NewMom, NewBaby, and NewDad are doing pretty well after a very stressful couple of days. As previously reported here on this blog, Evan had a pretty good case of jaundice going on. Now as some of you have already found out, about 50% of babies have some jaundice...so it's nothing to get too alarmed over. But, if it gets too bad it can turn pretty ugly pretty quick. For a little while, our pediatrician was debating calling a bigger hospital about two hours away to see if we might need to take Evan there. At some point, it was revealed that the point of this trip would be to have a complete blood transfusion/replacement done on Evan. See below for the picture of what Evan thought about this idea.
Thankfully, the combination of light therapy, a little formula supplementing on top of the breast feeding, helpful nurses and doctors, and of course, lots of prayers has led to Evan's jaundice bilirubin blood levels leveling off this morning. He had a bilirubin count of 13 this morning, and to give you some perspective, we were told that 15 meant a call to the mega-hospital and increases beyond that meant an ambulance ride to the mega-hospital. His levels have plateaued (maybe it's the fact that I've had about 8 hours of sleep in the past four days, but that word looks funny), so that's good. As he gets older, his tolerance gets better and the high bilirubin levels become less of a critical concern. We are hoping and praying for a lower count in the morning, and all indications so far are that we will be happy when we get the results.
All this means that NewBaby has not been discharged from the hospital, so we're still at the hospital. NewMom is doing very well and has no complications or difficulties in healing after delivery. NewMom was discharged sometime recently (my brain is fried), but since no other NewMoms need her room, she is able to stay in her room for FREE. We have to arrange meals, etc. for her. I find this to be amazing in this day in age, but the hospital is very supportive of breast-feeding moms. It has been very "non-busy" in the maternity ward (I was told not to use a certain word that scores lots of points in Scrabble and means silence, lack of noise, etc... b/c that was bad luck). A very few other NewMoms have come through since we arrived, and so our NewMom has been able to keep her room.
Evan might get discharged tomorrow, but we are not getting our hopes up. NewMom is spending tonight in her room with Evan, and will rest between feedings. NewDad came home to do some laundry, bring some presents to the house, and get a good nights sleep on his own bed. That last one is coming real soon.
One last thing: Thank you to NewGrandfather and NewGrandmother from Lake Park for all of their support, help, and of course...photos (folder 2006-07-26). Thanks to all the people who were saying prayers for Evan and NewMom and myself. They were felt. Please continue on until we get Evan completely back to full health. Thanks to NewMom for being so wonderful and being a real trooper in the pregnancy/delivery/motherhood adventure. Thanks to everyone and anyone who I am forgetting in my brain-deadness. You are appreciated, I assure you.
That's it. Good night. If anyone calls me tonight with a wrong number...so help them.
--NewDad (who wonders how he is still able to type after all of this)
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