Sleeping Chapel
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When Chapel was born I noticed she slept soundly...too soundly. I even cried our first night home from the hospital because I was so worried about her while she slept. Jeramie offered to move her closer to the bed but she was already a foot away. My friend Shelby had a "motion monitor" for her babes so I asked her her opinion of it. She said, if nothing else, it gave her peace of mind. That was all I needed to hear; we got one immediately. The motion monitors are rather pricey but when went there was one (only one) on sale so I felt we were meant to have it.
The monitor works by detecting motion from the baby such as breathing. If there is no motion in the bed for 20 seconds a warning beep sounds and then an alarm after 30 seconds. The monitor is meant to prevent SIDS.
When Chapel was 2 weeks old, early one morning her alarm went off. I ran to her bassinet and grabbed her up. She gasped for air and my heart skipped a beat. This happened several more times over about a month. Once I even picked up a motionless baby which is extremely scary for a mom. She was never blue as the alarm would never allow that to happen but something was terribly wrong. I strongly felt this monitor had saved my baby's life on at least 4 definate occasions.
The doctor sent me to a sleep specialist and a pulmonologist who assured her doctor that the monitors are accurate and soemthing was not right. After chest x rays, barium swallow test, an upper GI, and an over night sleep study it was determined Chapel has sleep apnea.
The part of Chapel's brain that tells her to continue to breath while she sleeps is not fully developed. Apparently common and the pulmonologist assured me she has seen worse cases but Chapel's case was significant. Chapel stops breathing at least 10 times every hour for at least 10 seconds at a time.
Her condition was supposed to peak at 4 months and pass by 6 months. I am not sure about the "peak" as I notice if her monitor goes off it will happen all night long maybe even for several nights but not over a designated span of time. She is 6 months now and we are still waiting for a silent monitor...
Thank you Shelby for recommending the monitor to me as I feel it has saved my new little girls life.
The monitor works by detecting motion from the baby such as breathing. If there is no motion in the bed for 20 seconds a warning beep sounds and then an alarm after 30 seconds. The monitor is meant to prevent SIDS.
When Chapel was 2 weeks old, early one morning her alarm went off. I ran to her bassinet and grabbed her up. She gasped for air and my heart skipped a beat. This happened several more times over about a month. Once I even picked up a motionless baby which is extremely scary for a mom. She was never blue as the alarm would never allow that to happen but something was terribly wrong. I strongly felt this monitor had saved my baby's life on at least 4 definate occasions.
The doctor sent me to a sleep specialist and a pulmonologist who assured her doctor that the monitors are accurate and soemthing was not right. After chest x rays, barium swallow test, an upper GI, and an over night sleep study it was determined Chapel has sleep apnea.
The part of Chapel's brain that tells her to continue to breath while she sleeps is not fully developed. Apparently common and the pulmonologist assured me she has seen worse cases but Chapel's case was significant. Chapel stops breathing at least 10 times every hour for at least 10 seconds at a time.
Her condition was supposed to peak at 4 months and pass by 6 months. I am not sure about the "peak" as I notice if her monitor goes off it will happen all night long maybe even for several nights but not over a designated span of time. She is 6 months now and we are still waiting for a silent monitor...
Thank you Shelby for recommending the monitor to me as I feel it has saved my new little girls life.
1 comments:
Oh goodness Anntette. Chills at that post. I FINALLY got to hear the study story! I am so glad you have answers and I pray this passes soon and safely for Chapel!
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