Jaundice and Foot Pricks

All babies are tested for Jaundice before they can be released to go home from the hospital.  The night before we were supposed to be released, the night nurse, Casey, came in about 11:30pm and said she tested Mila for Jaundice that night instead of the next morning because she was looking really yellow, which is a symptom.  When she tested her, her level came back at 13.5, which is high.   Casey suggested we give Mila formula every two hours in order to get her lots of fluids which can help the Jaundice clear up.  Every two hours, I would nurse her (this is to make sure my milk would come in, and she would bond with me), then we would feed her a formula bottle.  The next morning at 5:00am, Casey came in and said her level had gone down to 11.2, but it still wasn't low enough for her to go home.  

Mila would be placed under the UV rays (which looks similar to a tanning bed) for 24 hours to help push the Jaundice out of her system.  She had to wear a mask and lay under the UV rays bed all day and night unless she needed to eat or get her diaper changed.  The nurse referred to it as "going to Florida".  She got to put her sunglasses on and lay at the beach, but as a new mom, I felt like I was abandoning her because I couldn't hold her on her third day in the world.  She was already experiencing so many changes since coming out of the nice and cozy womb, and now she would be forced under lights, wearing a mask, and getting her feet pricked every few hours to test her levels.  It was awful.   I just wanted to hold my sweet baby girl all day and let her know how much I loved her.

The worst part of it all was when one of the nurses came in to prick her tiny little foot.  She didn't use the foot warmer (which helps the blood to flow faster and makes it a quicker process) claiming her foot should be warm enough because of the lights she was under.  This was not true.  It took the nurse 15 minutes to get two vials of blood and Mila was screaming the entire time.  The nurse didn't seem affected at all by my sweet daughter's pain, yet I was traumatized.  The other nurses that did pricked her feet used the foot warmer and Mila didn't make a sound.  

Mila's levels were going down throughout the day.  We were hopeful to get to go home the next morning.  At 10:00am the following day, the nurse came in and said they needed to monitor Mila throughout the day without being under the UV rays to make sure her levels didn't bounce back up.  At 3:00pm, they tested her levels for the final time. We were released about 6:30pm, and finally got to take our precious girl home.  We were beyond excited.