NICU Stay Part 2

…Continued from Part 1 of our NICU stay

When we got the results from the first round of blood work, we were relieved to find out that Littlest Buddy’s bilirubin levels had dropped from 22 that morning to 16 upon NICU admittance in the early evening. That meant that his body was starting to work to bring it down. We had also put him in a sunny window that morning and were feeding him every 2 to 2.5 hours, even at night, as recommended by our doctor. Thankfully, his levels had never gotten high enough for the neonatologist to be worried about brain damage or sepsis.

The NICU continued blue light therapy through the night but decreased the number of light units. By the next morning (after 12 hours of light therapy), the level had dropped to 12.7. The neonatologist removed all the lights and IVs and wrapped Littlest Buddy in a blue light blanket. At that point, we were able to take him to our room. We were asked to stayed there, with him wrapped in the blue light blanket, until the following morning, just to make sure the bilirubin level didn’t rebound.

Mr. Handsome went home to sleep the second night so that he would be well rested to return to work the following morning. It was a really important day for him to be at the office, so we both agreed that he should go. It was tough to watch him leave, but my mother-in-law came to help overnight, so I wasn’t ever alone. The nurses continued to check in on us and were very helpful with anything we needed.

Our stay in the hospital was a total of 36 hours. We had Littlest Buddy’s heel pricked 24 hours after returning home, and the level was back at 16, so we were concerned that it would continue to climb and we would be sent back to the NICU. At that point, I called one of the NICU nurses and chatted about how best to avoid re-admittance. She was so kind to take the time to talk, even though we weren’t patients at the moment.

We put Littlest Buddy in the window (in just a diaper, but with a heater for warmth) for a couple hours. It was cloudy, but the nurse said it was worth a try. I also gave him some liquid baby vitamin D (a tip I found online). I sure wish someone had suggested that sooner so I could have started it earlier.

We did a re-test 24 hours after the last one, and the level was back down to 12.2, so our doctor gave us the all clear! It still took a few weeks for the orange tint of Littlest Buddy’s skin to fade, but the doctor said that was to be expected.

It was a whirlwind first week, but the Lord provided for us, with strength (spiritual, physical, and emotional), and wonderful family members to care for Little Buddy.

That concludes our birth story. Thank you for reading!