(all four of the Bris babes. at least they are all looking at the camera and only one is crying..)
In our case our youngest little baby had a rough first year of life which has added more to the stresses of four than we were prepared for. Being that he was born three weeks early, we were so thrilled that he came into the world healthy and didn't require any additional hospital time. The first couple of sleepless months seemed par for the course. Of course we had been through this three other times already. But when the frequent wakings kept continuing into month 6, 7, 8.... my mommy instinct told me that something else was not right with the little guy. I started to notice that when he would sleep in bed with me (out of complete exhaustion), that he would stop breathing. Not to mention, he was a very loud snorer. I brought up the possibility of sleep apnea to my doctor, who said it was unlikely given his age, but that we should consult with pulmonology and ENT to check out his adenoids size. Of course getting in for those appointments took weeks of waiting. We finally saw ENT in April. They scanned his adenoids and found that they were slightly enlarged, but nothing that would justify removing them. ENT was certain that Oliver was just another healthy baby. I left the office feeling defeated and tired, but my gut told me not to give up.
We finally got in with Pulmonology for a sleep study in May. I have never experienced a sleep study before so I didn't know what to expect. They connect wire after wire to your head & chest, and a put tube into your nose. I thought that Oliver was never going to sleep with all of that going on when he doesn't sleep well in his own crib without his head wrapped in wires! We had to get at least 6 hours of him sleeping so that they could get a read on his brain and breathing activity. I was so nervous he was going to be up for the entire night! It was a little rough, but overall he did well. Much better that I expected! Nursing him while he was all connected was quite the challenge, but we made do like we always do, and we managed to get the 6 hours that they needed. A couple of days later we followed up with ENT to find out the results of his sleep study. His readings came back with moderate to severe sleep apnea. He had 13 episodes during the study where he stopped breathing and his oxygen level dropped! ENT wanted him in for surgery the next week to remove his tonsils and his adenoids. They also wanted tubes in his ears for frequent ear infections (yes, on top of all of that we battled ear infection after ear infection all winter long). I was shocked that we were going in for surgery after our initial visit with the ent surgeon where he thought that he was just another healthy boy.
(during our hospital stay. First pic pre op, last photo right before we left the hospital post op.)
The surgery was on June 5th and it went well. The surgeon was pleased with how well he did and how good he looked afterwards. After we returned home, recovery was rough. He couldn't swallow which made nursing and drinking very hard. He lost weight and had lots of discomfort, but around July he turned a corner. He started to eat better, his throat started to heal, and his breathing was drastically better. His whole personality started to shine through. I think that before the surgery he was so sleep deprived that he didn't have the energy to progress. Now he's loud , he's happy, he has taken steps, he finds joy in eating and drinking, we lay him down awake and he happily goes to sleep!! It's a miracle!
I hate to say that I'm happy I was right, because I wish that little Oliver did not have to experience all of that trauma. But I am proud that I stuck to my gut and pushed through. I feel very blessed to be living in Philadelphia so close to CHOP, one of the worlds best children's hospitals, so that we were able to get him the best care possible. And I thank god for giving me the strength to get the answers for my baby boy. Trust your instincts mamas. They are strong and they are given to us for good reason!
(and here is the happy boy today!)
xo,
K
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