Seeking Insight on Home Heart/lung Monitors.

I had twins at 28 weeks so I know all about the pains of the monitors. Hang in there everything will be alright. I had a lot of sleepless nights and false alarms. My twins are now 5 going on 21.

Your story could be mine. We lost our first son to SIDS in 2004. He did not wake up from his nap at the babysitter's. We now have a 3 year old daughter and an 8 month old son. We used the Angel Care monitor with our daughter when she got her first cold. We did find that it is super sensitive. The ceiling fan in her room was enough to keep it thinking that she was in the crib breathing. We spent an hour or two adjusting the sensitivity level. We only used it until she was 9-10 months old. Even though we were completely devasted to lose our son, we truly believed that God wouldn't let that happen to our family again. We decided that for us to fully enjoy every moment of our children's lives, we couldn't dwell on the past. Once we let go of the pain, we found it easier to not panic over every little thing with our daughter. If the monitor is making you more anxious (because of the false alarms), then it's not doing its job. WOrk on the sensitivity level. Ours never went off with our daughter. If that doesn't help, ask yourself if the stress is worth it. We never even used it this time. Good Luck! I'll keep your family in my prayers!

Congrats on your new baby!
So very sorry for your loss, couldn't even imagine.
We adopted two half sisters who had a sibling who passed of SIDS, so they came home from the hospital on apnea monitors, monitoring their hearts and breathing. They came off the monitors at five months (they are a year apart). They had to be on the monitor 24/7. Those monitors are no fun and gave us lots and lots of false alarms.
But the peace of mind is worth it. Talk to your doctor about it to make sure the parameters are set right and talk to the provider of the monitor about the leads. Hopefully that will help cut back on some of the false alarms.
Good Luck!! I know they are a pain.

Congratulations on your new baby and I'm so sorry to hear of your loss.
My son was a premie (small and early but nothing actually wrong - Thank God!)and the night before he came home from the hospital he flunked his sleep apnea test. So the day we were coming home he was set up on a heart/apnea monitor. It was mainly for when he was sleeping, although sometimes if we were doing something like preparing dinner we would leave it on him if we weren't actually close enough to see his chest move.
It sounds like one some of the responses there are different types of machines. Ours was a box with 3 or four leads on his chest area. We had lots of false alarms, had to keep a log but knew it was the best thing for all of us until he was bigger. To our knowledge he never had a true "episode" and the leads were usually the culprit. Babies move and the leads get pulled loose or off. The settings may need to be checked also. The company that we got our machine from actually had to come and check the settings at least once a month.
Do be prepared for the day they take the monitor away. For us it was worse than the 5 months of false alarms. All of a sudden we were on our own with our 5 month old in his own crib and nothing to wake us up! It took some adjustment but you will eventually get comfortable with it.
By the way, my son will be 14 in a few weeks. Best of luck to you and your family!

Hello,I used one for my daughter because she would stop breathing in her sleep. I can be very nerve racking but , It is also wonderful. they usually go of if they stop breathing for 15 seconds or more. the alarm with go off and it is very loud sounds like a house alarm going off. she also used it at daycare.But once the eposides are not so much any more.it will stop she had sleep apenea from from when she was about 3wks old we stop using it once she was 1yr old. it will take time to get use to but so worth it there is also a lil sling the you can put him in that will have him sleep slighty upward talk to your pediatric dr. calld a denny sling or somethin like that, hope that helps

I have not been through this, but reading your story just had to say, "I'm so sorry for your loss." I am so glad you have been blessed with another wonderful little one and pray all will be well with your family.

My grandson was 5weeks early when he was born and stayed in NICU at the hospital for 5weeks before he came home. He was sent home on a heart monitor also. There were alot of false alarms always going off at all times of the day and night. Very stressful, but I felt much better with him on the monitor.He stayed on the monitor for 4 to 6 months. Now he is 2yrs and 2 months and doing very good. I'm sure your baby will be fine. Good luck and God bless.

