Ollie's Jaundice Terror

What a rough week. Ollie celebrated his two week birthday on Wednesday last week. He's thriving very well and packing on some weight. Then on Thursday we noticed he was beginning to look more and more yellow. Friday we decided to call the doctor before waiting for the weekend so we wouldn't have to worry all weekend about his condition. I called the pediatrician and told her my concern. She ordered a blood test at Harrison County hospital to check the level of bilirubin in his blood.

Bilirubin is a waste product from dying red blood cells. The bilirubin is supposed to be flushed out by the liver, but in newborns sometimes the liver isn't mature enough to do this. Usually it shows up on day 1 or 2 of life and goes away on its own in 2-3 weeks. When we left Norton Hospital on Oct 25, Ollie's bilirubin level was 11.7. This is an okay number so we were told to simply keep an eye on it and if his color got worse they would do a blood test. We kept watching and it was going away. When he had his one week check up his pediatrician said his color looked great and she wasn't going to order any tests.

Now, back to Friday. We took him to Harrison County and they did the blood test. That evening the pediatrician called us back and said it was a good thing they ordered the test because his level was 18.7. Rarely, does jaundice go away and then come back. This concerned the pediatrician so she sent us to Floyd County ER for admission and phototherapy. The phototherapy breaks down the bilirubin into a water soluable component that is then more easily flushed out of his system in the form of feces and urine.

Friday night they hooked him up with some lights and then tested him again on Saturday morning. His level was then 18.1. It was going down, but not very quickly. This meant another day and night in the hospital. Because his level was so high and he was 2 weeks old they were again concerned so they ordered a whole panel of blood tests. This time 6 vials of blood were taken and he was tested for many many different possible disorders. On Sunday morning we were told that everything looks normal and there is no cause for concern. Again, his bilirubin level was tested and it was 15.3. Going down still. This time we asked for phototherapy for our home so we could leave. We had a HORRIBLE room and TERRIBLE accomodations at the hospital. Our request was granted and we were able to bring him home on Sunday with home phototherapy. I've included some pics to show you how this looks. The mask for his eyes is to protect him from the lights which can be damaging.

Today, Monday, we took him back for another blood test and it was 14. Again, going down. We will continue the lights and blood tests daily until we reach 10. After that he should be good to go!! He's as tired of the lights as we are.
His soccer injury. Okay, this was actually the first of MANY needle pricks he got. His IV was the worst!!! This is a good picture to compare the color of his arms to the color of his face. You can really see the jaundice.
His suitcase of phototherapy lighting. If we have the drape up he doesn't have to wear the eye mask, but he hates the drape.
The mask protects his eyes.