Toddler SLeep Study Post

V had seen an Ear, Nose , Throat doctor (Otolaryngologist) because she had very large tonsils. She’s been referred for a sleep study several times. I kind of blew it off like, “she sleeps fine”. Her large tonsils aren’t particularly causing her any problems at this point. Benny has also seen the Otolarynologist because of his frequent ear infections and very large tonsils. Remember when he was choking on and refusing to take solids or mixed texture foods? Although he has not had enough ear infections to qualify for tubes, which I find difficult to believe, we continue to follow up with them in case this may change. The MD kept talking about him getting a sleep study because of his big tonsils. Again, I was doubtful because he is 20 months old! P offered to take him (wow – awesome) and so he did. Attached are some pics from the sleep study. You show up at the unit around 7:30, and basically sleep there, hooked up to all the stuff. It took them 45 minutes to hook him up to the electrodes and wires. They monitor brain activity, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and many other things. He did not like it, oh no he didn’t. He slept there just over eight hours with Paul in the room in a recliner and then they came home the next morning. P had to give him a bath because of the sticky stuff in his hair, but it went fairly well. Except for the 45 minutes of screaming of course.

Well, you know where I am going with this. I saw his results last week and he has Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea. His tonsils and adenoids are blocking his air flow significantly. He had something like 57 apneas in 8 hours with 37 lasting longer than 10 seconds. His O2 sats dropped to the low 90’s each time. Poor, poor baby. I read that can be responsible for falling off the weight charts. His body burns so many calories trying to breathe at night.


Now what? I am very, very reluctant to do a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy on a 21 month child. So are they. He can’t really use CPAP, do they even make them for tots that small? We have the next available consult on Feb 10th and we will see what is going on. Oh, and as a result of this, V is scheduled for a sleep study too. I feel silly for blowing it off. Maybe it would explain some of her behavioral quirks? Is tonsillectomy x 2 in our future? P has no tonsils or adenoids. They used to chop them out of everyone in the 60s and 70s routinely. I still do. My tonsils are big.

Victoria - funny

V has a real sweet tooth and is constantly whining and asking for sweets. I really, really keep my eye on this. Yesterday, I ran into Kroger and happened down the ice cream aisle. I found these Acitve D'Lite Ice Cream Bars. They seemed lower sugar, had 5 grams of fiber (which she desperately needs) as well as probiotics. So I bought some. Last night we had a great deal of picking up to do before the cleaning lady came today. So basically, I bribed her with one. She LOVED it. The funniest part came this morning. "Mom, can I have another ice cream bar today. That ice cream bar was da*mn, da*mn, da*mn good".

Who taught her that?

Friday Night Leftovers

This has been a crummy week. Over 12 inches of snow, terrible driving conditions EVERY day this week, negative temperatures, super long commutes (usually 20 min), blowing winds. I am so glad it is FRIDAY! I’ve lived in this area for 10 years and it is the worst I ever remember it.

P took Benny for a sleep study last night. He said the worst part was the 45 minutes it took two techs to wire him up. He offered to take him back when we scheduled it, so I was thrilled. Especially since he hasn’t slept worth a darn the last three nights. Poor little guy. Also, poor big guy because he didn’t get much sleep.

The holidays seemed long this year because we were shut in. Can’t Christmas be in the middle of summer? I guess we have to move to Australia for that. I had to work Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, but they were kind enough to let us out a few hours early. We had both families over on the 28th, and boy, was it hectic (and crowded). P made some awesome food – homemade NY style cheesecake, fried brussel sprouts, fingerling parm potatoes, pear/pomegranate salad, rack of lamb, homemade green bean casserole. If you follow me on instagram, the pics are on there. They make me drool.

For Christmas, P bought me a FITBIT (LOVE IT!), a IPad Mini, a device to project Videos onto the big screen TV, and a Keurig! I loved all the gifts. So nice to be loved at the holidays. Why is taking down the decorations a downer yet putting them up is so much fun?

I sure haven’t been to the gym. I have been walking inside/climbing lots of stairs at lunch. My record is 352 stairs during a 20 min walk.