No - seriously. What's with this Bili person?

As we had agreed to - we had Bo into the clinic early the next morning (Tuesday) for his well-baby check-up. There were some complications with his circumcision, so we had asked the pediatrician that was seeing him to take a look at that too. She did. We weren't happy with her handling of the situation - thinking she had been quite rough with him - our poor little guy was screaming and crying - something he doesn't do very much of. It was enough to send me into a lactating tailspin. We left the office amid the confusion and chaos and apparently didn't get any of the other issues taken care of.

I mentioned in the last post that Bo's bilirubin count was starting to cause some problems. At first check it was at about 11. The next check (prior to leaving the hospital) was around 14.  It would be roughly another 36 hours before we checked it again. I called in again and managed to get in with another doctor (one that I trusted) Wednesday afternoon. He was great - listed closely to my concerns for my little guy and was able to address all of the issues, even discussing the bilirubin levels again. He convinced me to go to the lab before I went home and get one more check, just to be safe. The nice thing about bili checks is that they get results pretty quickly. Usually in about an hour or so.

After I got home, I got the phone call that Bo's bili level was up again. It was at 16.7 (at 77 hours of birth). We were told we should take Bo in to the emergency room and have it checked again, first thing in the morning. So off we went, thinking we would be in for a quick check and back home again. I had no idea how serious things were going to be.

So - we meander into Saint Anthony Hospital - where we had just been only a couple of days earlier. We find our way to the lab and get his bili checked. Then we waited. And waited. And then we were shown into a small room on the pediatric floor with another bili baby and her mom & gma. So - if you're keeping count, that's 4 adults and two newborns in one tiny little room. Ugh. Our roommates were great though - and when we got the results back, both babies were admitted - we ended up being roommates for the next couple of days. Bo's results were 18.1. And the doctors seemed pretty concerned. And that's when I thought "maybe I should figure out why this is a big deal..." turns out - high bili levels not only cause jaundice (which is the yellow-ish skin and yellow in the whites of the eyes), but it becomes toxic at about 20 points (which Bo was very quickly reaching) and can even cause brain damage at those levels. It was more important than ever that we get those levels down in Bo and do it right away.

waiting for phototherapy to start...

Phototherapy is one of the main ways that doctors and hospitals help little babies lower their bilirubin levels. Basically, babies sit under and/or on top of these lamps that break down the extra red blood cells in their skin and systems. The babies then poop out the bilirubin. So - ideally, keeping your kiddo under the lights and feeding them like crazy is the way to get their levels down and keep them safe. Enter the crazy cycle.

Bo would NOT stay under the lights for the entire first day. He fussed. He cried. He writhed. He hated the lights. We had no idea what was wrong. It was frustrating and anxiety-inducing. No matter what we tried, he just would not simmer down. We even tried adjusting the lights so that he could lay in my lap and then we pulled the lights over to be over him on the bed, in my lap. That only lasted for about 30 minutes. The only way we got him down under the light in the bassinet (at the very end of the day when he was worn out from a day full of fussing), was to have him swaddled tight. And, of course, that doesn't really work for exposing his skin to the light. Ugh.

getting creative with phototherapy

His bili levels were checked again that evening (Thursday evening). And had risen even more - up to 18.8. That - combined with the fact that his circumcision spot was starting to look infected meant that I was officially in freak out mode. The resident doc seemed to be getting more concerned too. She even mentioned that if he spiked a fever because of the infection that they would have to test him for sepsis, which would probably include a spinal/brain tap.  Have I mentioned I was in freak out mode? Don had already left for the day (visiting hours were over) so I called him to get the word out to our prayer supporters.

After talking with Bo's pediatrician - and the resident doc on call that night, it was decided that we would try to give Bo some formula (he had been exclusively breastfed up to that point) to see if he would be able to sleep better. After the very first bottle, which he ate most of the bottle, he passed out for an hour. Then he woke up and took another full bottle. The little guy ate so much and I felt terrible for not being able to feed him more (we figured it out later - much thanks to a lactation consultant - that the jaundice and infection were much harder on the little guy than we thought - the act of feeding was terribly exhausting for him and he wasn't able to get enough milk that way). Switching to the bottle (using formula at first and then transitioning back over to breastmilk) was how we had to feed him for the next day or so - he was too wiped out for feeding. He needed to be fed.

Feeling content after getting a belly full of milk

As soon as he had a belly full of milk, he was the relaxed, easy going baby that we met the first couple of days after his birth. He had been exhausted and hungry. So for the next 24 hours he pretty much only woke up to eat and have his diaper changed. Otherwise, he was happily sleeping under the bili lights.

catching some rays

That's when the good news started pouring in. His bili levels were going down - the next check showed them at about 14. He was at 11.5 at his final check on Friday night. And the antibiotics he was on starting working wonders for his infection. He was healing up in fine style. (And have I mentioned that I love the nursing staff at Saint Anthony's? Seriously some good peeps there...)

We were finally discharged Friday night at about 9 PM (what is it with us being discharged so late?)
Again - we were told we needed to get his bili checked bright an early the next day. So I called Don to come and pick us up (again - visiting hours were already over and we had assumed that we would be in the hospital again for another night.)

chillaxin' - waiting for the discharge papers...

We had the best news yet the next day (Saturday morning) when we got his bili checked again. Not only did it not go back up, but it went down to 9.1. Awesome, little guy.  :)

Side note: several times, we were told that jaundice is a very common thing in newborns. We were told this by friends, strangers, random nurses. I get that it might be common. But it's somehow different when it's your baby that won't take the therapy they need to get better. And it even more different when it's your baby (the one that you just delivered HOURS earlier) that could possibly be getting brain damage if things don't change. And soon.  So - thanks to all the well-meaning comments and conversations about how common jaundice is, but just know for future reference - it really wasn't all that comforting...

So - now we're back at home. Happily adjusting to a much-less-stressful life at home with our newest addition. He's so happy and a really good baby. He sleeps and lets us sleep too. And he's got a hearty appetite (such a good sign). Love this little guy and so happy to have everyone at home together again. It's been a crazy week.


Thanks, everyone for reading and sharing in this story with us. And thanks to everyone who gave us love and support during this crazy time in our lives. We relied heavily on friends and family to help us through - and relied most heavily on our prayer warriors. Thanks again for all the love.  :)