Navy is my little trooper! It is only day four of her life, and she has already been through the ringer. But you would never know it by her little attitude. She is happy, sweet and has every single nurse wrapped around her little finger!
She is currently on her third day in the NICU. (NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit) On her second night, she was appearing to be more yellow than normal which was jaundice….a fairly common thing seen in babies. But when they tested her, they realized it was not the “common” type of jaundice, but rather a blood incompatibility with my blood she received in utero. I am AB+, and she is as well, but somewhere I built up antibodies in my blood. So since she isn’t in my tummy any longer and on her own, her body is rejecting my blood. The jaundice is a byproduct of her body fighting off my blood and attacking/breaking apart the red blood cells. When they tested her, her bilirubin count was a 17. Under 10 is normal, in the 20’s is dangerous, and 30 is brain damage. So the idea is to get her numbers down as quickly as possible.
The plan of attack was to have her under and on top of three different blue lights AKA Triple Photo Therapy. So she is laying with only a diaper and a really expensive pair of designer sunglasses in an incubator that is really warm and bright. We like to call it the “desert”.
Like I said, she went in at a 17. Her first testing was done later that afternoon, and she was down to a 14.6. Everyone was shocked by her quick reaction to the lights. Apparently that was a huge jump in a very short amount of time. Later that evening they tested her, and she was down to a 13.9. We were obviously thrilled, and things were very hopeful for a quick and good recovery.
The next morning, she rebounded just a touch to a 14.1, but the doctors and nurses considered that to be within the margin of error to consider her ”stable”. Later that evening her tests were good news, as her biliruben was at 12.9. I was thrilled, and couldn’t wait to hear what the tests from this morning were….on her fourth day of life. The results said she is currently at a 12.1, and the doctors are pleased enough that they are minimizing her lights down from three to one.
I have been by her side most of the time. I pump so she can get the best nourishment possible. The first day, I wasn’t allowed to hold her because they didn’t want her away from the lights for any time at all. But on day three I held her every time I fed her, and today — day four — I held her at her 6 am feeding for about 30 minutes, and over an hour at her 9 am feeding. I love that she knows exactly who I am, and cuddles into my arm like it is the best place on Earth.
I have slept at home the past two nights, and returned to the hospital early. And there she is…..in the desert with her little sunglasses on. She is good…SO good. She doesn’t cry or complain. Her heel looks like she stepped on a cactus with little lacerations all over them due to her blood draws.
I am so happy to see improvements every day. I am so happy to know she is a little toughy. I am so glad to know that she has angels surrounding her to help her heal. She is constantly looking off in the distance, and I know she can see them. I am grateful that there are doctors who are well educated and knowledgeable to handle situations as these. I am thrilled by nice nurses who are caring and compassionate. Our experience here has been good. I especially am happy to know that I have a good husband who is taking care of our boy. My biggest concern besides Navy’s health is that Scout doesn’t get dumped…..and he hasn’t. I also want to say that I love Dr. Thein and Dr. Carruth. Dr. Thein heard about Navy, and immediately came in. He was so kind, and even offered to find his wife’s pump, so Navy could get my milk. Talk about nice! And Dr. Carruth is here every morning like clockwork. I like his lack of mincing words, and getting straight to the point. His verdict…..everything looks good. We haven’t had any surprises, and no hiccups….and that is good.
Life is good. I have two of the cutest kids ever, and can’t wait until we are all under the same roof!
The sign in her room that the nurses made her.
Notice how yellow it is under where her sunglasses are….but how cute is she!
My view, my book and my pump.
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