Tuesday, August 14, 2007

How you decorate a room around medical equipment.......

I am sure there are more creative ways, but this is what we have come up with. All of these things Rhett needs in his room, and unless Andy and I down size to a twin bed, get rid of all of our clothes and start going commando so Rhett can have our room, well this will have to do......

Here you are looking in from the door to the left.....



And to the right.....



Here is the crib, with the table right next to it; holding the CPAP Machine and mask, his pulse ox machine which measures his oxygen saturation in his blood, as well as his heart rate. That thing beeps at me more than it's worth....of course there is the emergency bottle of pediasure for those nights when Rhett decides that 2 am is a wonderful time for a snack.....Oh, and the emergency roll of tape to keep his pulse ox probe on his foot. Coban no longer works, he has learned how to take that off.....(curse those improving fine motor skills.......)



Here is a close up of what those silly machines look like.....



Next we have the shot of his toybox and the same table next to the crib. We have to keep a gallon of distilled water under the table for the humidifier in the CPAP machine. Regular water causes.....um.....stuff to happen that is not good. I wasn't really paying attention when they told me why it needed distilled water. All I heartd was blah blah blah, distilled water good......blah blah blah, regular tap water bad....got it.

Oh,and we put toys on top of the toy box why? Because it is fun to push them off in one swipe.



Next we have his crib. Notice how it is all nice and bright? Kind of looks like someone puked fun all over huh? Well that is just how this nearly two year old little boy likes things. He has his Garfield pillowcase given to him by his favorite nurse in the PICU. His puppy that he got during that same hospital stay. His Tigger from Disneyland....(he won't sleep without these two animals), he has his favorite puppy blankie, and a fleece blankie to lay on for extra comfy softness. This is how we sleep. I guess when one very small boy is hooked up to so many diffrent machines to help him keep breathing at night, this same boy is entitled to have very picky sleeping condtions.........



Next we have his shelf with his collection of froggies. This shelf has little boxes in it that are just perfect for holding Rhett's Tender Grips (The little stickies on his face that are anything BUT Tender), as well as keeping track of his extra pulse ox probes. See? How handy is THAT???



Notice that there is no dresser in his room? That's because there is no room other than in his closet. So that's where it is, in his closet. We also have this lovely contraption.....



This is Rhett's oxgen concentrator. There are two major reasons why it is not in his room. 1. There is no room, 2. The thing is obnoxioulsy loud. So it sits in our living room on the main floor of our house, AWAY from all of the bedrooms. (Thank you 50 foot oxygen cord.) This way we can all sleep at night, at least a little.

7 comments:

Niksmom said...

Hi Mom to Rhett. I found you through Jen over at Pinwheels. If she tells me something is good I believe her! Wow, your post and photos remind me of the days after we brought our Nik home (after 109 days in the NICU). No CPAP, he was on a canula by then. Oh I feel for you...the cramped space, the excess of equipment.

I look forward to reading more about Rhett and your family.
BTW, Jen nominated you for an award. Having walked in some similar shoes...YOU DESERVE IT! Glad I found you. All the best.

Kei said...

I like the colorful way Rhett's room is decorated. It keeps the focus OFF the Medical equipment, so his room looks like a fun kids room, not a clinical setting. Way to go Pam!!!!
And I love the giraffe in doctor's scrubs! How cute is that?!!

Emily said...

What a great room! I love the colors and I hardly noticed the medical stuff.

Anonymous said...

You've been tagged :)

Shannon @ Gabi's World said...

I think the room looks great and not cluttered! BTW, tap water causes deposits to build up in the machine causing eventual breakdown! But doesn't really matter as long as your following the distilled water blah blah blah good and tap water blah blah blah bad!

Stephanie said...

Rhett's room and Aiden's room look alike! Only we have Pooh on the wall

jennifergg said...

I saw the pulse ox and remembered when Avery had one and how, back then, I was feeling so sorry for him, and for me, that we had to have it...but I never realized how good we had it. It's much easier to keep a pulse ox lead on an infant, I imagine...

Hang in there! I think the room looks terrific.