Bilirubin down

Good news - bilirubin count is finally on the way down so we're finally done with the daily heel sticks. Part of the problem the last two days had been her lack of, er, output. Apparently bilirubin is removed from the body through poop and she wasn't pooping so we were instructed to get children's glycerin suppositories, cut one in half, insert (I know, ew) and wait. Bjorn kindly volunteered to do the dirty work and about 9 last night, he put her on the diaper table for the procedure that somehow, she slept through. Within about a minute, before the diaper even went back on, she had pooped and managed to have three more dirty diapers in the next hour. She hadn't been particularly fussy yesterday, but I imagine she felt much better afterwards.

Today Bjorn took her for her doctor's appointment where her bili count was down to 17.6 from 18.1 yesterday. Apparently once the counts start to go down, they rarely come back up so she should be home free from jaundice. Jaundice certainly isn't that big a deal, nothing like what's happening over here, but it was still a little scary and we're glad it's over. Our next appointment isn't for another week.

While Bjorn was at the doctor's, I took Andy to our regular Friday playgroup to try to get some one on one time with him. It was good for both of us to see our friends and check out some more Thomas books. This time as we looked at the books on the shelves, he kept saying, "We have that one," to just about every title. I do believe we have read every Thomas book in the entire Fairfax County Library selection at least half a dozen times so it's funny that he's just NOW catching on to that fact. I suggested we pick another type of book and he said no and opted for two Thomas books instead. You can't blame a guy for knowing what he likes.

Baby face

Here's a picture of Meg's face, compliments of Jennifer. Her hair looks a little darker already, but she does have some blond highlights.

(Warning: The phrase anal sphincter mentioned below). Today's bili count was held steady at 18. A new complication is constipation (she had no dirty diaper yesterday), which is preventing the bilirubin from leaving her body. To check that her anal sphinchter isn't "too tight" and thus preventing bowel movements, Dr. Murphy took a gloved finger and felt inside, you know, there. The result was immediate poop and a screaming baby, but the sphincter is fine. The remedy is a suppository if no poops later today. And being that there have been none, Bjorn has stepped up to the plate and will administer the treatment. Groan on all counts, especially hers. We go back tomorrow. Hopefully the count will be down and we can move on.

Heel sticks

Well, the jaundice saga continues. Bjorn took Meg back to the pediatrician's today where her bilirubin came back at 18. So we've gone from 14.5 on Monday afternoon to 17.5 on Tuesday morning. Then it was 17 at the hospital on their more accurate machine only to be 18 on his limited screening machine. The worry is that if it gets up over 20, brain damage is a worry. Great.

The good news is that the better machine confirmed it's not the really bad kind of jaundice (although apparently there is no good kind exactly). He thinks that it has plateaued, but we have to keep coming back for heel sticks and bilirubin checks until it's confirmed to be on the way down. In the meantime, we were instructed to put her in the sun as the sun helps process the bilirubin. Fortunately, it was a warmish day, about 50, so we were able to sit outside a little. It does seems strange to purposely have a five day old baby out in the sun with all the worry about sun damage, but it does seem worth it in this case.

Meanwhile, my sister was saying she hadn't seen a picture of Meg's face to get an idea who she looks like. This is a little out of focus, but it's the best straight on picture I have. I didn't realize how round her face was until I saw this picture. She does resemble Andy as a baby, but that's as far as I've gotten.

Update

We went to Fairfax Hospital this afternoon to have Meg's bilirubin level checked there to measure for jaundice. Apparently they have a much accurate and sophisticated way to check for the levels than the pediatrician's office. The good news is the level is now 17, down from 17.5 earlier today at the doctor's office so we don't have to admit her for the phototherapy treatment. We go back to the ped's office tomorrow for another check, but we're feeling optimistic.

Poor Meg though. She's been getting heel sticks twice a day practically since she was born. Good thing she's not having to walk anywhere.