lets talk bradys

jjh471 · April 2014

James has them here and there. And they scare me tons. He brings himself out of them usually but I'm still worried. The doctors don't seem concerned but he had two today, one when I was holding him and I all but screamed for help. He is 35 weeks adjusted today, born at 34+1. Just wondering how long they typically last for? I'm so scared at the thought of ever bringing him home because of these "spells "

supgabs · April 2014

Colton has a few bradys here and there but his heart rate only drops for a second before it starts going back up. His doctors aren't concerned at the moment. The first time it happened it scared the crap out of me!! It was one of the first times I was holding him and I thought he was dying lol, I was told that as long as he comes out of it within 20 seconds on his own I shouldn't be overly concerned.

Labyrinth3000 · April 2014

My girls get random Brady's too. It's scary but no big. Just keep an eye on him that he comes out of it quickly. He'll grow out of it soon!

flerlgirl · April 2014

DS had them for most of his stay (he had some severe lung issues). But for most of his NICU neighbors, they stopped for the last few weeks or days! It's so scary but they do grow out of it as their lungs nature.

xnbride · April 2014

Not sure if it is applicable but the doctors told me that micropreemies can continue to have them until they are at their due date and it is just something that they do outgrow but it just takes time. It doesn't make it any easier to watch but it is very very common. When I hold her skin to skin she had two "spells" each time. They just have me rub on her to get her going again. It helps to know that it is common, it is manageable and she will outgrow it.

jjh471 · April 2014

Thanks ladies. It is terrifying. I guess I just had high expectations that with him being 34 weeks we would have a lot less worrying to do and I'm sure we really don't have a lot going on but I just get so scared being up there with the monitors going off, I just freeze. He is also having trouble sucking and breathing when he eats so feeding him is awful too bc his oxygen level goes down. The nurses are great though and help us with everything.

Bluebird2318 · April 2014

Like PP said, as scary as it is they do outgrow it. The NICU is very careful with your baby and they won't send him home until he is completely ready. When DD was in NICU she had to pass a certain number of days without an event that required stimulation before she was released. I think the last one that required light stimulation was around 37 weeks or so and she went home at 38 weeks. It's totally okay and normal that your son hasn't quite outgrown them at 35 weeks.

xladybassx · April 2014

Bradys are just part of having a preemie. If they bring themselves out of it that is really good! If not, the nurses have all the equipment, training, and practice to intervene at a moments notice. You will learn to interpret the monitor to know if intervention is necessary or not, but honestly the best thing to do is look at your baby instead of the monitor. Leads can fall off or become loose (particularly with older preemies who move more) causing unnecessary panic. Look at the color of their skin, especially around their mouth. If it changes to chalky, gray, blue, or purple the baby needs assistance. Patting the baby's back and rubbing it is sometimes all they need, but depending how bad it is they might need their O2 turned up, which will in turn bring their heart rate back up. When this would happen to my girls I would pat/rub their back immediately while calling for the nurse at the same time. If it looks like normal skin color you should still let your nurse know ASAP, but there probably is no cause for panic.

The first time I witnessed a bad one my girls were 4 days old and it was terrifying. My daughter was fine one second, and then like a switch her HR dropped to the 30's and her skin turned gray. The nurse had just left our station to go get something and I yelled. She looked at the monitor, said "oh shit" and started running while yelling for help. In seconds my baby was surrounded by nurses and a respiratory therapist bagged her. I remember my husband pulling me away from her isolette so the nurses could get in, and I was so scared I thought I might pass out. She was fine really quickly, it turned out there was a kink in her vent tube because her chin dipped down too far.

It is terrifying, but very normal. Hang in there.

Pips09 · April 2014

Everyone else has pretty much covered it, but it is absolutely terrifying. My daughter had lingering B's and A's and was discharged on an apnea monitor. So that is a possiblity, if it's the only thing that remains to be a problem. She was able to get off of it after about 5 weeks at home.They do grow out of it!

JEPES1348 · April 2014

I agree with everything PPs said. My LO had tons of Bradys, but all were self-recovering and she looked excellent, clinically. You'd never know she was even having them, and most were so brief, they didn't even alarm the nurses pagers, or beep more than once on the monitor. She was born at 32+4 and wouldn't sometimes have like 9-15 a day. We only knew because of the monitor's history. She mostly outgrew them by 36 weeks.

LaciJaxx · April 2014

You shouldn't worry about them once your home. Your NICU won't release him until he's gone 5-7 days without a brady and by that point, he's outgrown them. I'd say a large (if not all) percentage of preemies have them. It's hard to watch but try to get involved. Stay calm and rub him. Watch your nurses and learn all you can. That helped me alot. Also, your nurses should have alarms so you shouldn't need to scream.

Mustardseed2007 · April 2014

My dd is on an apnea monitor also due to recurrent Brady's but all else was fine. After 3 weeks at home the only time the monitor has gone off is something being wrong with the machine. But they won't discharge your lo without either being confident that they are done or that they can be safely monitored.

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