Sleep Study

We had Porter's sleep study last night and it was much better than we had anticipated. That doesn't mean there weren't tears and screaming, but Porter was such a good boy and calmed down for us easily. Part of the study is being hooked up to all kinds of monitors, either with sticky electrodes, medical tape, or this sappy soap. {I didn't protect this one if you want to click on the picture to see just how many wires he's connected to.}

Having this done to him when he was exhausted was the hardest part for Porter. Thank goodness for Aaron's smart phone and Curious George clips they were a nice distraction. {This is after the worst bout of crying. I know I write this often, but OH how I love this boy!}

We got Porter to sleep, tucked him into his crib and then the tech came in to hook him up to one more monitor and plug everything in. We didn't have the study done in the children's hospital like we thought we would but in a private office that was very nice, new and rather cozy for a medical office. There was a bed for Aaron and I. While I'm grateful I didn't have to spend the night sitting up in a rocker all I could think was, "For a $1000 over night stay I wish the bed was more comfortable." Needless to say my 8 month pregnant self didn't sleep, which was a good thing because I was quick on my feet whenever Porter's lethal little hands would start yanking at his connections in his sleep.

Porter did wake up once at 4am and we weren't able to comfort him without picking him up so the tech disconnected the wires so we could calm him down. It took an hour to get him back to sleep but he slept for another 3 hours after that and might have slept longer but it was time to go. {Porter free of his wires! Dad looking good ;) Aaron wasn't smiling as much when he removed the remaining pads from P's skin when we got home. Have I ever told you my husband is a good man?}

So really it could have been much, much worse. The reason we wanted to have the study done was to make sure Porter doesn't have silent sleep apnea which is very common in children with Down Syndrome. This type of apnea, while not as immediately concerning as obstructive sleep apnea, can cause damage to the heart and we don't want that! Thus, we decided to have this study done just as a precaution. We'll have the results in a few weeks and we'll let you know what's happening.

P.S. I got a phone call letting me know I DON'T have gestational diabetes!!! YAY!!!