HGTV star Jasmine Roth shares her daughter’s unexpected diagnosis and the importance of recognizing pediatric sleep apnea early.
When you first started noticing that your daughter had sleep problems, did you think it could be sleep apnea?
No, not at all. I didn’t even know kids could have sleep apnea, so it wasn’t on my radar at all. Her sleep struggles were something that we’d dealt with since she was as young as six months old. We had sleep consultants try to help us, but we never figured it out.
Then, when she was a little over 3 years old, she started doing this weird snorting noise when she slept. We took her to the pediatrician, who recommended we go to an ENT, who knew immediately what was going on. He told us her adenoids and tonsils were swollen, and she would probably need surgery because she had sleep apnea.
That was the first time we heard kids could have sleep apnea. It sounded like a really big deal to us, so we actually opted to do a sleep study first before the surgery. Her tests came back that she had borderline severe sleep apnea — she was waking up seven times per hour. Obviously, we needed to do the surgery, and it was fine! Her recovery was quick, and it’s been a game-changer for her.
Are there any common misconceptions you’ve noticed about kids and sleep apnea?
For me, it’s less of a miseducation and more of just a complete lack of education. We all know to do our pediatric checkups. I read all the books, and I have friends and family who have babies. I don’t want to say I knew it all, but I felt like I had a pretty good handle on things to look for. This was definitely not on my radar, and I wish it had been, because I think if it had been, I would have been a little bit more prone to diagnose it, or at least notice it and get it diagnosed sooner.
How’s your daughter doing now?
Amazing! Hazel is sleeping like a champ! Five or six weeks after surgery, she slept through the night for the first time, which means we slept through the night. She has no issues — just goes to sleep, sleeps through the night, and wakes up in the morning, which anybody with a child knows is a big deal.
What advice do you have for parents who have noticed their child isn’t getting a full night of sleep?
The first thing is just to notice it. Don’t assume it’s normal if your child is a year old and they’re not sleeping through the night. Don’t ignore it and just say, “Oh, they’re a bad sleeper.” Most likely, it’s something that’s a bigger issue. Developmentally, our children need sleep to grow and change. Don’t wait to get it taken care of, because it really could lead to bigger issues further down the line.
