Sleep Study

Last Friday was our scheduled sleep study for Graeme.  We had to be at the sleep center for 9 PM, which made his usual sleep schedule difficult.  The pediatrician recommended following our usual schedule for Graeme, so we gave him his bottle at 7:30 PM then got him to sleep around 8:00.  However, we then had to get him at 8:20, load him into the car, and drive to the sleep center.  Luckily, he fell asleep on the way there.


When we arrived, Steven went inside to check in and get everything set up.  The sleep center didn't have cribs, so we brought the pack 'n play for Graeme to sleep in.  Once it was all ready, I brought Graeme inside to get started.  The tech had all the wires and electrodes laid out and ready.  First two belts had to be attached around Graeme's waist, then two wires attached to his chest.  Next was the dozen or so for his head.  Graeme started crying quite a bit while all of this was being attached, and I asked the tech if I could hold Graeme while he did the rest of the ones on Graeme's head.  He let me, and I was able to calm him down in between each wire being attached.  Then a pulse monitor was put on his toe, and we were able to swaddle him after that.  Once swaddled, he relaxed and actually fell asleep in the pack 'n play with all those wires on him.  However, one last obstacle remained - a nasal cannula had to be put into his nose and taped on his face.  This started Graeme screaming in earnest.  The nasal cannula had a piece that blocked his mouth where I couldn't put a pacifier in to help calm him.  Graeme continued to sob no matter how I tried to soothe him.  Finally, I had the tech remove the nasal cannula.  I just couldn't let my baby cry like that; he was miserable and the nasal cannula wouldn't stay in anyway.  Steven went and talked to the tech and the tech's supervisor to determine if the nasal cannula was necessary for the sleep study.  We were told that without the nasal cannula, they would be able to tell if Graeme had sleep apnea or not, but if he did they wouldn't know whether it was central or obstructive apnea and therefore wouldn't know how to treat it.  After a private discussion, Steven and I decided to best choice for us was to forgo the sleep study.  At this point, Graeme has not shown any symptoms of sleep apnea.  Steven and I spent the first two months of his life taking turns staying awake with him, and neither of us ever noticed him stop breathing.  The tech also said that at Graeme's age (3 months), any results we got from this sleep study would be invalid within a couple of months due to his maturing system.  So we went back home and settled in for the night.  Part of me feels guilty for refusing a test that highly recommended for babies with achondroplasia.  Am I a bad mother for not going through with it? All I know is that at the time, I felt positive that I would be a bad mother for putting him through the test due to his clear distress.  Since the sleep study (attempt), Graeme's sleep patterns haven't been as good.  He's been sleeping shorter periods of time again (3-4 hours instead of 5-6) and has had a lot of gas problems again.  We're just praying that he feels better soon and gets sleeps well at night again!