One of my favorite sayings is, "there's not a lot of sleeping that happens at a sleep study." That was based on my two experiences with sleep studies with Natalie, I think back in 2006 or 2007. At the first sleep study, Natalie arrived seemingly healthy, but presented cold symptoms as the tech was hooking her up. Not a very fun night...and since she was sick, it had to be repeated since they want to have an idea of how she's sleeping when she's healthy, not sick. In both instances, Natalie did not do well with the stuff taped all over her head and face, and sleeping in an unusual place...which meant I didn't sleep well because the tech was coming into the room all the time to fix something Natalie had pulled off.
Fast forward to 2011. Natalie did great! She sat and watched Thumbelina while she played with tape and stickers, and the tech taped wires all over her, with no protest at all. Then when the tech was done, I scooted her under the covers and she fell asleep within 2 minutes (she usually goes to bed at 7 p.m., and the tech was done hooking her up about 8:45 p.m.) Natalie fans might be interested to know that Natalie chose to bring Snow White with her on this trip, instead of the usual Jessie.
I was also prepared for my night: I brought ear plugs and Benadryl, which I used after asking permission of the tech. I slept the best I've ever slept at a sleep study, and I think Natalie did too, but that still means I will enjoy a good night's sleep tonight (it was a short, painful bed for me)!
What the tech told me is that Natalie snores, and that's what's keeping her from getting good quality sleep. She also sits up in bed a lot, which might be caused by the snoring. Her O2 levels were great all night long, which is wonderful (I think there were hints of possible tracheotomy the last time she had a sleep study, which thankfully was not entertained further). We might get more/different info from the doctor, but it appears she's getting enough oxygen, but her brain is being disturbed by the snoring...so we'll talk to the ENT about how to help her stop snoring. She had her adenoids out a few years ago, but her tonsils were fine at that time...I'm sure a tonsil check will be in order.Natalie sleeps 11-12 hours a day, and she's nearly 6 years old. It's a little much, and it's starting to interfere with her time to do homework. I'm also hoping she'll have better behavior and less seizure issue (although she's had no seizures that we've seen since she started Depakote) with better sleep.
5 comments:
My 5 1/2 year old also sleeps 11 to 12 hours most days. Should I be worried? He always greets me with a big smile when he comes downstairs and usually also if I have to wake him up for something.
Great blog!
Best wishes,
Laurie
I wouldn't presume to diagnose, Laurie! Natalie snores, she sleeps 2-3 hours more than her 4-year old brother, and was still being sleepy in school. And a lot of kids with her syndrome have apnea and/or sleep disorders, so we're more conscious of the possibility. I would talk to your pediatrician about it if you're concerned.
I'm glad you got some sleep at the sleep study! I wish I had known about the no-sleep thing 2.5 years ago when we did Stpehen's... I finally gave up on even trying around 1am, I think.
Stephen's pediatrician told me when he was 3is that he should be sleeping 10-14 hours a night, so Konrad actually sleeps a little less than the norm for kids his age. (And wow! You have some birthdays coming up too!!!). Stephen usually gets 10-11 hours, and does really well with that. The tonsil/adenoid-ectomy took care of the snoring and major sleep issues. Now our current problem seems to be nightmares.:-(
I would love for 10 hours to be enough for Natalie, Patty! That would be another 2-3 hours a day of wakefulness. And I do agree that Konrad sleeps less than normal for his age...he's currently sleeping about 10 hours at night with no nap...he's often the first one up in the morning.
Cindy, I bet if she was getting a better QUALITY of sleep, 10 hours would be enough. Ten seems to be the line, here, though. Anything less, and he's a bear. Too much more than 11, and it's the same thing... it's a really fine line.
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