He hasn't been doing too well on his tests. Luckily, his glucose has risen with the assistance of his IV and feeding tube, and they took the IV out this morning (for which, I am very very grateful. It was too grusome to see it poking in his tiny hand).
But Thursday morning, the doctors tested his bilirubin (too much of which causes jaundice). He scored 20.7, which is right above the line on the chart which means "DANGER! BLOOD TRANSFUSION!!" So the nurse was talking to us about the worst case scenario of a helicopter ride down to McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden if it didn't come down right away. They put him under three sets of bili-lights, which help to break down the bilirubin and send it through his digestive system. He also gets to wear an eye mask--kind of like a superhero.
This morning they checked it again, and it was at 14.6 which is MUCH more comfortable for us. No helicopter ride for Clark. Hopefully by tomorrow it will be down enough to get him out of the three sets of lights (just one would be fine with me) and we can focus more on nursing. I think that is the last real obstacle that is before us. Jaundice makes babies very lethargic, so he tries nursing for a minute and then just sits there, staring around and forgetting what he is supposed to be doing. As soon as the jaundice subsides more substantially, we are hoping that he will be more active and interested in eating.
It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do to walk away from him every three hours. Being a mother is the deepest joy I have ever experienced.
2 comments:
"like a superhero" -- I love that! I'm so glad he won't have to fly like one yet, though. I keep him in my prayers.
I love the way the light shines off his little bottom.
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