Jaundice

5-day-old =)

Here is hubby giving #3 her 1st home bath the day after we were discharged from the hospital. She looked completely at ease in the water. Just like her second sister Angie. No crying, no fussing. :) I remember when Faith was a newborn, she didn't take too well to bathtime - she was always crying and screaming. Partly also due to the fact that we were inexperienced first-time parents and probably took too long to bathe her. :p

Her first home bath took place only at 5 days old because we had extended our hospital stay for one more day. The reason was because her jaundice level was too high - 15+ (above 10 is considered high) and she needed to be placed under the light. :( I stayed on at the hospital with her because I wanted to be available for her feeding needs. Frankly, it was a little boring to be confined in a room alone and I watched TV most all the time - My Sister's Keeper, I am Sam, Martha Steward and a few of the locally produced Channel 8 programmes were some of my favourite shows. Heheh. Since I rarely watched TV at home, that was a good break for me.

When we checked out, the juandice level was still above ten - 11+. I was adament to go back by then. I thought it was ridiculous to stay beyond 5D4N - a friend stayed on only for 3D2N for a c-sec procedure, even shorter than the recommended 4D3N! Luckily, the PD gave us the green light to go back (albeit reluctantly).

When we got back, I tried sunning her every morning over the weekend but it didn't help much - her eye whites were still yellowish. :( We went back to the clinic on Monday for a follow-up and the blood test showed her level had shot up again to 16+! So the PD advised us to rent a PEP bed which cost us $400 for 3D2N including home delivery. It sounded expensive but it was actually much cheaper than staying in the hospital which cost $450 PER night.

All in all, I managed to get her to clock 26+ hours of sleeping/lying under the light - the PEP bed lady had said "20hrs is considered very good already". Heheheh. The PEP bed was effective - I could see the visible improvement because her eye whites were less yellowish and her stools were greenish. True enough, her jaundice level had dropped 5 points when we did the blood test on Wednesday morning - the brave girl was awake but didn't cry at all when she was being prinked!

Now that we have returned the PEP bed, the PD warned the jaundice level will rebound but he said it is alright because she is older now and her system is more mature to deal with it. So he declared case closed! Yeah!!! :D

Meanwhile, worried MIL said I can't take the ginger red date longan tea she prepared for me anymore because ginger causes juandice in baby. Well, I didn't like the idea of drinking the tasteless tea without ginger so I told her it was just an old wives' tale and bluffed her that the doctor said the baby would get juandice with or without the ginger. :p

To my horror, when I checked with the PD on this 'old wives' tale', he explained ginger is a strong herb and by consuming in excess, the baby's liver has to work doubly hard to excrete the excess ginger from the system. He said it's like "fighting with two men". That is why it is not advisable to consume too much herbs when the baby has jaundice. :p

How now? I can't retract what I have told my MIL, right??? Anyway, I think I will continue to drink the ginger tea for the benefit of getting rid the "wind" from my body especially since I am already not adhering to many of the traditional confinement rules e.g. I bathe without Chinese herbs (even though I have bought them), I shower the two older kids, I switch on the air-con and the fan etc etc. Maybe I'll just dilute the ginger tea with some water. I don't suppose it would cause great harm to the baby! *cross fingers*

Some after-thoughts: This brush with jaundice was quite an eye-opener for us 3rd-time parents. Even though Faith and Angie had jaundice too, their levels wasn't that high to warrant such drama i.e. extended hospital stay, renting pep bed etc. I felt extremely guilty for the first few days and kept wondering if her immature liver was due to fact that I had scheduled the c-sec at 39weeks instead of waiting for labour to occur naturally. There was no signs of labour even as I laid on the OT bed. No contractions, no show, nothing! While most mothers would shed tears of joy, I felt a tinge of sadness when #3 was delivered and placed in my arms. She was crying so fiercely as if to express her anger for being taken out when she wasn't ready to come out yet. I wish I had listened to my instinct to postpone/cancel the op. I am so sorry, baby.... :(((

P.S. We haven't decided on a perfect name for #3 yet. *Sigh*