After Open-Heart Surgery, SNOO Was Key to Recovery
Babies pack a lot of accomplishments into a short amount of timeā¦evolving from tiny cuddly blobs (we say this with love!), to engaged, entertaining, on-the-go little humans in the blink of an eye. And some babies have extra challenges to overcome, making their accomplishments all the more heartwarming. Thatās the case with Baby Judah, who in his first months of life, had to undergoĀ andĀ recover from open-heart surgery.
During mum Kristina Dreilingās 20-week pregnancy scan, Kristina learned that her son hadĀ a heart defect.Ā Shortly after,Ā she received the official diagnosis of Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), which describes a combination of four different heart defects that conspire to prevent the body from getting enough oxygen.
Babies with this diagnosis are prone to tet spells caused by a sharp drop in oxygenĀ that turns a babyās skin, lips, and nails blue. Crying or agitation can spark these scary spells, so keeping a baby calm is key, the paediatric cardiologist explained to Kristina. When Kristina asked how she could keep their newborn calm, her doctor recommended SNOO.
āFrom there I looked it up and thought I had to have it,ā she remembers.
Judah arrived about two weeks early. Though Kristina knew from the outset he would need surgery to put in a shunt, the doctors learned that due to his specific type of TOF, they could wait until Judah was a little bit bigger before performing open-heart surgery.
When Kristina brought Judah home, she was hesitant to put him in SNOO right away because he was so tiny. But soon, she realisedĀ SNOOĀ was necessary during a long colicky spell.Ā
āHe had been crying at least 30 minutes straight. I was at the point that I thought we need to go to emergency room. I tried everything, but with COVID, there was nobody around. It was just me and my 3-year-old; my husband was at work,ā she says. āAnd with his condition, I thought, Iāll put him in SNOO. Within a couple minutes, he calmed right down and fell asleep. From there, itās been like his little buddy.āĀ
When Judah was just a little over 4 months old, his buddy accompanied him to the hospitalĀ following open-heart surgery.
āOnce he graduated from the cardiac ICU, he was doing well enough to be in step-down unit, but he was having the hardest time recovering and gaining weight,ā she says. āWe asked if we could bring SNOO, and our surgeon was like, āabsolutely.ā From there he got a lot better.āĀ
In addition to helping to keep Judah calm during recovery, SNOOās special built-in swaddle had other benefits. As the incision begins to heal, the stitches can get very itchy, which causes babies to pull at them. However, with Judahās arms swaddled down, he wasnāt able to claw at his chest.
āAfter his surgery his startle reflux was very strong, and this helped calm him. Plus, sternal precautions including not lifting your arms, but you canāt really tell a baby not to do so,ā Kristina says. āEven though he is now beyond the age where swaddling is advised, SNOO has allowed him to be swaddled safely.ā
SNOO Sackās two-way zipper design also allowed both ECG and draining tubes to be threaded through seamlessly. āThat way he could rest and relax, which is huge for recovery,ā Kristina explains.
Judahās been back home for a couple of months now. And though he will probably have at least one more open-heart surgery in his future, heāsĀ made big strides. Having already conquered major post-op milestones, now heās mastering other milestonesālike handing out high-fives!
āOur experience has been amazing, and I am hoping other heart families can utilise and know SNOO is out there,ā Kristina says. āMy husband and I have been floored by how amazing itās been.ā
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