It’s among a parent’s worst fear when they bring their baby home form the hospital. Now a local mother is sharing her terrifying ordeal while hard to believe a year has almost gone by. Eight weeks too soon, Andrew was born weighing just four pounds.
“I didn't actually meet him until about 30 hours later,” said Stephanie Sjogren.
Underdeveloped lungs kept Andrew in the NICU for five weeks.
“I knew he was coming home soon because he was taking a bottle. I was freaking out. I was like ‘how do I know that he’s not just going to stop breathing’,” she said.
Hoping for reassurance Sjogren ordered the Owlet, a device that monitors baby's vitals like heart rate and breathing.
She kept it by her pillow and constantly connected to her phone so she never missed an alert.
“I heard this almost like a really loud alarm go off. I flipped on the light and pick him up and he has chunks of formula in his nose. So he's not breathing I’m freaking out, I go and get the nasal aspirator and get the chunks out and he lets out this relief scream. I’m crying he's crying,” said Sjogren.
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Doctors told her Andrew had reflux.
“They're just not mature and big enough yet to handle clearing their airways,” Dr. Joseph Migliuri said.
Some doctors agree the Owlet is the right reassurance for parents.
“It is a health and wellness device it is not a FDA approved medical device but they are working with the FDA to produce a medical version of the monitor,” he said.
“Is it worth that kind of peace of mind, and to me it was,” said Sjogren.
The Owlet does not prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and doctors don’t suggest parents buy any baby monitoring device hoping to prevent SIDS.
