Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Jaundice

We saw our pediatrician the morning after we were discharged from Paoli and he sent us to have Porter's bilirubin levels tested.  The levels jumped since discharge, so he sent us to Bryn Mawr hospital. Porter had his first visit to the ER and we were admitted. He spent two nights receiving photo light therapy and was then able to show a "rebound" decrease in his levels.
While we were at the hospital, Porter got his first IV for blood draws :(  Luckily, they were able to get it on the first try and he didn't seem too bothered by his little splint.
How cute is he in his sun shades? Love!
 We started on a 3 hour feeding schedule where we nurse, supplement with pumped milk and then I pump for the next feeding.  He is so sleepy from the jaundice that he's not staying awake long enough to get all he needs. This system seems to be working and I hope that he will go back to nursing like a champ when the jaundice fully clears.  When we got word that his levels stayed down on day two, we were excited to get home to Big Sister!
Being in the hospital wasn't all bad news.  Since we were there, they repeated Porter's hearing screening and he passed :) And, because he had a few low pulse ox readings after delivery, they were able to do an EKG and chest x-ray to make sure that his heart looks healthy. All appears normal, but we'll still follow up with a cardiologist soon.
We were very impressed with the team from Pediatrics at Bryn Mawr. Our doctor and nurses were all amazing! They really made everything easier on our family and helped make the best of our experience!

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