My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

The night before we left the hospital, I noticed that Riley's skin seemed on the yellow side. No one else seemed to notice it. The next day, the ped checked her bilirubin and it was 9.1. They thought she was fine to send home and just suggested I keep BFing her on the regular 2-3 hour shifts, which can be difficult since she has moments of being a very sleepy baby (as you can see in my last thread, how she falls asleep after one breast).

Well today...she seemed even more yellow. Totally scared me. She was also incredibly lethargic the whole morning and wouldn't eat. So we went to the ped...and with all the waiting and stuff, she slept a good 4,5 hours! The ped was awesome and had us go straight to the hospital to have her bilirubin checked again. She is now 13.6, considered in the mid-range for her 'age.' The good thing is that she is not running a fever, she's still having regular BMs and urine. The doc still wants us to come in tomorrow to check on her...and she suggests that we keep BFing her on schedule, as well as supplement with formula and keep her in the sun now and then. She also has a rash, and some of it are turning into scabs, so she's also looking into that.

It was quite a day!! I just hope we can turn things around for her quickly! And I thought last night was exhausting with all the short feedings I was doing- whew!!! I can't believe how much we've been through in the tiny little 4 days she's been around!

Thanks for listening!

***UPDATE

I'm really worried with how unresponsive she is. Man, I would have loved for her to sleep like this at night but now that I see how she is so difficult to wake up, it scares me. For those of you who dealt with jaundice, did your DC act the same way? She could barely get through a feeding and I even supplemented. The nurse at the hospital said just 15 ml but now I'm thinking I should do more. Any thoughts?

I think if she doesn't really get responsive in the next couple hours I'm going to call the ped. I'm so worried...

***UPDATE 2:
Wow, well I spoke too soon. Around 7:30ish tonight she woke up in a BIG way and was wide awake. I fed her, she nursed (both sides) and supplemented great (at least I think she nursed great...she was on a long time). Well it never seemed enough...she kept rooting but wasn't really keeping her latch on and just kept fussing. Kicking and fussing all around and hysterically crying. She carried on like this for about 15 minutes...completely miserable. I don't really know why she was so upset. We changed her wet diaper, that didn't help. Tried a pacifier, didn't work. Tried burping her, not sure she ever did. Got her to calm down as I walked around and bounced her, she went in the swing for 10 minutes and started to cry again. DH got her to calm down (he is SO proud )).

She fussed like this very early this morning, around 6am...and after that she was OUT all day long.

Man, I hope to figure this kid out soon. I am encouraged about the jaundice thing though....she had another bowel movement, and ate very well. Unless I wasn't producing enough for her. My boobs are CRAZY huge and hard. I am able to expel a little from the nipple, but it's not a stream, just a trickle. Is that a bad sign?

Message edited 7/4/2009 10:03:34 PM.

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today

My son also had jaundice but it went away on it's own. It's very normal & common in bf babies. It's not dangerous unless the #'s get too high. Try doing a search on breastfed jaundice to get more info.

Things will get much easier

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today

my ds had jaundince when he was born... in the icu they gave him the light treatment(they put a mask over their eyes when they do it)... they also gave her formula as its suppose to help improve it...

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today

Lots of hugs for you and Riley! I am sure she will be fine.

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of)

BUMP...I need advice

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of)

how many days is she?

I was in the hospital mon-thurs.

friday he was still very tired and not eating, but we had to keep going to dr to check his numbers.

I kept him in the sun, undressed him, lots of wet washclothes and kept offering him the boob over and over.

by mon he seemed okay.

good luck!

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of)

i think some babies are just sleepy...

i used to have to undress DS and take him to my screened-in porch in 55-60 degree weather to get him to wake up enough to nurse... and even then, it was usually me who ended up shivering while he continued to sleep!

but if you're worried i wouldn't think twice about calling the ped. better safe than sorry, and at this stage i think you should do whatever you have to do to give yourself peace of mind.

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of)

Both of my kids had bad juandice & needed phototherapy. It usually peaks when they are about 5-7 days old. Just make sure she is eating enough. If she seems too sleepy to eat, try stripping her down to her diaper in an air conditioned room. If she's cold & uncomfortable she will stay awake to eat.

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of)

I don't know much about jaundice, but i know about sleepy babies! My daughter is almost 7 weeks and she is very hard to wake up even now. When she was a few days old, she was impossible to wake up. In addition to the stripping down, try massaging her back and blowing on her while you are trying to get her to eat.

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of)

Are you sure unresponsive is the right term? At that age they are so so sleepy. I'm sure she'll be fine but I would keep supplementing and bringing her outside in just a diaper. Sydnie had bad jaundice and that's what we did.

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

BUMP...now she's fussing. What is going on?!?!

