Tuesday, March 27, 2012

One More Night in the Light

I was prepared to go home on Friday. I was excited to take my daughter home. It was time for the Pediatrician to come and discharge her and I was ready. All the nurses said she was healthy and she was such a good eater. Lilly's Pediatrician was not working that weekend, so his partner had to come and discharge her. She had a little bit of jaundice but nothing terrible so I was ready to go home.

My emotions that day I could tell were shaky. They say that when your milk comes in you become very emotional. Gary was at home getting last minute things done before we brought our baby girl home that afternoon, so I had to meet with the Dr all by myself with emotions on the rocks.

The Dr came and checked Lilly out, she had lost some weight and she had jaundice. So he wanted me to give her formula and to stay an extra night. Formula? Seriously? An extra night? My emotions erupted and tears started to flow. I told him that my milk was starting to come in and I was not going to give my baby formula unless she doesn't pick up the 30 grams he required for discharge. She had to stay under the lights to get her levels down. I was a basket case. I wanted my baby home. I was tired of being in the hospital. I wanted to sleep in my own bed next to my husband. I wasn't prepared for this.

Several nurses came into my room and helped me to calm down and explained that if they discharge Lilly and she gets sick she has to go into the pead ward where there are lots of germs and it is best for her to stay in the sterile environment of the Maternity Ward.

I called Gary sobbing and told him I needed him there. He came quickly. What a wonderful man. He handled his wife tears well. 

WE posted on Facebook for Prayers, so the whole world was sending up supplications to the Lord on Lilly's behalf.

I fed Lilly every 2 hours and she was under the light for little less then 24 hours. She hated the sunglasses they put on her and took them off several times, but when Pathcare came and retested her jaundice level Saturday morning they had dropped considerably. The nurse weighed her at 8am and  she hadn't gained much, so the Doctor said weigh her again at 4pm and call me. He said she didn't have to be under the lights any more. All I had to do on Saturday was concentrate on feeding her. I think the Dr saw how determined I was not to use formula so he didn't mention it again. I kept her in my room and fed her all day long. when it came time for her to be weighed again she not only gained the 30 grams the Dr wanted but she gained an extra 5 for good measure. The Lord was wonderful in answering the prayers.


Usually they don't discharge babies until they are 2.5 Kilos, but after discussing it with the Dr and assuring him I had a great support team at home he let us go home with the promise that we would get her weighed every week until she hit that mark. The first week she gained 110 grams ( she was now back at her birth weight) the following week she had gained 240 grams. We take her this thursday for her 3rd weigh in and we will see how much she has gained, I am guessing she is at the 2.5 kilo mark now but we will see. (Pic of Lilly after she was released from the lights, thing on head was for her jaundice check)

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