It's been almost a week since the sleep study and I'm still recovering. I really wonder how people sleep there when they're all hooked up b/c I did not sleep and I was not hooked up to anything.

We got there at 7:30 pm. Alysa was in her jammies with Baby and Taggie in tow. Her room was very homey with a full size bed, two end tables a small coat rack/mirror and some pretty pictures on the wall (some being Disney Princesses). I went in thinking it would be a nightmare getting her to sleep. She has been known to completely melt down over sleeping at my Sister's. So I was pleasantly surprised when I watched my 3 year old sit quietly and patiently while the Tech covered her head, her back, chest, face, neck and legs with little electrode thingies (yes that is a technical term). Towards the end she got a bit restless, but it was a very calm, I want to get down type, not a freak out at all. The Tech was great and she even put a sticker and wire on Baby so Alysa would not be "alone". The only thing Alysa really balked at was when they tried to put the little nose prongs in. Ha! As soon as I saw them I told them, "Good luck with that." They ended up putting them on when she was asleep, but even in her sleep she kept pushing them out. I was told I could sleep in the bed with her (I didn't want this b/c I was afraid it would defeat the purpose of us being there), a cot in the room or the room next door. So I laid down with her, hoping to help her fall asleep. After 20 minutes or so, here's how it went...

Alysa - "Mommy, you need to go to your room now."
Me - "What?" (I was shocked)
Alysa - "You need to go to your bed."
Me - "You want me to LEAVE?"
Alysa - "Yes."

So I did. I left and she never asked for me again. The tech had to go in a few times to untangle her before she fell asleep, but she was great. Talking to her like they were best buds. I sat in my room with my trusty laptop (unfortunately no internet access) and did some scrapping until I was told she was asleep (by around 10pm). I was disappointed that their rooms are not sound proofed, as I heard her go in Alysa's room a million times (she had to untangle her, stop her from going off the edge, adjust her nose prongs, etc - all par for the course with a child). I got very little sleep. At one point during the night I thought I heard Alysa talking, but she never cried and I didn't want to get up unless they got me so as to not disturb the whole thing.

Alysa woke up bright and early at 6am (she usually sleeps until 8-8:30) and boy was she DONE! She wanted out of there so bad. What upset her the most out of the whole experience was how sticky her hair was once all the thingies came off. I got, "Mommy I'm all sticky" and she was quite pouty about it. She does not like to be dirty.

I was told at one point during the night she woke up and asked to go home. When she was told it wasn't time and she was offered a drink of water, she said, "I want to get a drink of water at home." But according to the tech, she slept well.

Here are some photos from her study - I apologize for the quality, I forgot my real camera and had to use my phone...











Here is her hair when we got home. It was no wonder she was miserable - it was a sticky mess!











And now for what you're waiting to know - Alysa does indeed have Sleep Apnea. I was actually shocked. I just went in today figuring I'd get nothing and be left with a child who sleep walks and is exhausted all the time with no known cause or way to correct it. He said that she slept very well 96% of the night [I'm jealous since I barely slept at all that night]. He said that more than 1 occurrence of sleep apnea an hour is abnormal in a child her age. Alysa stopped breathing an average of 3.7 times per hour and during REM sleep, she stopped breathing an average of 8 times per hour. I'm no expert (yet) on sleep apnea, but that seems a bit scary to me. He also said that her blood oxygen saturation level had dropped during these episodes from the norm of in the 90's% to close to 80%. Thankfully her carbon dioxide levels remained within normal range and never increased. He said she has a clear-cut case of sleep apnea. At her age, the only treatment for it is to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. They only do oxygen masks on children in extreme cases (which apparently, she is not). So now we must go to see an ENT (Ears, Nose & Throat doctor). Her sleep doctor said he believes they should be removed, but that it is up to the ENT and what he says. He told me when he looked, her tonsils did not seem to him to be overly enlarged, but he did see them. We all know Alysa is a peanut, so maybe normal size is just too big for her tiny little frame.

Now, don't get me wrong I'm in no way happy she suffers from sleep apnea, but I'm THRILLED at her diagnosis. Sleep apnea is related to acid reflux disease AND poor appetite and poor weight gain. So...this means that if her ENT takes out her tonsils and adenoids (this cures most cases of childhood sleep apnea), it could be the solution to all of our problems!!! I'm not expecting a miracle cure, but this could put her on the path to recovery!

Lucky for us we are surrounded with some great Pediatric hospitals - CHOPP in Philadelphia and DuPont in Delaware, so we'll have our pic of pediatric experts.

Finally! Some answers!!!