Jim Sleep Study...

I thought you all might like to see my boy during his sleep study last Friday...

I think in the 1st picture he kinda looks like he's thinking, "Hey, Sweetheart, wanna make some sparks?" And no, that is NOT my belly in the picture - that's the sleep tech.
































This picture though, it really breaks my heart. He so looks like an accident victim. Seeing him like this made me want to cry, even though I knew the bandages were just to keep him from undoing his electrodes. Mama Bear wanted very much to save her little boy from this torture...




















My boy now on oxygen at home - just .25 liters per hour (a low flow). We have him setup with a cannula up his nose, an oxygen enrichment machine, and backup tanks (in case of power failure).

He is also on an apnea monitor when he's sleeping. These darned things blare false alarms constantly! Last night I think I counted 10 false alarms - could have been 15. I've been told this is about right, as these machines are very sensitive, and they are known to go off at the slightest disturbance.

Um, so a newborn moving is considered "a disturbance" to a machine especially built to monitor infants? Wow, talk about touchy machines! Oh, or maybe a BAD DESIGN BY THE MANUFACTURER!!!!!

I've been told that putting up with the false alarms is what we must do to keep our child safe. So, I'll not be getting much unbroken sleep between now and the end of the month. I'm hoping I survive it...

Oh, before I forget... Orodemniades asked about what exactly little Jim is doing when he breathes...

He is breathing very shallow and quite fast when he is asleep. It sort-of looks like he is almost hyperventilating. Also, he fills his lungs from the diaphragm first, not his chest first like the rest of us do. This leads to a short shallow breath, which means he doesn't really take in enough oxygen during each breath. This leads to his oxygen stats dropping too low.

So, the real trouble is his respiration drive is too immature, and he breathes fast and shallow. The effect is that his oxygen gets too low. The cure is supplemental oxygen and time.