Bili Be Gone
Posted by Me Sun, 11 Mar 2007 16:36:00 GMT
Jack turned 2 Months on Wednesday. Woohoo! :) He had his wellness check-up on Thursday and it turned out to be quite the traumatizing day for the little guy. First off, our ped was amazed at his growth. He came in weighing at 13lbs 6 oz and measuring 22 1/4 inches. She didn’t note what percentile that put him in, but he seems to be coming along well. He was so alert throughout the appointment – babbling, cooing, gurgling. It was so cute.
Overall, our ped thought he is thriving well. However, she is concerned that he is still a bit yellow. We know that from the last test his bili numbers were going down and aren’t in any range where they would be harmful to him. Yet the fact that he is still yellow to the eye worried her so she ordered a more comprehensive blood test to test his liver and make sure it’s ok. Naturally, that got me really worried. I don’t want anything to be wrong with my perfect angel. However, it is best to be safe than sorry so off we went to the lab. Well, not right away – Jack had to endure 4 vaccination shots in his thighs. Poor guy! He was so upset.
If that wasn’t enough, at the lab, they had to take a whole vial of blood to run the panel test. The lab guy tried to draw the blood from his arm but couldn’t do it so he sent us to a different lab where there’s a colleague of his who is very good at drawing blood from infants. So off we went! I felt so bad for Jack – he was screaming bloody murder when the guy tried to draw the blood – the fact that he had to endure it one more time at least – ullgh!!
Luckily, the lady at the other place was able to do it, though she had said he had pretty difficult veins. I guess Jack has LOML’s veins. Very tough to draw blood from! :( In any case, we went home after that. I fed him and we waited for our ped to call with the results, Jack slept a bit but then woke up in the afternoon and was soooo upset. We gave him some tylenol and I think that helped settle him a little. I hated seeing him so upset. My little chunky monkey was prodded, poked, pricked a lot that day! :(
Early evening our ped called to let us know the tests came back normal. His bili number was still at a 9 though showing sign of progress since it was down from 11 from the test he took 2 weeks prior. She is not sure why it is going so slowly. He poops as he should so we’re not sure why it is taking so long. Just to be sure she checked with a GI Doctor. He confirmed that the liver is functioning accordingly, However, he did note that the jaundice is taking longer than normal to diappear even for breastfed babies. His suggestion is to monitor it but let it run its course. The level isn’t harmful to him. It is just something to keep an eye out…so we’ll have another blood test in 2 weeks to make sure it continues to go down. I sure hope it does! I hate that he has to be stuck again. I don’t like seeing him in pain, but I also want to make sure he is healthy.
If you have some to spare, please send some “Bili Be Gone/Jaundice Disappear” vibes our way. We could sure use it. In the meantime, I will try to stop worrying so much and delight in my little ones magnificent smile!
Happy Sunday everyone!