and is expected to be released tomorrow assuming all goes well.

The good news, they expect he will grow out of this within the month. BONUS - he doesn't have apnea. He may develop it later in life, but he's OK for now.

For all the horribly scary and life-threatening things that could have caused this issue we are thankful that the solution so far seems to be simple. Also, after seeing all the horribly sick children in the hospital - all around us, we are thankful that the solution so far seems to be simple.

We are counting ourselves lucky so far, but not taking that luck for granted.