Sleep Studies--aka "Mama Gets No Sleep" Studies

What a week of sleep studies it's been. Each baby has now gone through one study. Kyle was first, and it was like a dream come true for him, I'm sure. From the moment I first heard his hysteric shrieking as the tech attached electrodes and sensors and belt monitors onto him, I knew this was going to be nothing but fun. I was right! Kyle and I spent some "quality time" together for a few hours, taking turns crying, until about midnight that night, when finally he "fell asleep for the night" and only woke up crying three times between midnight and 6am. Score! And the tubes in his nose, well he only yanked those out about a half dozen times.

Lauren, on the other hand, handled it like a rock star. And no, I don't mean that we made the tech provide her with a dedicated masseur, Fiji bottled water and bowls of green-only M&M's. I mean that Lauren sat happily while the tech hooked her up, she fell asleep within minutes after I turned the lights out, and barely woke up at all. She never messed with her wires or her nasal tubes. She should be the poster child for pediatric sleep studies.

And me? Well, I was up with Kyle only about 2 dozen times during his study. And with Lauren, I was so afraid she'd hear me roll over or crack my feet (I have to rotate my feet and crack all knuckles and joints that can be popped in my feet before going to sleep) and then wake up and let her wrath loose on me that I couldn't sleep all night. I wished I had some old Mad Men TV episodes on my iPod so that at least I could have done something other than stare at the walls all night.

So hooray. It's done. They may each need one more sleep study, to titrate their bi-pap machines for sleeping at night. But now I know what I can bring to distract them during the setup process (Baby Einstein DVD) and also to schedule our checkin for later in the evening so that they are truly sleepy by the time we need them to sleep.

And their health is still good. I had a scratchy, phlegmy throat last week, but they didn't show any signs of a cold or anything else, so keeping them inside and away from crowds and stores must be working.

Happy Last Weekend Before Christmas Shopping, everyone!