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FutureMrsLemon
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Thoughts and prayers needed for Jake. Updated.
FutureMrsLemon
member
ET Update:
Well we have been here all night and the night has gone surprisingly easily. But it worries me to be honest. He has not cried at all in the bassinet so I have been nursing him and supplementing with formula every three hours. But he is just SO sleepy. I can barely get him to latch onto the second breast after I finish the first one. He is so warm from the blanket and the lights that I think he just cant wake up much. At least I am hoping thats what it is.
Thank you all for the links. If he had been crying a lot there is NO way I could have let him stay in that little bed and cry. Luckily he hasnt been at all. When we get home or when he gets out from under the lights we will definitely up the nursing as much as possible. I was doing every two hours at home, which I guess wasnt enough. Honestly how do you ladies sleep if you nurse more than that? I mean do you just not sleep at all? I am struggling with the sleep thing right now. But can I truly say that I am in absolute awe of all you women out there who breastfed for really any length of time. I have such renewed respect for you all, knowing how difficult it can be!
They come in for a blood draw soon to check his levels. If he is below 15 he can come out from under the big lights and just be on the blanket. So fingers crossed!
*****
We are having to spend the night in the hospital today. I took the little man out to a moms group this morning to meet with the lactation consultant. She looked him over and became very concerned with his jaundice. So after calling the doctor we had his biliruben levels drawn and they are too high. So we had to come straight to the hospital and he is underneath the lights as we speak.
We can breastfeed every three hours, but then we have to supplement with formula. And I just found out that if he cries the only thing we can do is give him a pacifier. Otherwise he has to stay in the bassinet and cry it out. Oh my god, I dont know if I can handle that. Please send thoughts and prayers that his levels drop quickly and we can go home tomorrow. And please send strength for us, because I cannot even imagine trying to ignore my 4 day old crying for who knows how long.
Here he is under all those lights somewhere. Poor little man:
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Thoughts and prayers needed for Jake. Updated.
Lots of T&P and ((hugs))!
(((hugs)))
I would get another opinion on the breastfeeding thing - breastmilk is a natural laxative and they have to poop out the bilirubin. If anything he should be breastfeeding MORE often (every half an hour to an hour) to clear his little system.
Hopefully his levels will be better tomorrow. Be sure that you are pumping every time you supplement with formula or your supply will tank.
Be strong mama! T&P sent!
::hugs::
t&p sent for speedy billi level rise!!
I seriously cannot imagine trying to feed him every 1/2 an hour. I am ready to drop right now after a rough night last night feeding every two hours. Luckily we arent skipping the breastfeeding, just supplementing on the end. So I am hoping that wont effect my supply. I have my pump here at the hospital but I havent used it yet so we will see how that goes. I would prefer to supplement with breastmilk but my milk literally just came in today.
That's okay!!! That's normal! You really do need to nurse him as often as possible though. The more you nurse him the more milk you will make. And nursing is WAY better for him right now...it will get that bilirubin out so much faster.
Also, I am concerned that they are saying he needs to CIO. Yes he needs access to the lights, but he also needs to be held, loved and nursed A LOT. Please get a second opinion.
Also...and this is HUGE! Trust your gut. And YOU are the MOMMA! YOU are in CHARGE! This is YOUR BABY! If you want to nurse him you CAN! They have NO RIGHT to stop you. Stand your ground and TRUST YOUR GUT!
Posts on cloth trainers/PLing
Big, big hugs and huge t+p sent.
I agree w/ Hippi - trust your gut. It's your baby. Both my kiddos were pretty jaundiced and the drs told me to nurse a lot. Heck - Quinn can hardly go 3 hours during the day without eating - that doesn't sound right to me at all... and I also agree w/ the holding and snuggling. They can give you glasses and you can hold him under the lights - he doesn't need to lay on a cold, hard bed by himself most of the day.
Please, let me know if you need anything - I'm not far away. My email address is satreece at yahoo dot com
https://www.kellymom.com/newman/07jaundice.html
Prayed for you & little Jake.
I would also like to ditto everything that Hippy said - you are the mom. Don't let the doctors and nurses bully you into doing something that you *know* in your gut is wrong.
Kennedy was very jaundiced too...earned us an extra night in the hospital. They told me to nurse every hour and a half, minimum. The more frequent the nursing, the quicker the bilirubin gets out.
See if they'll put a rocking chair/recliner under the lights. You'll have to wear sunglasses too, but you CAN hold your baby with bili light therapy. Also, ask for a bili blanket...they should be able to get one, and you can wrap him in it and still hold him!
Whew. Boy am I glad you chimed in. I knew you would have a better answer...I am too pissed at the drs to think straight. Letting a newborn CIO.
Mother's Day, 2011
Ditto all of this. That is how frequently I had to nurse DD in the beginning, too. It is hard & tiring, but the more you nurse now the quicker the jaundice will go away and the sooner you will ALL get some rest. With the every half hour nursing, DD's jaundice cleared up in a week and then we were cleared to feed on demand.
Hang in there, mama! T&Ps to you and Jake.
Your LO is only 4 days old... it will take some time for your body to get used to the sleep deprivation. By around 3 weeks I was fine with 3 broken-up hours of sleep at night (I napped anytime she napped). It's purely survival mode!
Fingers crossed for the blood draw!
The best advice ever is to sleep when they sleep...really you have to! When Monkey wasn't learning to nurse (it took 6 weeks of pumping and finger feeding) my bff's mom (a L&D nurse and former homebirth midwife) put us to bed for a few days. Literally she told me to get into bed with the baby and do skin to skin time. Sleep when he slept, nurse as often as possible. She helped us pile up pillows, stack up books & the TV remote and had snacks for me to eat with one hand.
EAT! Seriously...you need a lot of calories. It takes more calories to feed a baby than it does to grow a baby. Turkey sandwiches, PB&J and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies were my diet. Milk and lots of water too.
Hugs. It will get better.
It gets better!! He's only a few days old and you haven't had any time to adjust yet. Like Hippy said - sleep when he sleeps. Honestly, you get used to the lack of sleep & interrupted sleep, as fun as it is.
Take care of yourself! (hugs) Hope things go well with the blood draw. I'll be thinking of you guys!
I hope it clears up soon. Caleb had jaundice too. We barely avoided needing the bili lights. Looking back, he really should have been under them . But we only gave him one formula bottle when I was totally sleep deprived on his 5th night. Nursing every 1.5-2 hours is killer on no sleep.
I hope it clears up super fast and you are all back home soon.