Breastfeeding, jaundice and Darvocet are a very not good combination. Kait's been struggling to get Jack awake enough to feed. This has been going on since birth. Sure, being born (fished out) is hard work and a brand new baby is expected to sleep. But 22+ hours/day?
Nurses at the hospital...
"He's a little jaundiced, it'll make him sleepy."
"He needs to eat more to clear the jaundice."
It's been days and nights of constant battle to wake this baby enough to nurse even for a few minutes.
"Nursing tires him out, pump or give him formula in between breastfeeding."
Kait and Jack were discharged Sunday afternoon. I've been helping out during the day and this baby is way sleepier than he ought to be. I'm also the designated driver since Kait's the driver of their family (Jordan's a nervous driver) and she can't drive yet after her c-section. We had to take Mr Jack to the lab on Monday morning for a blood draw to check his bilirubin level. Then to his first ped's appt yesterday.
Even though Jack is nearly glowing, he's so yellow, the level is the same as Sunday...14 whatevers. Kait tells the ped (we don't really care for him, he's rather abrupt) she cannot wake him up enough to eat well. He's up 3 oz from his discharge weight (6 lbs, 10 oz) but there may be scale difference. They talk about what she's been doing...undress him, change him (makes him mad enough to wake up some), get him latched on for a couple minutes until he falls asleep, wake him up to try again and again, give up and force feed him an ounce of pumped milk or formula--repeat 2-3 hours later. He asks her some questions. She answers. We're all stumped. And then she tosses out what meds she's on...prenatal vitamins, prescription ibuprofen and Darvocet for pain.
Duh. I feel like an idiot. I even took in her prescriptions for her. I know Darvocet passes into breast milk and can make a baby sleepy. Probably not this sleepy but in combination with the jaundice... Of course, I never did finish nursing school and not a single nurse at the hospital even suggested her pain meds might be contributing to Jack's sleepiness.
We had to take Jack back to the lab for another blood draw after his dr appt. And going back again today, before another dr appt., because his bilirubin went up. If Jack isn't doing better today, he's going to have to be admitted for tube feeding. Fortunately, I think he's turned a corner. He's been bottle feeding formula while Kait waits for the Darvocet to clear (overly cautious, she's decided at least 24 hours) and the sleepy little boy has turned into a little piggy...he sucked down over 7 ounces between about 2:30 to 11:30 last night. Go Jack!
Nurses at the hospital...
"He's a little jaundiced, it'll make him sleepy."
"He needs to eat more to clear the jaundice."
It's been days and nights of constant battle to wake this baby enough to nurse even for a few minutes.
"Nursing tires him out, pump or give him formula in between breastfeeding."
Kait and Jack were discharged Sunday afternoon. I've been helping out during the day and this baby is way sleepier than he ought to be. I'm also the designated driver since Kait's the driver of their family (Jordan's a nervous driver) and she can't drive yet after her c-section. We had to take Mr Jack to the lab on Monday morning for a blood draw to check his bilirubin level. Then to his first ped's appt yesterday.
Even though Jack is nearly glowing, he's so yellow, the level is the same as Sunday...14 whatevers. Kait tells the ped (we don't really care for him, he's rather abrupt) she cannot wake him up enough to eat well. He's up 3 oz from his discharge weight (6 lbs, 10 oz) but there may be scale difference. They talk about what she's been doing...undress him, change him (makes him mad enough to wake up some), get him latched on for a couple minutes until he falls asleep, wake him up to try again and again, give up and force feed him an ounce of pumped milk or formula--repeat 2-3 hours later. He asks her some questions. She answers. We're all stumped. And then she tosses out what meds she's on...prenatal vitamins, prescription ibuprofen and Darvocet for pain.
Duh. I feel like an idiot. I even took in her prescriptions for her. I know Darvocet passes into breast milk and can make a baby sleepy. Probably not this sleepy but in combination with the jaundice... Of course, I never did finish nursing school and not a single nurse at the hospital even suggested her pain meds might be contributing to Jack's sleepiness.
We had to take Jack back to the lab for another blood draw after his dr appt. And going back again today, before another dr appt., because his bilirubin went up. If Jack isn't doing better today, he's going to have to be admitted for tube feeding. Fortunately, I think he's turned a corner. He's been bottle feeding formula while Kait waits for the Darvocet to clear (overly cautious, she's decided at least 24 hours) and the sleepy little boy has turned into a little piggy...he sucked down over 7 ounces between about 2:30 to 11:30 last night. Go Jack!
update: Jack took 14 ozs since yesterday's dr appt. His bilirubin went down from 16 yesterday to 12 today. No change in his weight. As long as all stays as it is, he just needs to go back on Monday for a weight check.
Whew. Now I get to go knit (<---see, I've talked about knitting in this here knitting blog!) and watch Jack sleep (with a full tummy) while mom and dad take a well-deserved nap.
3 comments:
Even though it took a little while to figure out sleepy Jack, it seems like you've discovered Hongry Jack! just in time.
Hey dear, just wondering...if there is plenty of sunshine where you are, some dose of sunlight (about 20 to 30 minutes) for a few days in a row does wonders for jaundiced babies.
It's what every Malaysian doctor recommends for babies with jaundice if they don't go for UV treatment.
Anyway, whatever it may be, I hope Jack gets better! *hugs*
Aside from his jaundice it sounds like he is doing well! As long as he is constantly gaining weight, thats a good sign, regardless of how little he seems to be eating. Maybe he is a great latcher and can get more milk than mama is realizing :)
And I know you know this... but remember he will lose a bit of weight soon. Babies always go down a bit from their birth weight and then come back up. So don't panic!
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