To sleep or not to sleep, that is the question...

Well, our long awaited appointment for the sleep clinic came and went last week.  We left a little discouraged.  We had waited 6+ weeks for this appointment only to find that we had to wait some more.  They wanted to do a sleep study, but the first available opening wasn’t until the first week in August, almost 10 weeks away.  So we put our names down for August 5^th, and asked them if they would put us on a call list to call and inform us of any cancellations.  So Wednesday passed.  And Thursday came.  And we got a phone call at 3:00 saying, “Uh Mrs. Buscher, we have a cancellation for tonight.  Can you be here at 7:30?”  Hallelujah!  So we packed bags and prepared for the trip to LR for the night. 

Zoe got to have her first sleepover event that night with one of her friends so that I could be up there with Darin and Ethan.  So with Zoe and Jedi squared away, off we went.  They allowed me to stay for the hookup process…the process of gluing about 30 wires on our little boy’s body…the process that took nearly an hour and a half.  He fought and screamed at the top of his lungs for an hour, so much so that we had to swaddle him in a big sheet to keep him from jerking around.  So the question for the night became, “how many adults are needed to hold down our little guy?” He was both mad and traumatized.  But we got through it.  After an hour his little body just gave out and he stopped fighting.  The pictures you see are of those moments.  I didn’t take any of his fight…for obvious reasons.  He allowed her to finish sticking stuff on him for the remainder of the time with little fight.  Diego was on the giant flatscreen to help him stay preoccupied. 

So 9:20 came.  The nurse said the words I was dreading to hear. “Ok, mom, its time for you to go.”  Umm…say that again?  You want me to leave my little boy like this?  That’s how I felt, but I knew it was coming.  Only one parent was allowed to stay the night in the adjoining room to his, and we decided pretty quickly that Darin needed to stay.  My broken hand didn’t allow me to do much, and if he fought throughout the night, I was out of luck.  Plus, Darn can sleep in just about any condition.  I on the other hand can’t. 

So off I went, boohooing all the way to the car.  I drove to Shakey’s to drown my sorrows over some ice cream and then went to check into a nearby hotel.  There was an early morning awaiting…they needed to be picked up at 6. 

He apparently had a fairly typical night.  Because #1 it was so late, and #2 he fought so hard, he was asleep within 20 minutes of them having finished putting the equipment on him.  He slept…I don’t know how he did with all those wires and arm boards on, but he did.  He woke up one extended period of time and then went back to sleep.  There were a few other brief wake ups..just enough for Darin to be able to stick his head out the door and give him a little security letting him know he was still right there. 

Six o’clock the next morning, I walked up to a totally worn out and traumatized looking boy…adhesive and glue still all over him and hair totally tossled.  Sad sight.  But he smiled and gave me a big hug, then passed out shortly after in the carseat. 

We won’t know results for another week or two.  They should mail them to us soon.  Not sure what to expect.  Pictures below are of the process of hooking him up.  This is a sight that will hurt a mama’s heart, so be prepared.