Back to the Hospital

After our pediatrician visit on Monday, we had 2 tests to get Andrew's bilirubin checked for jaundice - day 5 was 17.5 & day 6 was 19.2. Since it was still going up and getting close to 20, the doctor recommended we take him to the NICU at Banner Desert for photo therapy. I was confused why I couldn't do something at home, (especially since he was eating and peeing/pooping great) but we trusted the doctor's orders, so off we went to the hospital Tuesday afternoon.

My hormones made my emotions completely out of whack and I was a mess! I think it was because I couldn't imagine that there was anything wrong with my perfect, little angel and especially not something that would merit a hospital stay. I was also emotional about not being able to be with Rachel and I was sad that I wouldn't be able to hold Andrew except for feedings every 3 hours.

The hospital stay ended up being fine - Andrew was a total trooper - and on the positive side, it means that the photo therapy and heel pokes are over now. We stayed a little bit longer than I would have liked (2 nights), but it's nice to have it all taken care of. From what I understand, jaundice results from having too much bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is formed when the body breaks down old red blood cells (babies usually have 45-60 red blood cells when they're born and the doctor said Andrew had 60, so he had more to break down). The liver then processes and removes the bilirubin from the blood (through stools). They also wanted to check to make sure he had no other infections and gave him formula rather than my milk for a few feedings, because it makes the body work harder to digest.

We're back at home now and everything seems back to normal - as normal as 2 kids feels. Also, did I mention that Brandon gets 2 weeks paternity leave - SCORE! It has been so fun to have him home so much.