Baby Mia had high bilirubin which points towards jaundice, so she went on phototherapy last Monday, 4/24. She did well on the lights and came off the treatment three days later. Luckily, she was treated at home. There is a great service that brings the bili-bed to our home and a visiting nurse came daily to take Mia's vitals, weigh her and take a blood sample. Mia's bili was followed for three days after she came off the lights, unfortunately her levels crept up three days in a row so she went back on the lights last Saturday and remained on them until Tuesday, 5/2.
During this time, the nurse also checked Mia's hematocrit and we found that it was too low for a baby her age. Papa was really worried and spoke to at least three pediatrician friends. Most of them were optimistic and thought that she would stabilize in a few weeks. Our pediatrician is also not concerned given that Mia is otherwise healthy and is eating and gaining weight without a problem. We still worry, but we have prayed and know that God is faithful and that Mia will be healthy.
The adjustment to parenthood has not been that terrible. In the beginning I had a very challenging time with the "sleep when the baby sleeps" advice. There was just so much I wanted to do around the house. I learned by lesson after a few days of extreme exhaustion at night.
We are blessed that Mia is a very mellow baby and eats and sleeps pretty well. Of course she has had her "growth spurts" already and wants to eat nearly every hour it seems. I'm happy to comply because I know she's growing and I love spending time breastfeeding her. So far Mia has been sleeping at least 2.5 hour stretches at night and that's just fine with us for now. Papa likes to stimulate her mind and enjoys talking to Mia about everything including medical literature. We put Mia on her Gymini for tummy time and she seems to LOVE it. She especially likes to look at herself in the mirror.
Above is a picture of Mia in the phototherapy bed and a picture of her on her Gymini.
2 comments:
Oh... I pray that her jaundice disappears soon. You sound like my wife. She always finds stuff to do... but she has finally learned that she should sleep when kids do. Now, the kids rarely nap, so... oh well! :)
glad you two are able to get some sleep too and are enjoying mia. she must be very interested when ken talks about medical literature. throw in some sports talk too, she'll be well-rounded. :-)
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