Freedom!

Free at last! Stasa's blood work came back and her bilirubin levels are LOW! She gets to go home today. We're just waiting on the discharge papers and we're going to see another lactation consultant before we go. Yay! Homeward bound!

Another night

Well, the doctor decided to wait to check Stasa's bilirubin levels in the morning, so we're here for another night. We've spent more time in the hospital with her than at home. Hopefully her bilirubin levels will be low enough in the morning so we can be discharged. It's not so bad here, but we can't just hold her all of the time since she has to stay under the lights. The only time we get to take her out is for feedings and diaper changes.

She's funny, too. She's been giving us some good burps after eating and really lets it rip in her diaper. If you're holding her you feel it coming out and you can hear it across the room. She's got no shame.

Hospital update

The on call pediatrician came by around 11:30 AM to let us know the bloodwork results. Stasa's bilirubin levels are down to 15.5 - they were 20 when we were admitted last night. They want to keep her under the lights until 6:00 PM tonight and they'll do another blood draw to see if the levels go down more.



She's getting plenty to eat, we're feeding her every 2 hours, and she's had PLENTY of dirty diapers. And man does she scream bloody murder if she's wet. I'm hoping this mean it'll be easy to potty train her - I know that's way off in the future, but I'm always thinking ahead.

Here are a couple of pics of the StasMonster in her isolette/tanning bed.

Stasa's stylish biliband mask - she needs it to protect her eyes from the bili lights. That little sliver of blue light underneath her is the biliblanket. They want to get as much of her exposed to the lights as possible. And man is that blanket warm! They should make them in adult sizes.



Stasa's big foot almost hanging out of the isolette. She's completely content in this picture - full and dry - two of her favorite things.

A few more pictures

So so tired - Stasa looks awake in this picture, but she does this a lot in her sleep. She loves sucking on her fingers and moving her head around.

The yummy ice cream cake from Uncle Pat and Aunt Peggy - I can't wait to eat more of it!

Tom, Stasa and the new Great-Grandma

Grandma was so great with Stasa - gentle and calmed her down - I loved seeing her hold her and talk to her.

Back at the hospital for the bilirubin phototherapy - poor Tom looks exhausted. He let me do most of the sleeping today and didn't really get to take his own nap.

Back at the hospital

We went for Stasa's first well baby check this morning with Dr. Hunter, my family doctor. She weighed in at 6 lbs 6 oz (it takes about 2 weeks for baby's to regain their birth weight) and checked out well. The doctor was concerned about her jaundice, so she sent us for blood work.

Stasa was not a fan of of getting her blood drawn today - they have to do a heel stick and squeeze drops out of her foot. After the blood draw, we went back home to rest and wait for the results. Turns out her bilirubin levels have increased since we left the hospital. The doctor said she would need to be admitted to the hospital to be put under the bilirubin lights. Dr. Hunter had already called the hospital and had a room waiting for us on the pediatric wing. We weren't happy to go back to the hospital, but we want what's best for our daughter.

For those of you that aren't familiar with jaundice, here's a little synopsis. Bilirubin is basically a cleaning agent in our bodies - it takes away the old red blood cells and then passes through the liver. Newborns generally have more bilirubin than their system can process which causes them to have jaundice. Breastfed babies and babies of Mediterranean descent usually have a higher bilirubin level. Bilirubin can be broken down with photo light therapy - being put under bili lights or a bili blanket.

Stasa's bili level was 16.5, which is higher than normal, but not terrible. The doctors decided to put her under the lights to be on the safe side. So, here we are at the hospital watching Stasa hang out under the bili lights. She seems to be content - probably because she's laying under warm lights (she's just like her mama). Dr. Prah, the on call pediatrician, thinks she'll be discharged tomorrow since her levels were low.

All in all I would say poor Stasa has had a hard day, but at least she managed to pee on the nurse during her well baby check. That's our girl.