I bought an Angelcare monitor about a month ago for my 20 month old dd. She is now a silent refluxer and it really scared me to think that I couldn't hear when she was refluxing and she could stop breathing. So, I basically bought the monitor for peace of mind.

Well, it went of twice last night and I ran into her room. The first time I looked at her in her crib for a second trying to see if her chest was moving. It wasn't so I repositioned her body. She then took a fast, long gasp for air and continued breathing normally. I watched for about 10 minutes and she seemed normal. So, I went to the bathroom and as I was washing my hands I heard the alarm sound. I ran into the room again and saw no movement again. Just as I reached into the crib, she gasped for air and started breathing normally. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night! I was so scared. I am CPR certified so I know what to do but it is scary to think I might have to actually use it on my own child.

Anyone else's child have apnea episodes like this? My Pediatrician and GI consulted after my ped examined her and decided to do a sleep study on her overnight in the hospital. She is scheduled for March 15th. Have any of you been through this? What should I expect?

Thanks for reading this LONG post :)

How terrifying, Jennifer! Let us know how the sleep study goes!

I have not been through that, how scary for you, please keep us posted on this!

I have never been through this but my sister has. With her little one they gave him a slight sedetive ( he is autistic and very agitatedt that he was out of rutine so I don't know if they would give your little one a sedetive) and taped a bunch of stuff to his chest and then watched vitals and o2 levels and how many times he would stop breathing. He would have apnea episodes but his o2 levels did not drop to horably low. They told my sister that eventually he may need a mouth gard to hold the back of his throat open. You know just past your touge. that is what is closing on him. If he lays on his back he will have trouble for sure but only if he is on his back.

What made you think to get an angle monitor after 20 m? Good thing you did. I always say trust mommie radar and it is good thing you did. How scarey to have that happen. I'll bet you are getting tired.

Sue

Jenifer,
I have been through the exact thing, I am at work at the moment so I can't really write- I am only checking cause I just got a new computer and using it as an excuse to browse. I will post later tonight, and explain, just for the moment don't worry it actually isn't as bad as it seems- I even have photos!
Rachel

Hi Jenifer,

My son Parker is now 16 months (today!) I had an angelcare moniter for my first son and it was a gift and it never once went off. So I used it for Parker it was fine. At 8 months it went off, we found him flat on his face and my husband actually moved him over and he moved- it was dark and we were unsure of whether he had stopped breathing. So we didn't think anything of it. I rang my health nurse the next day and she said to go to the dr and he said if it goes off again to go to the hospital ASAP. It went off 2 nights later. So we went to the childrens emergency and they actually thought I was mad but admitted him anyway to be sure, they put a child apnea moniter on him and it went off twice when we were there but they said that happens cause the machine is for a newborn-total waste of time.

But the ped referred me to a sleep disorders dr which was going to take 3 months just to see, so I went to a private sleep dr who said that she didn't think we had anything to worry about but we should do a sleep study for peace of mind.

Sorry for the long intro but I just wanted to explain how we got to it.

At the sleep study they put a lot of wires on his head and they stick it down and bandage it so it doesn't come off. They have some probes on his tummy, on his finger, one on his toe and one under his nose. Then all the wires are connected to a central point. He cried a lot when putting the wires on but after that he was O.K.

It was hard to get him to sleep but once a sleep he did well, unfortunatel though he woke about 2am and had a hard time re-settling. It may be easier (or harder) cause your daughter is older.

Don't expect any sleep, get help for your child/children for the day cause you get no sleep. Also make sure her reflux medicine is good so that she can get a full nights sleep- it gives them a better overall look.

The resluts took 3 weeks and I nearly laughed when they gave the results, I actually had to say are you saying he has sleep apnea? cause they didn't believe me, and thought I was overanxious for having the moniter.

The good news is that most sleep apnea is treated by removal of adenoids. Reflux makes apnea worse as they learn to hold their breath while sleeping to get over the pain. They can tell by the O2 sats whether they lose oxygen, this is when it becomes a problem. Parkers O2 levels were fine so we are watching and last time she said to me that we may do the test again to mak sure nothing has changed. They calulated that Parker holds his breath longer than 20 seconds about 3 times an hour.

They can also tell which part of the brain is controlling the breathing and whether it is good or bad.

If you have any other questions, please ask,I will try to answer as best I can. God luck with the test.
Rachel

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d34/cooperandparker/62604e52.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d34/cooperandparker/F1040013.jpg

This is Parker at his sleep study, although uncomfortable he looks happy enough. He was 11 1/2 months when this happened.

sorry about all the spelling mistakes, I fixed as many as I could find- like I said new computer the kyboard is totaly different.

Thanks to all for the kind thoughts. It was a scary thing, but I am feeling much better about it now. Scarlet, your details were great! Thanks SO much for all the info.

Vanessa's monitor went off the next 2 nights as well, but it hasn't gone off for a few nights now. It is scary to think of what could happen, but I am feeling more confident now that it is taking a rest. I hope it just never comes back. :)

I will keep you guys updated on what happens at her sleep study. It seems like it is so far off into the future. It will probably be here before I know it.

Thanks again!