For those who went home on monitors and/or oxygen...

DrRx · April 2012

So, we had our training and our equipment of an apnea monitor, a pulse ox, and oxygen for Adalyn yesterday. Early this morning for about 6 hours and again starting overnight tonight until we are discharged tomorrow morning (YAY!!!!), we've been in the room with Adalyn with her just hooked up to the equipment.

I thought that I would be more overwhelmed with the equipment, but I find it totally manageable. I wonder if it was because of all the time I spent here watching the nurses on how/what they did when there was a desat, etc that I definitely know when I could fix a problem or when I need to call for help.

However, since there isn't the constant numbers on a screen, I almost sometimes worry that the machines aren't on, etc. I know they work since we had her hooked up to both for a while, as well as how the pulse ox and apnea monitor correlated when Adalyn had a small brady during her feeding. However, I still think that either DH or I will need to stay awake with her to watch her and make sure everything is fine. I'm sure that this is a normal reaction to finally having your child home, who is still not quite stable as a term baby would be (ie, not needing to have oxygen and the monitors). Like, what if the monitors fail? I know that it's not likely at all, but it's like that person who said (not sure if it was this board or not) but that lately they have been on the wrong side of the small chance of a bad thing happening.

I guess I don't know what I'm asking. Maybe I'm just realizing that I'm really glad to be in the hospital with her on the monitors I'll take home (with the nurses right outside) and how comfortable I'm feeling with them. Like, is it wrong to feel comfortable with them and trust them or should I be more vigilant? How did you find a happy medium so that you didn't go crazy? Smile

katie4253 · April 2012

I had extreme anxiety over the monitor. Not him being on it, but sort of what you were talking about.

"How do I know it is on"
"What if the battery died"
"What if someone broke in and turned his montior off" (yes, I really worried about this...it is so messed up to look back on now. LOL!)
"What if lighting strikes the house and kills the monitor"
"What if I don't wake up from the alarm"
"What if the monitor just stops working"

I'm not posting this to stress you out, but to let you know it is totally normal to be freaked. It got better as he was on it, but I was on pretty high alert when he was on it. He didn't have that many episodes. But, it was enough to make me very glad we had the monitor.

If the monitors fall off, an alarm will sound. And, whoa baby, they are loud. Try not to stress, but know that if you do you are 100% normal!

urbanflowerpot · April 2012

Have you been practising not looking at the monitors at all in NICU? I found that to be what saved me from that sort of anxiety. The nurses really trained us - if he had a B they'd be like, "look at your baby, look at your baby - right at him." Eventually I forgot about any visuals other than my baby so I didn't miss the numbers. Hope that helps - it's a stressful beast even if it's function is pretty basic. Every once in a while something won't work right (didn't happen with us/rare) but if the battery is low or something it is LOUD!

JuliaJAG · April 2012

We've been home since Thursday (six days ago), and although I had all the fears you're describing re: the monitor, they have all but disappeared. It's amazing how relaxed I am about them. I almost don't even think about them (most of the time!) now that it's been nearly a week.

As for worrying about whether the machines are on, our monitor has lights that blink to correlate with his heart rate and his breathing. (Not sure why we weren't sent home with a pulse ox since desats were more of a problem in his last couple of weeks than bradys or apneas.) There were a couple of times that he looked so still it scared me, but a quick glance at the monitor showed a reassuring heart rate and breathing. As the PP said, it would beep very loudly if it were turned off.

You may spend the first few days on pins and needles like I did... but you shouldn't feel guilty in the least about relaxing and trusting them to do their jobs, and focusing on ENJOYING your precious baby!!!

Mrs. Alice · April 2012

Oh sweetie you thoughts and feelings are totally normal. I remember how crazy it felt to go from NICU to home. It's definitely an adjustment! I am a pretty relaxed person so I wasn't terribly stressed. Although, for several weeks I just had this feeling like the other shoe was going to drop, if you know what I mean. It just felt too good to be true and that something had to happen.

To address your feelings about the monitor, I was too exhausted after the first couple nights to stress over it. Trust me it will tell you if there is a loose connection or it's not picking up a tracing, low battery, turns off, etc etc. It actually gets rather annoying after a while. You also learn which are real alarms and which are false alarms. My guys only had them while eating for the first week or two at home and then they outgrew the issue. Just wait til you have one go off while you are driving and the she is in the back seat! You will do great - good luck!

lilredd888 · April 2012

So glad you all are going home!!! I am not even excited about the possibility of Avery going home with a monitor.

Pips09 · April 2012

We had so many false alarms (loose connection, sticky pads coming off, mostly) that I had no doubt they were working. Ours also had blinking lights, so when I'd wake up, I could immediately see that she was fine.

On a second note, if your monitor comes with the foam belt option, with the black, plastic pads that connect to the wires, (sorry, it's been a while and I don't remember the correct terminology), those are way better than the little sticky sensors that constantly fall off the baby, stick to the clothing, just are a pain in general. We switched after a couple of days and it was much easier.

DrRx · April 2012

Pips09:
We had so many false alarms (loose connection, sticky pads coming off, mostly) that I had no doubt they were working. Ours also had blinking lights, so when I'd wake up, I could immediately see that she was fine.

On a second note, if your monitor comes with the foam belt option, with the black, plastic pads that connect to the wires, (sorry, it's been a while and I don't remember the correct terminology), those are way better than the little sticky sensors that constantly fall off the baby, stick to the clothing, just are a pain in general. We switched after a couple of days and it was much easier.

oh good! Our apnea monitor has the plastic leads and the foam belt thing. I've only had a few loose connections, and found that if I put a little water on the black things it will stick better. I just wish the pulse ox had a case like everything else. I think I'm going to use an old small purse to put it in.

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