Anyone use an HME at night?

[Mom2TwinsPlus1]

Ok so Emma is vented but an HME is pretty much HME with or without the vent.

Since we have lost our crazy nurse and I am down to 3 nights of nursing I made a few changes in the way Emma sleeps at night, for my sleeping pleasure as well as hers. I have set her feeding pump to intervel feed her at her night feeding times and have put an HME on her instead of her vent heater. That way there is no water build up in the lines, that could lead to alarms, and me having to get up and mess around with her and make her stir.

She has not had a complete "leave me alone and make it dark" night since she got on her vent. She has been sleeping wonderfully and is finally awake during the day. I love it.

I put her back on her vent heater during the day as much as possible. (unless we go outside of course) so my question is this. Does anyone else sleep with HME on and not a mist collar or vent heater? If so do you find they dry out easily? I haven't noticed a big change in Emma's dry/wetness. But am curious if I might run into an issue down the road. She is on it from about 12am to 9am or so.

Oh I might add that her vent really only ever goes off if she has water in her lines, she doesnt knock it off easily or anything and her pulse ox hardly EVER goes off so the last few nights we have had alarmless and quite nights. :-)

[Livi's_mama]

Livi has just used an HME with the vent for almost a yr now.

It works great for her. Her lungs look wonderful in xray's (they looked and sounded wet for awhile) and all her blood gases last week after her surgery were in the 40's!