problems other than sb?

[lolathechecker]

ok, so my baby is 3 weeks old now. she has sleep apnea and her heart rate drops below 70 bpm. so she is hooked up to a monitor. she also doesnt seem to want to eat. i have a hard time feeding her, because she eats a little, but she quits and doesnt take a whole feeding without me trying to force her. im worried she will have failure to thrive. any suggestions on the feedings? and does anyone know if the heart thing might be related to the sb?

[angel]

My son didn't have sleep apnea but he was wierd about eating when he was a baby espically a newborn. He most of the time wouldn't take an entire bottle. I just took the bottle down when he decided he didn't want anymore waited burped him waited about 10 minutes tried again. Sometimes it worked and sometimes i did that all day until he eventually would get all the formula he needed that day. Funny thing is he is still the same way. Sometimes he will eat little bits all day long and some days he eats regularly.
Hope you find a solution

[Dodger67]

Could the apnea and heart rate problem be related to Chiari Malformation?
A problem with the brainstem could possibly be the cause.
You should ask her neurologist if there may be a connection

[Barb]

Absolutely agree with Dodger. It sounds a lot like Chiari issues.

[lolathechecker]

ok, thanks. i dont know alot about chiari. i know she has it, and what it is, but not alot about what it can cause. she's eating better now. so im glad for that. i'll check with the ns.

[Barb]

gagging, apnea, leg and arm weakness, speech delay. Chiari can be the cause of a lot of issues., Good luck. ok, thanks. i dont know alot about chiari. i know she has it, and what it is, but not alot about what it can cause. she's eating better now. so im glad for that. i'll check with the ns.

[lolathechecker]

shes eating alot better. i have a theory about the feeding issue: she was fed by an ng tube for the first two weeks, and i think she just wasnt used to having to work for her food. but now that shes gotten the hang of it, or atleast gotten hungry enough, shes eating fine. still having apnea issues, the pediatrician says it may be chiari, but also that it may be because she was a few weeks early. the hospital papers say that it's "apnea with bradycaria associated with prematurity" so they say she should grow out of it. but if its chiari, do you think she'll outgrow it, or will she be on the monitor forever? her episodes get pretty bad. she turns blue and you have to rub her chest to wake her up.

[Dodger67]

If she doesn't outgrow it and it turns out to be Chiari related she will have surgery to relieve the pressure, which should solve the problem.