K.,

I'm so sorry for your loss, but congratulatins on your new arrival! I encourage you to read the information found on this website: http://www.babysake.com/successwrap.htm . It has vital information concerning how the gases that arise from a treated mattress can cause nervous system disruption and stop a baby's breathing. The practice of wrapping a mattress has been used in New Zealand for many years and since then, any baby that has had a wrapped mattress has not died from SIDS. 100% success rate. It may not ease your mind through these first few months, but it is definitely a pro-active way to make sure your baby is safe. If you have any questions, TJ Sprott, who was the leading researcher on the subject will even email you and answer any questions. I even received a book in the mail from him, for free, after our email conversation. Take care, and I hope this helps!

My daughter was born Jan 15th of this year at 34 weeks gestation and was on an apnea monitor for 2 months because of her prematurity. We just stopped using the monitor. I loved it, it gave me 'peace of mind' while she was on it. If you are getting a lot of false alarms then you need to look at how it is applied. If its too loose, it will go off a lot. Also, if you are using it around things that give off signals (like cordless phones, remote controls etc) we were told that you are more likely to get false alarms. I would be happy to discuss this more with you, I'm also a nurse, so I had a little bit more insite on the matter then most moms.

32 year old mom to 3 girls, 5 yr, 3 yr, 2 1/2 month old

C. B

Hi K.. I too lost a child to SIDS. Carlie was 11 weeks old when she died on April 25th, 2000. She was on her tummy because she had reflux and the pediatrician told us to place her that way. Her twin brother, Cody, is now 8 years old. We also had a healing baby. Her name is Jordan and she is now 5 years old. I am so happy for you that you took that step and had a healing baby.

Both our son and subsequent daughter were on apnea monitors. We had a few false alarms and I tell you, our hearts stopped at every one. Here are a few things I thought of from our experience, and I am sure you probably have tried all of this, but anyway...We preferred the belt with the leads that were velcroed to it. Also, do not put lotion on him. There is the Angel Care monitor, but from the other SIDS moms in my BabiesAfterSIDS group, I haven't heard rave reviews.

HMM, gosh, I thought I would have alot more tips for you. My kids also just wore theirs at night. Cody was 7 months when I had to give it back and I gave it up myself when Jordan was 4 months. Cody was a little more difficult because he is Carlie's twin. He was in someone's arms for the 2 weeks after she died. He was never put down. It was so hard. If ya ever want to just chat, or whatever, let me know since I have "been there". Hugs to you and I hope it all works out for you.

PS, you also might need a new machine. Ours fritzed out once and kept alarming for no reason.

Pss, I wholeheartedly agree with the poster just before me. The advice to prepare yourself for when you have to give it back. Cody's was taken away when he was 7 months and all I did was take it in to be fixed. I cried in the medical supply store begging them to give it back to me. With Jordan, I weaned myself off of it. You have to or you will go nuts with worry, as if your not already. Anyway, plan to wean youself off of it if you plan to not use another. If you will use the Angel Care, start using it one night a week and not the Apnea MOnitor. Then bump up to 3. Or however your comfortable. But anyway, I read that and just wanted to say that I so agree with what she said.

If it is a monitor from a home health company, the kind that wraps around him, you probably need new leads. (the part that sticks to his chest) We used one for months and the company never told us we needed new leads. One day it started giving a lot of false alarms and when I spoke to the nurse she told us you are suppose to change those leads once a week or so.

Hope that helps!

I'm afraid I don't have any advice, but I do want to let you know that your and your family and your precious newborn are in our prayers!

We use the Angel Care monitor. I am not sure which you are using, but we kept having false alarms. It was because we did not cut the board to match the width and length of the matress (it goes under). So anyway she kept getting off of the area. If it is that kind, maybe that is it.