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

Some babies have a fussy time, no matter what you do. Both DDs had one around 7/8pm. If you feeling really full and hard you may want to pump a little, she may be getting a lot, which makes them annoyed. I know both my girls would get annoyed when I was engorged because they had difficulty staying on. I hate when they make new mothers supplement as well because I think it causes so much extra stress, especially since you are engorged.

It eventually gets easier, I promise, but bfing can be confusing - just trust that your body is doing what it is supposed to.

GL!!

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

Alexis was a bit jaundice when she left the hospital too, but got checked out within 2 days after leaving. I don't remember the number but they wanted us to keep an eye on her. Give her direct sunlight thru the window, that will help!! After we did that, the following day she looked much better and was more alert, less lathergic, more energy.

As for fussy... babies are fussy and it's not going to happen overnight to figure out what's wrong. You're doing it all... trying to feed, pacifier, burp, change the wet diaper, etc...

Sometimes it's what you eat too! Keep to a basic diet for you and she'll probably be happier.
Let me know if you need anything Tara!!

I can always ask Paul too for help!!

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

if your boobs are too big, they maybe engorged.

message them in a hot shower.

when I get a trickle I am engorged.

I had to pump first week...my nipple was too hard for him to latch onto.

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

I had an issue with engorgement a few days after my milk came in. My boobs were crazy huge and hard too (and extremely painful). And my daughter became very very fussy when trying to feed. There was a lot of crying (from both of us). She couldn't get a proper latch. The reason for this was b/c my boobs were too big and hard, so she couldn't get her mouth on. Someone told me that it is like sucking on a basketball. The way to resolve this is by relieving the engorgement. Heat helps a lot, as well as pumping. As OP said, massaging in the hot shower is good. A hot compress before you pump is also a good idea b/c the heat helps the milk release or something like that. A lactation consultant told me to apply heat, then pump, then apply cold to help shrink the engorgement. It worked for me, although it was a lot of work. Also, keep trying to nurse her, even though it may be hard b/c of her fussiness, but she may get better at it the more she tries.

As for fussiness, as OP said, sometimes babies just get fussy. You can try to figure out the reason, but sometimes it is something that you can't help with, like her stomach hurts.

And as for the trickle, I definitely wouldn't worry right now. It took a lot of time before I had any type of stream. Your baby is little, so she wouldn't need a whole lot of milk.

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

I am sure she will be fine ~ here are some for the day you had! but hope the next couple of days are more smooth ~ my ds had jaundice too and I kept BF'ing and I put him in the sun and it was gone in a few days! good luck!

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

oh Tara - i'm so so sorry this is happening. I hope you are not awake right now reading this...and that Riley is feeling better!!!

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

I don't have experience to answer any of your questions, but have some that things will get easier. And pray she starts feeling better!

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

Posted by TaraGotHutched

***UPDATE 2:
Wow, well I spoke too soon. Around 7:30ish tonight she woke up in a BIG way and was wide awake. I fed her, she nursed (both sides) and supplemented great (at least I think she nursed great...she was on a long time). Well it never seemed enough...she kept rooting but wasn't really keeping her latch on and just kept fussing. Kicking and fussing all around and hysterically crying. She carried on like this for about 15 minutes...completely miserable. I don't really know why she was so upset. We changed her wet diaper, that didn't help. Tried a pacifier, didn't work. Tried burping her, not sure she ever did. Got her to calm down as I walked around and bounced her, she went in the swing for 10 minutes and started to cry again. DH got her to calm down (he is SO proud )).

She fussed like this very early this morning, around 6am...and after that she was OUT all day long.

Man, I hope to figure this kid out soon. I am encouraged about the jaundice thing though....she had another bowel movement, and ate very well. Unless I wasn't producing enough for her. My boobs are CRAZY huge and hard. I am able to expel a little from the nipple, but it's not a stream, just a trickle. Is that a bad sign?

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

Oh honey! I'm so so sorry you and Riley are going through this. I hope she feels better soon and you get some answers about the BF stuff

Re: My little angel Riley had to go to the ped today - UPDATE (sort of), #2 with another question

You are experiencing what every mom does in the first days. A little nervousness, frustration etc.. At least I did anyway and even with DD #2 she slept for the first 6 weeks like that. She was so tough to feed I would have to rub her feed and rub behind her ear would wake her. Then I would change her diaper and that would wake her up. I change her in between boobs to wake her still because she falls asleep at night when shes fnished with a boob. Heres a picture of how jaundice my DD was. I BF and give 1 bottle of formula at night right before bed. We didnt do anything for the jaundice except put her in indirect sunlight for about 30 minutes in her diaper. Dr said it was from BF and it would go away on its own..

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Message edited 7/5/2009 10:08:02 AM.