Because of his size, I had some bleeding complications after he was born, so we didn't get up to the postpartum unit until 5pm on Saturday. Needless to say, I was exhausted by then!
Our stay at Magee on the postpartum unit was nice. They fed us like pigs, which I wasn't complaining about. After not having room for food for a while, it was nice to finally chow down.
Easton was an angel and didn't fuss much, only to find out he was so quiet because his bilirubin levels were creeping up, causing him not to eat as well. 36 hours after birth, they drew blood work, his bilirubin level was 13. At that point, it was nothing to be concerned about. By the time we were ready to leave, it was up to 15. So they sent us home on a biliblanket, and told us not to worry. The biliblanket is basically a flexible plastic paddle thing that he lays on, and is then connected to a box which produces the light. Visiting nurses came to the house and drew his blood and measured his weight. By Tuesday night, his level was up to 22 and his weight was down to 8lbs 5oz. We were told to go to the NICU at Magee right away.
By the time we got to the NICU, his level was 23.5. At a bilirubin of 25, it becomes very serious and they do a complete blood transfusion on the babies. Easton was able to escape the blood transfusion, but he was put in an isolette and on maximum phototherapy (3 banks of lights). I was barely keeping myself together through this all.
We were lucky enough to get a parent room to sleep in. The parent room is basically a tiny room with a twin bed and a pull out chair. As far as I was concerned, it was the Ritz. It saved us from sleeping in the lounge.
Easton's bilirubin levels fell very slowly. We were at the NICU for Christmas Eve and Christmas. On Christmas we were able to sneak away for an hour and have dinner with my family. It was a quick Christmas, to say the least. We were then discharged late on Friday, after his bilirubin level came back at 12.3.
Ah...home-sweet-home (or was it). Easton was back on the biliblanket at home. Jason and I were on pins and needles as a home health care RN came to the house on Saturday morning to draw Easton's bilirubin. It came back at 16. We were devastated. We knew it would rebound, but not that much. We anxiously awaited the night bilirubin draw, which would determine if we would have to go back to the NICU. Thankfully, it was trending down to 15.8. We could finally relax a little. On Sunday, the final bilirubin blood work came back at 14.8. Things were getting better.
Yesterday, we had our first ped doctor's appointment. Despite all the mayhem, Easton is a healthy little boy. We were told to keep him on the biliblanket for 48 hours, and then we are done! I can't wait for tomorrow morning. It will be so nice to be able to pick him up and walk around. It's not easy taking care of a child with a tail, connected to the outlet on the wall.
Through this all, I have to keep reminding myself that we are very lucky that Easton will come through this and grow up to be a healthy boy. It could be so much worse. Everyone has been so supportive and we appreciate that. It helped us get through this little bump in the road.
My mom and sister took this little video for your viewing pleasure.
