Last night, Eloise had another sleep study to determine the severity of her central apnea and to see if she’s finally “growing out” of her condition. Last night’s sleep study was her fourth one and while she’s become a real pro with them, they’re always stressful. She has around twenty probes coming from her head, about six from her face and neck, and has three chest halters on to check her heart rate and breathing during each study, and with a baby that is able to rip off her own leads that she wears 24/7, it’s ten hours of my life that I dread. We’re usually at the sleep study center from 8pm-6am, but I don’t sleep; Eloise tried to pull off her nasal cannula four times last night! I’ll post a photo of what she looked like yesterday at the bottom of this post so you can see why Eloise is nicknamed “bionic baby” 🙂
Just like how I treat Walter to a new LEGO after getting shots at the doctor, I try to treat Eloise to something nice after a procedure, a hospitalization, or after anything that’s especially stressful for her. It might be a new toy, a new dress (okay, that’s mainly for me…), but she got something really special for this sleep study: a new Slumberkins lovey! I ordered this sweet snuggly right after I found out that she was going to need another sleep study, and while she couldn’t have it during the study last night, we opened it today and it is pure love. Ready to see what animal she got? Scroll down to find out which adorable lovey is now hers!
It’s bloomer-less Thursday over here, don’t judge! 
Eloise’s newest lovey is a Narwhal! Yep, it’s one of those horned whales that only lives in icy cold water. Walter called it a “water unicorn”, and I’m pretty sure that’s the best description I’ve ever heard! E is fascinated with the horn and loves to chew on it so far, so if you have a little one that loves to chew, this could be the perfect lovey for him or her!
I fell in love with Slumberkins about a year ago, and they’ve been one of my favorite loveys to give to friends’ kiddos. They don’t have any stuffing so they’re nice and floppy, and their minky fabric is so soft. These little loveys come with affirmation cards that I love, and they’ve been wonderful for Walter; he has two Slumberkins loveys that he can’t live without.
I can’t wait to see Eloise snuggle with her newest snuggly love during nap time , and I can’t wait to see what adventures these two will have in the future!
This is from Eloise’s first sleep study at two weeks old. She was diagnosed with severe central apnea after having over 28 apnea episodes (a pause in breathing for longer than 60 seconds) per hour during the sleep study.
This was Eloise’s second sleep study, the very next night, at two weeks and one day old. This night her apnea episodes became much worse with O2, and she had over 43 apnea episodes per hour with the supplemental oxygen; she ended up being direct admitted to PICU the very next  day for a week.
Last night was Eloise’s fourth sleep study, and we should find out the results in the next few days. Our fingers are crossed that she’s had less apneas and less bradycardia episodes!
