Anyone had an infant at altitude who needed oxygen?

Man, what a stressful week. Wife has high blood pressure on Thursday so the docs decide it's best to induce the delivery of my first child almost 3 weeks early. New baby comes about 30 freaking hours later (!) and is totally healthy and beautiful - cool!

Wife gets SUPER high blood pressure after the birth and has to stay in the hospital until this evening (7 days at the hospital). Otherwise wife is fine. Now my wife is on blood pressure meds and we have to monitor her BP several times a day until she stabilizes, which docs say 2 weeks or less. OK, not the end of the world but the doc told me that we were in "stroke territory" when her BP was crazy high at the hospital.

Then, as a precaution, we had to bring home an oxygen canister hooked up to the baby because we live at almost 9000 feet. The oxygen company sent out a tech to test new baby's blood oxygen levels at 9:00PM (impressive service there).

Tech says the baby is "borderline" meaning that we need to keep her on oxygen until the docs say she's ok to go without. Wife freaks. I tell her that the docs at the hospital told us that "many" infants need to be on mild oxygen from a few days to a few weeks. She won't hear it and is stressed.

Anyone experience this stuff with the oxygen at altitude with infants?

And thanks again for everyone's support. So cool. [Beer]

Not unusual at altitude, even at sea level docs sometimes kept newbies in incubators for a few days after delivery. We needed to keep our daughter in hospital 3 days after a healthy delivery. 29 yrs later she is still a PITA
Upside is she is someone elses PITA :)

I had one that needed to be on O2 for a few weeks. Healthy as an ox now, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Its cool man she will be fine, remember we all get winded @ altitude and this is the first time she has ever experienced it.
BTW congrats again, you guys just relax and enjoy your newest member!
I will keep her and your family in my prayers!

Sounds like she will be fine. Remember that your Momma and Pappa bear protection genes just got turned on. Kids are tough they can hack it, they just need a little help sometimes.

3 weeks early is still early... It is prob a precautionary measure since the infants lungs are not fully developed yet. Babies are tough little guys, wait till their first fall/illness/etc... No matter what they go through they just want to play and smile for momma and poppa!!

You need to calm your wife down so she can lower her BP.

Not an issue. It will be fine in a few weeks. So, what flavor did you get? Blue or pink?

Congrats on the kiddo, My wife and I laugh at all the crazy things we worried about. Kids are tuff. I remember staying up staring at the sleeping baby to make sure they were still breathing. The worst so far for me was when they start eating, I was always so afraid they would choke on something. Have fun, it goes to quick and kiss a good nights sleep goodbye for a few years.

Nothing unusual in needing o2. Our son was 6 weeks premature and had to have O2. Hve fun, dont worry and sleep when you can. Kids are experts at keeping parents awake at night. [ROFL1]

We live at 8900 and ours is 9 weeks old today. Our pediatrician told us that babies will drop to their lowest O2 levels right around 2 weeks old. We had Apria healthcare come out and leave a SpO2 monitor at the house for an overnight study. It would record her O2 levels continually. Once we were able to see what her levels did for 12 hours we knew we didn't need it. I have a couple buddies that live in Leadville ~10,000 and they have had both experiences.

I would say if in doubt go for it, then you won't have to stress although the O2 stuff is a PITA. If you can get a monitor then you will know definitively. Let me know if you need a pediatrician too, we found a pretty good place in Denver West so it's a pretty easy trip from the hills.

Also, we were full term (came on our due date exactly) so I'm sure that played a part. Good luck with her.

Our first was 6 weeks early and had to be kept on O2 for a few days until the Docs were satisfied that his lungs were developed enough and had the strength to function on a stand alone basis.
As I understand it the respiratory system is one of the last systems to "mature" in the womb.
Kiddo comes a little early, they get concerned as far as development of the respiratory system.
9k is going to make it a little tougher on the kiddo but I would think if the Docs were really worried they would have him down here in an incubator.

Yes my 4 month old was on oxygen for her first month or so of her life. From what I was hearing it is quite normal at elevation for newborns to be on oxygen. Was the same situation, we had to wait for her o2 levels to become up to par.

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Originally Posted by GilpinGuy

Anyone experience this stuff with the oxygen at altitude with infants?

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We did.
Brought him home up here on oxygen, After a while he didn't need it anymore. Wasn't a big deal.

The hard part was keeping the nasal cannula on him.
Had to tape it on most of the time.

Our little girl was 3 months early..27 weeks. Roughest 2 months of my life were with her in the NICU. Those nurses were heaven sent. When she came home they had her on 02 for a couple weeks but she kept tearing it off. Nurse said if she is strong enough to not want it on her face she's good to go. We have a perfectly happy, healthy 4 year old now.

I have seen plenty of even older babies go to 10,000 and wind up needing oxygen

Our daughter was born a few weeks early, intentionally, and they were concerned about her lungs and temperature. She turned out fine.

I think the Doctors are overly cautious and tend to panic parents, mothers especially, with some of the diagnosis.

Have faith and prayers your way.

Eh, rub a little bacon grease on her chest, she'll be fine! [Tooth]

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Originally Posted by rondog

Eh, rub a little bacon grease on her chest, she'll be fine! [Tooth]

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[ROFL1]

My newborn son had to go into an O2 tent right after he was born. Stayed in it most of the day then was able to go without it from then on. I stayed by his side the whole time - freaked me out.

Congrats on the new little one! Doesn't sound like anything you need to worry about. Can't wait to me the new little one!

Congrats! As far as the O2 goes it never hurts to have a little bit extra anyways. With you guys being at altitude and all, I think it's more of just a safety precaution. Plus with the extra O2 it allows the heart and lungs to have a lesser load on them and in theory should help growth and development. Before you know, it will no longer be needed.

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Originally Posted by RMAC757

Our little girl was 3 months early..27 weeks. Roughest 2 months of my life were with her in the NICU. Those nurses were heaven sent. When she came home they had her on 02 for a couple weeks but she kept tearing it off. Nurse said if she is strong enough to not want it on her face she's good to go. We have a perfectly happy, healthy 4 year old now.

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If you don't mind me asking... What hospital?

Hang in there! My son was born at Memorial and when they handed him to me, I asked is he supposed to be that color? He looked like a smurf. They snatched him away and whisked him to NICU where he spent two weeks there. When we finally took him home to Woodland Park, he had to be on O2 for three months until he acclimated. He hated the nasal cannula and we had to check him all night to make sure he did not yank the cannula off. It was stressful, but ask questions and good luck! Being a father is a blast. Especially now that my son is 11 and likes shooting and Boy Scouts.