First, Tiny Guy, who has been sunbathing, has not made improvements in his levels. The reason that they tested his bilirubin in the first place was because he and I do not have the same blood type. His level at 8 hours old was 5.9 and his level at 20 hours old was 7.7 which is apparently just on the bottom of high risk for whatever it is.
Of course I have been getting feedback all day about how this whole thing is ridiculous and that what he NEEDS is to be nursing all the time to get colostrum and pass meconium and all that. I would like nothing more.
They also did a CBC on him, which isn't back yet.
As for The Boy, his doc just came to see me and I asked her why he keeps getting sick? She said that they may need to take out the port and replace it. The infection might be sticking to the wall of the port no matter how much it is treated with antibiotics. We shall see.
I hear a lot of people telling me to take care of myself, which is pretty darned difficult. I feel okay but overall pretty helpless.
6 comments:
My DS also had jaundice at birth, and the docs said the best thing we could do for him was to keep feeding and feeding him, because it flushes the bilirubin out of his system. I hope you can convince your doc that it would be best for your new little buy that he be able to feed as often as he can!
Ausonie had jaundice too, not right at the start but after a few days. The doc wanted me to admit her but I thought that would be counterproductive (I agree with you, how does anybody bond with their baby in the hospital??) and went against his advice to even keep checking the bili... Instead she lived in a sling, and only went out when the sun was out and she was toasting on the balcony. Even though I am reluctant to advise going against doctor's orders, 7.7 in itself is NOT dangerous (only the upslope is), so I'd keep him by my side nursing, keep checking the bili and if it goes above 12, THEN talk to me about lights... Best of luck!
With Abby's jaundice they really were just looking for the peak since it rises for a couple days after birth. Once they saw it start coming back down they let us be for the most part. My Dr. actually told me to make sure to wake her up to breastfeed as much as possible. The jaundice made her so sleepy it was difficult to wake her every 2-3 hours to get her to nurse. Hopefully things are getting a little better by now.
Neither of my twins had jaundice, even though they were 35 weeks. I don't know how they pulled that off. We got off to a terrible start nursing not only because I was recovering from the emergency C-Section, but also because the twins were in the NICU--which is on a totally different floor from postpartum. Plus, they weren't cleared to actually nurse for a few days. Because of the general anesthesia and everything, I didn't get to pump for the first time until SEVERAL (read 8-12) hours after they were born...and then I could only pump for a few days until they were allowed to nurse...and then I could only nurse them once or twice a day until they came home because it was so hard for me to get up there to nurse them. There were times when I would go up there to nurse, they wouldn't be ready, and then I'd miss a meal for myself, which was awful. Plus, the twins never learned how to nurse very well because they were on bottles in the NICU for most of the time and then got bottles at home some of the time as well. Ergo, my milk didn't come in so well (I would pump 30 mins and get less than 2 oz total) and I had to stop at 3 months. :-( It SUCKED!!!! Bleargh. I hope next time I'll get a better start so I'll actually produce milk! (Sorry for the rant, but it bugs me...)
You, I'm not worried about. You know what you're doing and your baby is already off to a good start. Now if they would just bring him to you when he's hungry, you'd be all set...
The hospital where I had Alex was very pro-breastfeeding. When he starting with the jaundice, they had me strip him down to his diaper, lay him skin-to-skin on my chest (nursing or just cuddling-all the time) and the two of us sat in front of the open window during the day. It made for an awesome bonding experience and took care of the jaundice.
I'm sure the hospital staff are used to mothers who are more complacent. No wonder so many moms choose to go with formula, when the staff practically encourage it!
You're a strong woman, Mol, and I think everything will be okay. I would get them to bring J to nurse at least every two hours, instead of three. He can be in the little bili blanket during his nursing sessions.
Many, many hugs to you!
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