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Home Monitors

Katie87 - 12:19am Dec 22, 2011 EST

Hello Everyone!
My daughter is coming home on an apnea monitor and I was just educated and introduced to it today in the NICU. The alarm is literally ear piercing!! Also I have to put the two leads on either side of her like near the nipple line and then put this velcro strap around her! While I am grateful for the device and it will make me sleep better at night(Sleep haha) I am posting this to ask if anyone had to use one of these for their little ones and if so any advice? They say I have to keep it on her at all times. The only reason she is going home on one is she recently had two brady's they were quick and reflux related and she did not require stimulation at all. She was supposed to come home Thursday and this happened yesterday so that prompted the monitor. If anyone out there had a similar situation. How long did you have to have the monitor? Forgive me for all of the periods my comma button does not work on this computer lol. Also I'm nervous anxious and excited. I'm so used to the NICU and being there I imagine these emotions are pretty normal? I have so much more to say but on a different subject so look for more of my dicussions because I really appreciate and value everyone's help and advice

Take Care

esgf - Dec 22, 2011 2:51 am (#1 Total: 6)

Abigail's Mom (29 weeks, 3/21/05)

Abigail came home on a monitor and we had it from May to August. It only went off once at home and it was a lead issue. We kept it on her at all times b/c we were so nervous. Towards the end our ped was encouraging us to take it off b/c he knew the NICU follow up was going to take it off soon. We didn't but adjusted fine. Since it was summer we would just put it in the bottom of the stroller and take her for walks. We just adjusted to it. We took her to church towards the end and sat away from others. We just had to get out of the huose and we had no family to spell us. The monitor definitely helped keep us calm. I am glad she is going home so soon. What a great gift for the New Year.
Ellen

liz loschinskey - Dec 22, 2011 5:22 am (#2 Total: 6)

I love my kids!

Hi Katie!
Tori came home on an A/B monitor, pulse ox and oxygen. I thank the lord for the monitors. Yes, they sound obnoxious(louder than our house alarm in the middle of the night), however, I believe they helped me, help her. One afternoon everything kept beeping after multiple checks of leads....needless to say she ended up back in the hospital. I'm not saying that to scare you. I'm saying it because it helped.
My only suggestion, the A/B monitor leads, we used the sticker leads AND the Velcro straps together. The stickers had a tendency to fall off and using only Velcro they would move around...shift more frequently, giving us false readings.
Yay for coming home!!! Keep us updated! You are doing a great job!
Love and light, liz

Jackie G - Dec 22, 2011 12:38 pm (#3 Total: 6)

Mom to a 25 weeker who is now 8 years old and a 38.5 weeker who is now 6

Monitors can be good and bad. Good because they give you peace of mind, but bad because they have a lot of false alarms that are not only frustrating but can throw you into a panic. We did not bring one home - they mentioned it, but told us they'd prefer that we stayed a few extra days just to make sure our daughter was ok, rather than send up home with one.

So while I don't have home experience with one but I do have one piece of advice they gave us in the NICU... don't forget to watch your daughter for cues, as opposed to only relying on the monitor. Some day you won't be needing it anymore and you'll wish you still had it - just for peace of mind. So watch her for color changes when she's eating. Watch her body movements to see if she's struggling. Our nurses made us turn our back to the monitors when we fed our daughter, just so we didn't become so reliant on them. I think it did help us when Kimberly became "wireless".

Good luck!
Jackie

liz loschinskey - Dec 22, 2011 3:16 pm (#4 Total: 6)

I love my kids!

I agree with Jackie.

The nursing staff and cpr teachers indented in our brain, if the monitors go off...

1) Make sure she is breathing.
2) Color change. Blueish/grey around the mouth.

Still so excited for tomorrow!
L&L,
Liz

Katie87 - Dec 22, 2011 3:37 pm (#5 Total: 6)

Thank you everyone. I think my daughter will be fine but I do feel better having the monitor just in case. yes; looking for color and cues is a must. I have seen the scary blueish color and hope to never see it again. Hopefully the pediatrician will take her off after a month or so. Take care everyone

NathansMom13 - Dec 26, 2011 2:23 am (#6 Total: 6)

Come to ShareUnion 2012: It's the BEST weekend ever!!!

We came home with a monitor and I had to stop using it because it gave so many false alarms. Our son used it because he had a trach, not because he was at risk for apnea so it's a lot different for us. It seemed like it never alarmed for a real reason so we had to learn to watch him for cues rather than relying on the monitor.
Laura

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