jaundice: a yellow tint to the skin or eyes caused by an excess of bilirubin, a substance created when red blood cells break down. If left untreated, it can lead to severe brain damage, or even death in an infant.
While in the hospital after having Bryson, we noticed that he began to look a little orangy-yellow. Along with his routine blood work, he also had a jaundice check, which came back elevated. This isn't always a huge deal, and often the issue will resolve on it's own with little to no intervention. It's fairly common, especially among babies born early. Bryson was born at 37 weeks. Unfortunately, Bryson's bilirubin levels continued to grow. During this time, all Bryson wanted to do was sleep. I couldn't even get him to stay awake while he was nursing (which eventually led to a major drop in my milk supply, but that's a whole other story that I may or may not get into.)
His nurse had to continue checking his levels to see if he would need additional support when we left the hospital. The pediatrician at the hospital determined that we needed to meet with Bryson's actual pediatrician the next day after leaving the hospital.
When the doctor saw him, she knew immediately that he needed some help just by looking at the color of his skin. She sent us immediately to get more lab work done. This was probably the 5th time he'd had to have lab work. It required pricking his heel with a needle and squeezing blood from his foot into a vile. Depending on how well he bled, it was about a 5 minute process each time. And those 5 minutes were excruciating for me. I had to leave the room crying on more than one occasion because of how awful it was. I was so thankful to Ty for stepping up and being the strong one during those tests.
His bilirubin levels determined he would need intervention. We had to have a home medical company bring out a bili-light. It was a machine connected to a flat panel that emitted a blue light. The light had to be against Bryson's skin 24 hours a day, unless he was being changed, bathed, or in the car going for more lab work. The light would cause the bilirubin levels to drop. We had to go in nearly every day for more lab work to make sure his levels were coming down.
It was difficult enough navigating life with a newborn, but having one attached to a machine at all times was tough! But after a few days, we got a call that his bilirubin levels had gone down enough to disconnect him from the light and send the machine back. His skin slowly returned to a regular pinkish-tan color, and he began to be more alert and want to eat more often.
I felt such a huge relief sending that dang light back. I was so grateful that Bryson would no longer have to go back for daily blood work, and was happy to actually be able to carry my baby around the house.
While in the hospital after having Bryson, we noticed that he began to look a little orangy-yellow. Along with his routine blood work, he also had a jaundice check, which came back elevated. This isn't always a huge deal, and often the issue will resolve on it's own with little to no intervention. It's fairly common, especially among babies born early. Bryson was born at 37 weeks. Unfortunately, Bryson's bilirubin levels continued to grow. During this time, all Bryson wanted to do was sleep. I couldn't even get him to stay awake while he was nursing (which eventually led to a major drop in my milk supply, but that's a whole other story that I may or may not get into.)
His nurse had to continue checking his levels to see if he would need additional support when we left the hospital. The pediatrician at the hospital determined that we needed to meet with Bryson's actual pediatrician the next day after leaving the hospital.
When the doctor saw him, she knew immediately that he needed some help just by looking at the color of his skin. She sent us immediately to get more lab work done. This was probably the 5th time he'd had to have lab work. It required pricking his heel with a needle and squeezing blood from his foot into a vile. Depending on how well he bled, it was about a 5 minute process each time. And those 5 minutes were excruciating for me. I had to leave the room crying on more than one occasion because of how awful it was. I was so thankful to Ty for stepping up and being the strong one during those tests.
His bilirubin levels determined he would need intervention. We had to have a home medical company bring out a bili-light. It was a machine connected to a flat panel that emitted a blue light. The light had to be against Bryson's skin 24 hours a day, unless he was being changed, bathed, or in the car going for more lab work. The light would cause the bilirubin levels to drop. We had to go in nearly every day for more lab work to make sure his levels were coming down.
Orange baby. You can see some of the blue light up by his neck.
And he was quite happy.
I felt such a huge relief sending that dang light back. I was so grateful that Bryson would no longer have to go back for daily blood work, and was happy to actually be able to carry my baby around the house.
The good things to come out of our journey: I was sort of forced to recover a bit quicker because I had to get up, get ready, and actually leave the house every single day after giving birth. Ty and I were also able to desensitize ourselves a little bit toward lab work. When he got shots at his 2 month well-check, we hardly batted an eye, because the shots were way easier than blood draws. We also got to appreciate the fact that we have a healthy baby boy who only had to be hooked up to a machine for a couple days, when we know there are millions of babies who have to be hooked up to things all the time.
While it wasn't the most fun, it really did bring Ty and I together as a team, which is what our baby needed the most.
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