Monday, June 06, 2011

Peter's sleep study, allergy tests and more



So Peter has had a rough start from birth, and for some follow up and figuring things out Children's Hospital scheduled a sleep study. So the night before Lucy's birthday Evan and Lucy stayed home and bonded and Peter and I ventured out to Children's hospital.

Peter usually goes to bed at 7:30, so this night was not going to be easy. We checked in at 6:30. I grabbed a bite of dinner at the cafeteria, and at 7:30 they checked us in at the reception desk in the sleep study clinic. They didn't pull us in until about 8:30 or so. Then we waited until about 9 for everything to get set up. I had to wait to give him his bottle because they wanted him to have it after he was hooked up to the machines-BAD IDEA. He Cried, and CRIED and CRIED. If you know Peter you know this isn't normal. But they had to hook him up to sooo many wires and bind up his hands to prevent him from pulling everything off. That didn't really work, I wish they would have started us at 5 so he wasn't overly tired and sad that he was being restrained.

After everything was set up the lights went out and I was in a bed right next to Peter. I thought I was going to get some sleep, ethe bed was even comfy. Boy was I wrong!!! Peter was so tired and so sad about what was going on, it made me cry and mad that they couldn't do anything to help him. It was so bright in there for him so I got all the linens and covered the monitors to make it dark.

I'm happy I brought the mobile he got from Grandma Betty. It was a SUPER LIFE SAVER. We pretty much played it every time he cried, which was always, and I had to hold him or pat his chest to soothe him. Finally around 11pm the nurse said that if he didn't fall asleep by midnght the test would be void and have to be repeated. I was so nervous and scared and sad and mad that he wasn't happy. All I could do was pray. So I prayed and prayed and prayed and we were blessed. He slept just enough that they said it was fine. In saying that though, I didn't get any sleep, he really didn't sleep much. At 6am they came in and put him on oxygen for 20 minutes. At 7am, we were packed up and checked out of the hospital. That was the worst experience of my life!

I had to call my mom to talk to me for the drive home because I was afraid I would fall asleep..thank you mom! We got in, fed Peter and then he and I slept for a large part of the day. After we woke, showered and dressed..we were off to celebrate Lucy and her 2nd birthday:)

A few weeks later we got called and since the test was crazy, and he normally sleeps 12 hours a night and didn't this night, they are going to have him come in on June 13 to get tested in clinic for his breathing to check lungs etc. Hopefully he will be cleared of any concern and we can move on from so many doctors.

After the sleep study the following day Peter and I went in for a feeding therapy examination. He was choking on most everything and would only have bottles but was wanting more. They had me bring in tons of different food and show them how he ate. He choked on the food and 2 hours later they scheduled him for feeding therapy for every other Saturday. I worked really hard on the tips they gave me. After a month of trying, he is now off of feeding therapy and eating like a champ!! He eats more than Lucy! Peter still struggles a little but overall great! the Lord has truly blessed us.(his food wand to train his tongue)

He also had an allergy test along with Lucy. Randi Mosher came to help.
So sad and itchy
Randi was so calm

They watched Finding Nemo while they waited for the test to finish.



Next thing up is physical therapy since he isn't crawling yet-he's delayed, but I think he will pull through:)

8 comments:

Michelle said...

That sleep test sounds like a nightmare!!!! Ugh! I'm glad things are getting better, but sorry the road has been rough and you still have so many doctor visits. You are amazing and your kids are so cute! I feel bad that I always complain because I don't feel like I can compare to what you have gone through in the past year or so!

Jami said...

Hilary, this post makes me want to cry FOR you! What an awful experience! I'm so glad you made it through, though. Poor you and poor Peter. :) I'm glad things are getting better, though. You're one tough cookie. :)

shana said...

That picture of him is so sad. I'm glad your prayers were answered and he was able to sleep just enough. What a horrible experience!!

Shenna said...

So Hunter gags on tons of stuff too...what kinds of therapy did you do to help?

Hilary and Evan Biddulph said...

Thanks everyone! Things really are getting better. I think this sounds like a lot, but we all have our challenges, and while we can deal with our's hearing about other people's challenges sound crazy. I know the Lord blesses us with challenges we can handle that also help us become better and stronger people.


Shenna, They told me to:
let him have a couple spoons at dinner time to let him put them in his mouth and play with

give him foods like the Natural Cheetos(they don't dissolve as quickly as the gerber cheetos) the cheetos help him train his tongue to move around food and feel his cheeks.

Also, long foods that take a bit to break down. I guess some kids keep food on their tongue and they choke.

Also, skip over Gerber #3 foods. Lots of them are pureed with chunks and that is hard to know what to do with it in their mouth.

Most importantly to keep trying food that everyone else is eating. Make sure the food is clear in the mouth before you give more. And only give a couple puffs, or gold fish etc at a time. If they have too many they stuff it in their mouth and choke.

Help pace his eating so he knows to only put food in once he has swallowed.

email me more if you need more tips hilary.biddulph@gmail.com

Dave and Stephanie said...

so sad. i hope everything gets resolved soon. it's so hard when your kids are suffering and you can't do anything to help them. your faith is inspiring!

Melissa said...

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry you have had to go through all this! There is nothing worse than watching your child suffer and not being able to do anything about it! Hopefully we can come to Peter's party and we can talk about our kids and their allergies and eating issues! You're not alone!

Bethany said...

I totally started tearing up when I read about little Peter's sleep test. I hate stuff like that. Glad he is doing better and that you all survived it. Were the allergy tests awful? I keep thinking I will get Brennan tested, but I am afraid he will freak out. What did you find out about their allergies? Brennan is allergic to kiwi, some kind of nut, and just started getting hayfever this year. I am not sure whether or not I want to find out about other allergies.