Big sister Allie, who was born nearly 4 weeks early, developed jaundice & was treated with 4 days and nights on a special phototherapy light bed.
Although this home treatment is much better than re-admitting baby back to the hospital, it is not easy.
We had hoped that little sister Kylie would avoid the same issue, since she was full term...however, that was not to be.
(jaundice is quite common in newborns, but especially preemies)
The treatment itself only requires the infant to lay (wearing only a diaper) on a light bed, similar to a tanning bed, 24 hours a day…besides feedings, changing diapers, & daily trips to the hospital to draw blood to see if the bilirubin levels have dropped. We were given strict instructions that Grandmas & Grandpas would have to wait to hold her. (most had already had a chance, since the treatment started a day after we came home from the hospital) Poor Kylie’s heals look like pin cushions from having her blood drawn every day this week.
Although the lights are painless, newborns don’t like to be naked & pinned to a bed. It is very hard to comfort a tired baby when you can’t pick them up! In Kylie’s case we were unaware she was also ‘tongue tied’ (had a restrictive or tight frenulum that impairs the ability of the tongue to move properly to effectively breastfeed – VERY painful on mom!), so she was constantly fussing due to hunger. She had a hard time sucking from a bottle, taking in more air than fluid. For me, a hyper-emotional in pain post-partum mommy, it was a constant guilt war – to get her out of the bed or not. On one hand, she needed to stay under the lights as much as possible to help break down the bilirubin. On the other hand, she needed to eat to help flush the toxins out & she always seemed to be hungry. PLUS she wanted to be swaddled & snuggled!
Finally, Wednesday night I found information matching Kylie & my symptoms on the internet. It turns out that there is a very simple procedure to ‘clip’ the thin band of tissue connecting the underside of the tongue to the bottom of the mouth. It is nearly painless, doesn’t bleed, & makes an immediate difference for baby & mother. However, since this was once overdone, many physicians refuse to do anything since the tissue usually stretches & retracts over the first year.
Thursday morning I went to the clinic determined not to leave till Kylie had the procedure. What a day! Our pediatrician (who we LOVE) was out of town and the only one in the office refuses to do the clipping procedure. Thankfully his wonderful nurse called several offices and finally found a throat/ear surgeon in the same building that would see Kylie that afternoon. So we came back that afternoon and had it done. Although the results were not immediate (Kylie didn’t know what to do with her now freed tongue for a few feedings) they have been wonderful. AND we got word Thursday afternoon that she could come off of the lights.
We are all doing much better now!!!! She is getting plenty to eat now & we can hold and love on her all we want. With her full tummy sleeping is also going better. Friday & Saturday nights she slept from 10:30 pm to 8:30 am with only one feeding at 4:30am (after which she went right back to sleep). OH WHAT A DIFFERENCE A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP MAKES! Now we just need to get big sister home.
