Thursday, July 05, 2012

glow worm

Hey, thanks for those in the comments who helped me convert the RAW files to JPGs.  Insert Eddie Murphy's "Raw" joke here!  (I don't even know what that joke would be, I just like to say "Eddie Murphy's 'Raw'".)  A few more pics from Nina's birthday.




Yikes.




Big ups to Dr. Moore.




And now, Deep Thoughts.




I had lying-down-for-too-many-hours hair.




So today we brought in Nina for her first Peds check after being discharged from the hospital.  We didn't have any real concerns--she's been doing all the things that she's supposed to do, she's less than an ounce shy of her birth weight (my milk came in yesterday afternoon--we'd been doing some supplementing with formula up until then to avoid dehydration and jaundice) and she's just been generally delightful.  So we were a little surprised when a quasi-routine heel stick for bilirubin turned up levels in the high-risk range.  (She was about 82 hours old when the blood was checked, and her level was 16 point something.)  Honestly, she doesn't look that yellow to me, I almost wonder if hemolysis from heel-stick sampling plays a role in the number being high (does it do that?) but whatever, better safe than sorry.




WHO'S THE GREEN LANTERN NOW, MACK?

Apparently we have this really shit health insurance that doesn't cover bili blankets via home health nursing--the nurse says in the past when they've had patients with our insurance needing phototherapy the only thing that has been covered has been those baby tanning beds in the isolettes, which would be TERRIBLE, since you're supposed to just leave the baby in there all the time, by themselves, for 24 hours or more, only taking them out for feeds and diaper changes.  Boo-urns to that.  

However, the Peds group that we're with has a bili blanket system that they loan out for just this kind of situation--thankfully no one else was using it.  (Actually, from the equipment log, it looks like no one has needed to borrow it since February, which either means no babies need phototherapy or everyone has better health insurance than us.)  NO MATTER.  We were so very grateful to have this option, and to be with a Peds group that has a loaner unit because they know that babies need to be held and touched even if they are busy isomerizing the double bonds in their excess bilirubin.  Two thumbs up for the Children's Medical Group of Atlanta.

We're going to go back in tomorrow afternoon for another bili check, aiming for at least a two point drop in her level after about 24 hours on the lights.  Let's hope we're already moving in the right direction.

19 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:15 PM

    Our son had bilirubin issues and got sent home with one of those bili beds. He hated it. A nurse had told us that putting them next to a window with light streaming through had the same effect so we did that most of the time. His bili was improved within a couple of days. Good luck!

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  2. I can't get over how happy your husband looks! You guys have the cutest family.

    I had no idea bili-blankets even existed.

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  3. That bili bed was a horrific torture. I'm glad they've come up with a better system.

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  4. Dude, I love Children's Medical Group! The Bug went there and I sing nothing but praises for them.

    That cord knot it so scary looking! I'm glad you guys had Super Doctor to come to the rescue.

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  5. Oh my. She truly is a miracle! So happy things turned out great and you didn't know about the knot before. My daughters highest was 22. She was 36+5 so I think they tend to be higher, but we had to spend 2 days in childrens mercy with her in a bed, it was torture. Congrats on baby Nina. Your family is so cute.

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  7. Congratulations! She is so cute! I bet you can't wait to spoil her rotten!

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  8. Coooongrats Michelle!

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  9. Hahah! Look at Joe! He's stoked!

    Umm...that's a really good true knot picture. Do you mind if it's borrowed for teaching purposes?

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  10. Anonymous8:00 PM

    I've never heard of it being falsely elevated from a heel prick. (I'm a family doc so this isn't totally my department...but it's not totally NOT my department, either.) :)

    Also: it is awesome that you can have her at home with a bili blanket. I've never heard of that happening here (a big city in Canada) - they use the bili blankets, but only in the hospital. So any baby that needs phototherapy gets admitted. Awesome, I say!!!

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  11. Molly9:10 PM

    Never stop holding her....so adorable.

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  12. I love that "Deep Thought" picture of her!!! Agggggh so cute!!
    *head explodes*

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    1. Anonymous10:47 PM

      The 2 pictures of your sons each holding Nina speak mountainfuls about their personalities- they're so different!!

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  13. Congratulations!

    Thank God they have bili blankets now. I had bili issues when I came out 20+ years ago and I was on that "tanning bed" (and my mom was told not to hold me then). Here's to hoping for good bili levels!

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  14. Congratulations, Dr. Au! She is gorgeous and your family, precious.

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  15. I've never seen a knot like that! Crazy.

    In my experience, hemolysis will cause a falsely elevated *direct* bili, but treatment is based on total anyway. Usually at our NICU the lab will call and say they can't perform direct if the sample is too hemolyzed.

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  16. "...babies need to be held and touched even if they are busy isomerizing the double bonds in their excess bilirubin."

    I've been consistently reading this blog for almost five years now because of lines like that. And: I couldn't agree more!

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