Bella's EEG

 
This morning Bella had her EEG to see if their continues to be seizure activity after being on her medicine for a month. This is the instructions the NICU sent us home with to prepare for the EEG
1. Bring change of clothes and diapers
2. Bring a bottle
3. Keep the baby up for 3 hours before procedure.

Some of you may know I have been nervous about this for a few weeks, especially since as soon as she gets into the car she is out like a light! Well this morning she ate really good at about 6:30 am and was wide awake until 8:30 when we left for the hospital. She of course fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep until the procedure started. The nurse was WONDERFUL and I told her I didn't have her up for 3 hours. She laughed and said that she doesn't know why they tell parents of newborns that. She said what we get is what we get from her. Bellla's ENTIRE head and face was covered in electrodes. The wires behind her head looked like Medusa. To prevent Bella from trying to pull the electrodes off her head or face they covered her entire head, face and chin with gauze. Bella looked like a mummy!
The let me lay on the bed next to her to give her a bottle. The test started and the first thing they did was flash a strobe light in her eyes. Some kids can have seizures as a reaction to flashing lights. The strobe light started off slow and got increasingly faster and faster. Bella was so good and would just close her eyes when it would flash. I was the one who had the problem with the lights! Bella sucked down her bottle and just dozed on and off for the next 25 minutes. She did manage to pull off an electrode off her face but luckily it was right when the EEG was over!
Overall it was a great experience and I'm glad it's out of the way. Hopefully we will know the results by the end of the week when her neurologist will contact us. Her are some pictures that Anthony took with his cell phone.