广昊's first week

Everyone is joking that Boy Boy is Mommy's Mother's Day present... Mommy definitely did not think that she will be celebrating her first Mother's Day this year! Forty-eight hours after you were born, we finally got to bring you back home. We almost couldn't do so because your bilirubin levels were high from the light test. Fortunately, the blood test came back with a lower reading, so we didn't have to stay another night!

However, the next few days were quite traumatic for poor Boy Boy. You bilirubin levels continued to climb, and you had to have blood drawn from your heel daily. But you were such a brave boy, practically sleeping through the whole procedure. We had to rent a bilirubin blanket for you to sleep on, in the hopes of bringing the bilirubin levels down.

Unfortunately, you had to be admitted to the hospital on Saturday, coz the levels hit 20. The worst thing was, they had to do extra blood tests for you, so the heel stick was no longer enough -- they had to draw from a vein in the hand. The PD nurse had to poke you twice because she did not draw enough blood the first time. Both Mommy and Daddy were heartbroken to see you wailing away in pain. Later on in the night, you had to have blood drawn again. This time, they couldn't find any more limbs to poke, so they had to take it from a vein in the head... Poor Boy Boy... We wish we were the ones being poked instead...

It was a tough night for all of us in the hospital. You were only allowed to have diapers on, and had to be under constant light therapy. It didn't help that the hospital room was so cold, and there were times we could see you shivering. Daddy had to ask the nurses for a way to keep you warm, and we were given rubber gloves filled with warm water to put by your side.

Fortunately, the PD who came by to see you the next day was an easy-going one. He said we could bring you home that day, and follow up at the community clinic on Tuesday. So far, your bilirubin levels have been dropping, but we will still have to bring you back next week to make sure you are in the clear. It seems like we have almost all the risk factors for jaundice (Asian, blood type mismatch, breastfeeding, etc). In addition, the doctor said that because you are slightly preterm, your liver may need a bit more time to mature. We will just have to be patient for now...