So today, here is a picture of my sweet little baby right now.
We are back in the hospital with Isla. We took her into the doctor this afternoon because we were concerned about jaundice. She had lost 6 more ounces, bringing her down to just 5 lbs, 5 oz. They drew blood to test her bilirubin levels, and they were up to 16. 8 (they were around 9 when we left the hospital yesterday). That was too high, too fast. So the doctor sent us back to the hospital.So now we're in the hospital where she will receive phototherapy until the bilirubin levels are under control, hence the blue light and the sunglasses.
They also just came in and told us that she is pretty dehydrated. So she is on IV fluids for that as well, hence all the stuff wrapped around her little arm. Watching three different nurses try to get an IV into the veins of a 5 pound baby is not pleasant. I finally had to leave the room and not watch anymore.
This whole thing is very frustrating to me...mostly because I was hesitant to breastfeed in the first place. I said I didn't want to with this one after the horrible experience we had with Audrey. All of these problems with Isla are coming because of breastfeeding. We're still waiting for my milk to come in, so she hasn't been getting much from me at all since her birth. I'm trying to do what everyone tells me is best for her (breastfeeding). However, if I would have just decided to formula feed her, most likely we would not be in the hospital with a dehydrated, jaundiced little girl right now.
She will get to go home when her bilirubin levels are under control and when she is hydrated (something to do with sodium levels...I don't fully understand how they measure this?). The doctor was just in and said it shouldn't take long to bring the bilirubin levels down, but it may take longer to get her fully hydrated. So, I'm not sure how long we will be here.
My other sweet baby girl was not happy to see us leave tonight. When I told Audrey she was going to spend the night with yet another person (thank you Blakley family!), she started to cry and said, "No stay at home. Stay with Mommy." It about made me cry to have to leave her. That poor girl has been passed around from person to person for the past 10 days or so. It is killing me to have to pass her off to someone else and be away from her yet again.
1 comments:
My heart breaks for you!! Hang in there!! We ended up back in the hospital with Thomas just a few days after he was born. I think we went home on Saturday afternoon and Monday we were back in the hospital because he was dehydrated. My milk hadn't come in yet. They did all kinds of blood work and at one point the DOCTOR (not the nurse) was literally running down the hallway with his blood sample. It was scary because at first, they weren't sure what was wrong and thought he might be septic. The breastfeeding clinic at that hospital was fantastic and I went on to have a very successful breastfeeding experience with Thomas, even after the four extra days back at the hospital. Do what YOU feel is right for Isla. Whether that's breast-feeding or not, she will get past this little bump and grow to be healthy and strong! You are a great Mommy!! ((Hugs))
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