Reece and the Bili

First off, I just have to say that I love being a mom. It's only been six days with our sweet little Reece, but they have been the best days of my life.

Now, for those of you who are curious about the title of this post, I will get to that. 

Bili (pronounced "billy") is short for bilirubin. Bilirubin is produced during the breakdown of red blood cells. Sometimes when babies are born they have more red blood cells than they should. Thus, the body breaks them down. When doing this the liver would usually process all of the products of this process (like bilirubin) and excrete them from the body. However, with babies who have too many RBCs, the amount of bilirubin builds up faster than the liver can get rid of it. Thus, this yellowish breakdown product (bilirubin) builds up in the baby's body and produces a yellowish-tint to their skin. This is commonly known as jaundice. 

On Sunday, after Reece had her check up before they discharged us from the hospital, they told us that her bilirubin levels were high. When her blood work came back, we learned that they were at 10.7, which is high for a newborn. So the pediatrician told us to bring her back to the hospital the next morning and have her levels tested again. 

After the sad heel prick in the hospital's outpatient lab (she cried pretty good at it, and while Derek soothed her I hid behind his back because I was teary eyed and trying my best not to cry) the doctor's office called us and told us that the level had jumped up to 13.7. Because the level had gone up so much, they had put in an order for us to use a BiliBlanket. We went to the medical supply building and picked it up. It's basically a phototherapy machine that people can use at home. The machine plugs into the wall and then a hose attaches to the front of it. The hose has a paddle at the end that lights up bright blue, and this paddle has to be right on the baby's skin. 

The light emitted from the paddle is ultraviolet light, and these UV rays break down the bilirubin into molecules that the body can then get rid of on its own. 

So we took the BiliBlanket home and got Reece all set up with it. She slept with it all night. We took her to the hospital again the next morning before her appointment with the pediatrician. Her doctor appointment went really well. She was 6 pounds 14 ounces when she was born, and at her appointment she was 6 pounds 10.5 ounces.

After the appointment, we got a call from the doctor's office saying that her levels were up to 14.4. So, she stayed on the bili. 

We kept her on the BiliBlanket the rest of that day, and all day Wednesday. My mom and I took her in to the hospital again this morning to have her levels tested. The doctor's office called with the results, and her levels had dropped to 11.3, meaning that she no longer had to be on the bili! We just need to take her in to the hospital again tomorrow morning to have the bilirubin levels checked again to make sure Reece is able to keep the bilirubin down on her own.

I am SO happy that Reece is able to be off of her light. Even thought I know that her jaundice was not a serious case, it still made me worry for her. So now that she is off of the BiliBlanket, I feel much more at ease.

I just love my precious girl. She has been our little glow worm.

Her first night on the BiliBlanket.

Taking a nap with dad. You can see the glow from the paddle in Derek's glasses.

Derek talking to our little girl.