I have the same fear, but we have been fortunate not to experience it. Goodluck, getting the monitor to work out, I know waking up in the middle of the night to the alarm is frightening.

K. I am sorry to hear about your baby what a horrible experince that must have been. SIDS is always on my mind. I have a 10 week old and he was in the NICU for 2 weeks and was on the monitor and it always failed. I was constantly stressed seeing his line drop. My experince with them was not good, but I don't know any other. Good luck with the monitor.

T.

hi K.
i can tell you i TOTALLY understand what you're going through. my little man was born 8 weeks early and spent that time in the NICU...the only way he was allowed home was on an apnea monitor b/c he kept having periods of no-breathing. It was so exhausting, stressful, scary and everything else that goes with it. There are a lot of false alarms, you can call the # (we used dallas oxygen) and ask them to come look at the readings and have the pediatrician okay any changes made unless you are using it voluntarily then they should just change it for you so you know whats real and whats not. We had the monitor for almost 3 months....i hated that thing but also glad we had it b/c a few times i did have to wake him. He slept in our bed that whole time! :) Thats how nervous i was about it. He had to have it on at all times, not just at sleep times...so, trust me girl, i hear ya! Our little guy is great now! Keep your prayers goin and have faith...even though your last situation was awful, remember God is in control no matter how much we try.....
S.

K.:

First, please accept my heartfelt compassion for the loss of your precious son to SIDs. Second, I do have experience with the heart/apnea monitors and oxygen. We were the foster parents to premie twin girls who came to us on monitors. In fact, the smallest twin was in the hospital in the NICU for 3 months and discharged directly to us. I remember being terrified - in the hospital she would have bradycardia epsiodes where her heart rate would drop while feeding and we had to pat her hard to get her stimulated. It was overwhelming. We did get false alarms some as they slept as their heart rate might have dipped for a few seconds also. Initially, I would wake them up, sit them up but the doctor advised that I simply make sure they were still breathing regularly and not neccessarily wake them up. I also recommend cleaning your leads daily with a wipe of warm water so they are sure to make good contact with his skin. Sometimes when babies move, the monitor misses a breath or heartbeat. And as recommended, make sure your doctor & equipment company is adjusting the settings when appropropriate as your baby gets older since their heart rate will slow when older. I'll pray for you - I know it is stressful to hear that beep in the night. One of the twins we had came off her monitor at about 6 months. The smaller twin was on it until about 11 months. Good luck!

My daughter was born at 32 weeks. She used a heart/apnea monitor for 7 months. We tried the belt with the leads that velcro on and had so many problems with it. It had to be so tight to get a good response and then she would be uncomfortable. We went to the "stick on" leads. These are the ones like they used at the hospital. You adhere them directly onto the skin. She had to wear her monitor 24/7 until she was about 5 months and then the last two months just at night. To take the leads off I would wet my finger and just start rolling it under the lead so that it would not pull. Then when your ready to put them back on again just a little water on the lead would bring the adhesive back. We had to replace the leads every 4-6 days. Home Health would deliver them to the house. We also panicked when she was ready to get off the monitor. She had not set off the machine for over 2 weeks and they said it was time. But we were so worried. She did just fine though. She is now 13 and 5'3" and wearing a women's 11 shoe! She has SO outgrown the preemieness. :o)
I wish you and your family all the best!
A.
And God said, "Let all the little children come"

I have no experience with this. I just wanted you to know I said a prayer for you. I can't imagine nor would I try to give any advice. I prayed for your spiritual peace and for God to put you in touch with people who will help you through.
I am confident He will.

Blessings to you and your family!
L.

What are the parameters set at? It will constantly go off if the parameters are set almost exactly to normal. Like if the childs heart beat is 120 don't set it at 115. Did the doctor give you parameters? What are the numbers when it goes off? Is it on the foot? If so do you out socks on? This may help stabilize it. do you use it while your baby is awake? at home? at sitters? and do you still use the dame sitter?