Jack's Dr. Appointment and Hospital Stay...

On Tuesday we went for Jack's second newborn appointment with Dr. Mijares - let's just say it didn't go well! First off he had only gained 1 ounce over the past 7 days, which isn't good (he weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces). He had gained a quarter of an inch in length. Then Dr. Mijares came in and I broke the news about not wanting or being able to breastfeed anymore because it was stressful and my boobs were NOT producing near enough milk and that he had been fussy for 2 and a half days because I didn't think he was getting enough to eat from me!

However, Dr.'s main concern was his coloring...he was obviously still Jaundice! She immediately sent me to the hospital for another Bilirubin level test and this time said, "Wait at the hospital until I call you with the results," which automatically sent my brain into worst case scenario over drive! So off to the hospital we went - I should also mention that the weather was starting to get really bad outside with tornado threats and severe thunderstorms! We got to the hospital and they did his test and then the tornado sirens started going off. We were rushed down to the hospital basement to wait out the storm - which took about an hour and a half! I'm not even going to go into all the types of people I was with in the basement...GROSS! Luckily Jack slept through the whole thing and I never had to get him out from under his blanket!

After we'd been in the basement and the weather started to die down I say the lab tech coming into the room headed straight towards us and she says, "We need you to come back upstairs because we need to draw more blood to run some additional tests." I was like, OK? I was waiting for the results after experiencing the painful process of having his blood drawn! Chris was on his way to the hospital - he had been stuck in the basement at work! Just as the lab tech hands me the phone to talk to Dr. Mijares Chris came walking down the hall...

Jack's Bilirubin level was up to 23 from 16.2 the week before and she said we needed to be admitted so that Jack could get the Phototherapy treatment and some IV Fluids. Basically, since my breasts had stopped producing enough milk and Jack wasn't getting enough to eat he wasn't able to continue to pass the Bilirubin quickly enough so his Jaundice got worse, and then he was a bit dehydrated on top of that. We headed straight upstairs where they started his IV and then proceeded to draw even more blood and get a urine sample for another round of tests!

We started the Phototherapy treatment shortly after that. It was the longest night of Jack's life yet! He was in this blanket with the light shining up from under him. I could not take Jack out except to feed him and change and burp him! Try getting a 12 day old to stay asleep unswaddled and in a weird place! I think I got maybe 2 hours of sleep comprised of 10 - 20 minutes at a time!

His first Bilirubin check at about midnight was still 23, then his 6am check was 18.5, then his noon check was 17.2, and his 6pm check was 16.7 so we got to come home! They said that now that he is on formula he should be able to continue passing the Bilirubin quickly enough on his own. Breastmilk can/does take longer to make the Bilirubin pass - especially if they aren't getting enough!

We go back to see Dr. Mijares tomorrow afternoon so I will post another update! Oh, and we weighed him before leaving the hospital last night and he weighed 6 pounds 15.5 ounces! Some of that might have been from the fluids, but with all the formula he was drinking over the last 24 hours I'm hoping some of that was real weight gain!

xoxo