Husband forgetting to turn oxygen on

[jtmorris]

I don't even know the point of this post. Maybe just a rant. I am very careful with my daughter's oxygen. She is in 0.2 l/min. For about the 3rd time I just went to my daughter who was with my husband and saw the oxygen wasn't on. It wasn't on for 1.5 hours. I could tell as her colour wasn't quite right. I'm quite scared about the damage her break from oxygen will do in her future.
They haven't sent us home on any monitoring equipment.

 

[jd011089]

@jtmorris They sent you home with oxygen and no monitor???? This baffles me!

 

[jtmorris]

@jd011089 In the UK they only send you home with a monitor in select circumstances. I wish they didn't.

 

[patti1950]

@jd011089 In Canada - also wasn’t sent home with a monitor. Former 24 weeker sent home on .25L of o2.

 

[mybloodyxxromance]

@patti1950 Hello. I’m a pediatrician working in Canada. You would have had an oximetry study on the amount of oxygen your child is currently receiving. This showed that your child is safe on that amount of oxygen and there is no need for a monitor.

Having a monitor at home is only recommended in very specific (and rare) circumstances. In almost all cases we avoid it because of the parental anxiety it causes. There are multiple studies showing increased anxiety and increases in admissions and ER visits with no improved outcome for the children.

As the above poster has written… better off not having been given one.

 

[patti1950]

@mybloodyxxromance Oh yes, we definitely did! And also had an ONO about 6 weeks post-discharge and a few other times while weaning.

Sorry, I should’ve stated that it wasn’t a concern we didn’t have a monitor, as this was discussed with our team! Also why we were discouraged from getting an owlet, as well.

Thanks for sharing this here!

 

[diagon]

@mybloodyxxromance We went home with a monitor and it went off in the middle of the night usually at least a couple of times per night, and they were all false alarms! It was very stressful and we woke up so many times with our hearts racing and we were very glad to discontinue the use of the monitor

 

[mybloodyxxromance]

@diagon My twins were born at 34 weeks and spent 2 week in nicu. Before discharge I requested that they turn off the monitors because they were even stressing me out. I take care of children in very similar situations at the hospital and it only really hit home how much you hate the monitor when it’s happening to you and your children. Big learning point for me in the care I give to my patients. There is definitely such thing as too much information.

 

[kevintri99]

@jd011089 They didn't for us in the US and I hated it.

 

[bekahk]

@jd011089 We didn’t have a monitor in the US. Drove me nuts.

 

[mmbministries]

@jtmorris I'd probably lose my temper over this

 

[luris]

@jtmorris Something that works pretty well in our house is saying or counting the steps aloud. For example, I would count aloud the number of scoops of formula I was putting into a bottle, or say aloud the steps when I'm drawing up medication or doing a tube feed.

 

[english_episcopalian]

@luris Great approach, and it has lots of backup in research to show you make fewer mistakes when you do repetitive things this way. We used to do this when our twins had more needs.

 

[stumblingman]

@luris Not medical or baby related but this is my approach for locking the door before I leave and I just taught it to my partner. I always say to myself "I'm locking the door, I'm checking the handle" to create a specific memory of me doing it

 

[luris]

@stumblingman Yes, works in lots of areas!

 

[dolor]

@jtmorris Maybe make a few signs and post them around the house? If he is constantly seeing signs that read oxygen, it may be easier to remember.

 

[nicolelovesjesus]

@jtmorris Is your husband a hands-on parent in other ways? Does he have ADHD or any other condition that impedes his ability to remember details/juggle complex tasks? Does he recognize the severity of his forgetfulness or is he brushing it off? Is he secretly trying to trial her off it?

 

[jtmorris]

@nicolelovesjesus No, it was genuine accident. Every time we take her upstairs or downstairs the oxygen needs to be disconnected and reconnected again (we have a tank upstairs and one tank downstairs) It is an easy mistake to make to be honest I think if I weren't her mother I'd be more likely than my husband to make such a mistake. I know he doesn't mean it but it doesn't take away from the fact that I'm beginning not to trust him which isn't great because I really can't take care of her alone.

I don't think it is intentional because we know based on sleep studies she isn't ready to even wean yet.

 

[nicolelovesjesus]

@jtmorris Ah, that makes sense! Can you set up some alert system? Idk, like a vibrate on your apple watch every 10 mins or something to double check that she’s hooked up?