Another Sleep Doctor

We went to another sleep doctor last week.  It was our first venture outside of the Children's Hospital network so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It started out a little rough because the doctor is only at the location close to us one day a week, in the afternoon.  (Read: during naptime)  Justin was a little sleepy, but the appointment turned out fabulous anyway.

I brought the copy of our latest sleep study and went over the timeline of our sleep issues and the doctor listened very intently and asked questions.  It was a very thorough discussion and I felt really good about the way things started.  I asked if it is really possible to get a complete view of what a person's sleep is like in a one-night sleep study and he said no.  It usually takes at least a week of observation to develop a somewhat reliable picture of a person's sleep pattern and routine.  That makes sense to me and to have a doctor say it means that now I know he won't come to conclusions (or write me off!) quite as easily as our other doctor.

Then he said that he thinks that the machine is not set at the optimal pressure for Justin and we need to do some experimenting.  (That's when the sky opened and I saw the light.)  He is willing to adjust the pressure and then look at the data from the DME (which he doesn't assume to be completely useless) and consider what needs to be done next.  He is going to look at the reports and see us every few weeks after a setting change to hear our report of Justin's behavior.  He is willing to change the setting without a sleep study every time!  You can DO that?  That is amazing and wonderful!

He said that he would take over monitoring of our CPAP machine, which he did with lightening speed within about 2 hours of our appointment.  AND he changed the pressure so as soon as Justin is feeling better (not throwing up) we can see how it works.  So I cancelled my hard-fought-for sleep study appointment for later this month and we will try this approach.  I am feeling good.  So happy we saw this doctor and praying that this is good for our family's sleep.  We need some good sleep before baby comes, because I am pretty convinced that our daughter is going to be the worst sleeper of the bunch.  She doesn't sleep very much at all now and it's dark and warm in there.  What are we in for next??