one week appointment - jaundice

amynicole21 wrote: We took Nora in for her 1st peds appointment yesterday and they confirmed that she was moderately jaundiced. Here levels were 15.5 and I guess 20 is when they recommend photo therapy. We did have to go back in today to make sure that her levels were dropping, and they are down to 13.5, so they aren't worried. Poor baby had to get her heel stuck twice in two days though...

Within 24 hours she gained 4oz! I couldn't believe it. Hooray for momma's milk She's now 4oz above birth weight in only a week - Yay!

kit_kats_mom replied: Poor Nora! Those heel sticks are the worst. Lauren had jaundice pretty bad when she was first born and we had to go through the same thing. I swear I spent her first week at the Ped's office.

You know that jaundice is quick to resolve when you are breastfeeding right? Just keep doing what you are doing and she will be fine.

Great job on the gaining!

jcc64 replied: Corey was pretty jaundiced too. She has a weird bloodtype (AB+), and apparently it conflicted with mine, and somehow that was relevant but I really can't remember why.(seems like a million yrs ago). I do remember my brother telling me that jaundice goes from the top down, so that a little jaundice on the face is not as troubling as yellow below the waist. Just something to keep in mind.

amymom replied: I dealt with jaundice when my son was born. His was as high as 24. We were talking transfusions. Fortunately, he nursed well. And with the lights he got better fast.(although it felt like forever then) He was in the hospital for a week.

The heel sticks are so awful, but the best way to get the blood from them.

Good Luck and give Nora some sunlight even if just through the window. They say that it helped my son.

kit_kats_mom replied:
That's true. I'd fogotten about that. We put Lauren in just a diaper in her car seat in frnt of the patio doors. Not direct sunlight but filtered.

DansMom replied: Little sweetie pie! It sounds like things are moving in the right direction with the jaundice. Hooray for mommy milk!!

coasterqueen replied: Poor Nora Those heel sticks are awful.

We quickly learned after Kylie had jaundice that with Megan we just dealt with it on our own. We knew the signs to watch for and so we just put her in sunlight two times a day for 20 minutes each time (not direct) and just kept breastfeeding. She was jaundice for quite a bit, but the doc said as long as she wasn't getting worse then she was fine, not to worry.

WTG on mommy's milk. It always does a baby's body good.

jem0622 replied: Oh how I hated those heel pricks. It was rough with the girls. It never gets easier. Glad to hear her bili levels are dropping and that she is eating well for you!

A&A'smommy replied: Alyssa had jaundice too but it wasnt bad either.... WTG mommies milk!!

iluvmysweetiepies replied: Poor Nora! My girls had jaundice as well, but it was treated in the hospital. I'm glad it seems to be getting better!! Yay for mommy's milk!

MommyToAshley replied: WOW! 4 ounces! Mommy's milk does the body good!

I've never dealt with jaundice myself, but my friend's baby had it and they just told her to take a short walk and get a little sunlight every day. It sounds like Nora's jaundice is already getting better, so I am glad it is not serious.

Thanks for the update.... can we see more pics when you get a chance?

paradisemommy replied: oh i hated those darn heel pricks!!

taven was jaundiced really bad - we had to go on the photo therapy at home for a week and talk about a total pain..i think though it had to do with him being stuck inside me for so long - i didn't dilate at all and ended up with an emergency c-sect. so he got poked quite a few times and it's just heartbreaking - especially when you have a nurse who really doesn't know what she's doing..

sounds like you are doing awesome though!!! is she a good baby? do you see a difference in the two? (as far as characters so far?)

amynicole21 replied:
She is a WONDERFUL baby! So much of a change from Sophia - calm, mellow, patient... She latches on all by herself and nurses like a champ. I always had such a difficult time with nursing Sophia in the early days. After nursing Nora, I put her in the bassinet and she goes right to sleep - Sophia took walking around the house for a half hour, getting her to fall asleep then praying she wouldn't wake up when I laid her down. All in all, I'm thrilled. We got a good one

paradisemommy replied:
YEAH..you give us hope for 2nd babies...

mama3x replied: Yes, DS #2 went through the same thing. Lucky for us our medical covered the rental of the phototherapy machine and we only needed it for 24 hours. I also put DS under indirect sunlight many hours a day for about a week afterwards. Ped told me that it's common for jaundice to hang on longer in BF babies and especially in Asian babies.

All three of my kids had jaundice (all are mostly Asian) - my 1st didn't need treatment and my 2nd was preemie so she was treated by phototherapy in the isolette with those foam shades over her eyes. They need to find a better way to test, the heel pricks are agonizing and then weeks later you have to deal with shots!

Good for you and your BFing!!!!! You deserve a chocolate bar!