Sleep Study Saga

7/06/2010

Background
My sweet baby boy needed to have a sleep study done on him to see if he needs his tonsils removed. We've waited over a month to get in. And it finally happened last night.

The Saga Begins
Since it was a holiday weekend, Ben was not on his normal sleep schedule, which turned out to be a good thing. Then, because Ben wasn't supposed to nap after noon on the day of the sleep study, we squeezed in a short nap from 11:30-12:30. Luckily the day was uneventful, even though Ben was exhausted. We headed down to the hospital around 6:00 and I had to work hard to keep my little man from falling asleep. When we got there we had quite the trek, as the main lobby is on the opposite side of the hospital from the parking garage... and of course Ben wanted carried!

So they got one sticker on before Ben started kicking and screaming. I, and two techs, held Ben down while they put some of the stickers and monitors. Then the put him in the papoose, which unfortunately i couldn't get a picture of because I was holding him while he was in it. He hated it, not a big surprise though. It took about an hour to get all hooked up and ready to be taped. When they took the papoose off, I thought he'd go nuts, but he tried and didn't have the energy or the ability (see how his elbows are forced straight).

I asked him if he wanted to read a book and he said "Yes." We made it through one, although he wasn't willing to participate. Then we read a second and he was falling asleep sitting up. When I asked if he wanted to read a third, he said "Noooo." So we laid down and he all basically passed out from exhaustion. He has NEVER done that before, but it was so cute.

It was a really rough night for both of us. Every time he moved he would feel the cords, wake up, sit straight up and cry. Thankfully, I was in the bed right next to him and he immediately went back to sleep as soon as he heard my voice and I laid him back down.

We did successfully make it through the night without any cords coming undone or any long periods of time that he was awake. When the morning came (around 5:00 a.m.) we were woke up... me with the lights, Ben with a finger prick. This picture was right before the finger prick.


This may all sound mean, but it really wasn't. If he had understood what was going on, the restraints wouldn't have been necessary. And this is all because we're trying to make sure his tonsils need removed... we don't want him to have to go through another surgery unless it is necessary.

The Ending
Unfortunately the ending won't come for at least 14 days. Probably longer than that. And if he does need his tonsils out, this will only be part 1 of the saga.

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