Jaundiced Baby

[kylaskye]

My LO was born monday, and he was BF fine for a few days. On day 3 or so, he developed pretty bad jaundice. His biliruben count was 16, then up to 18 yesterday. (17 today, we're using a biliblanket.)

Because of the jaundice, he's been too tired to nurse, so we've been feeding him expressed breastmilk from a syringe or one of those breastflow bottles. It's still very difficult to get him to swallow the milk, but we're getting a little bit into him. 

My major problem, however, is that I can't seem to build up my supply. I don't have money for a LC, and all we have is a manual pump. We might be able to get a electric, but that will be stretching the budget a lot. 

I was wondering if any of you ladies had some pretty cheap ways of increasing supply. I'll be eating oatmeal as much as I can and I'm drinking plenty of fluids. I am really worried so I know that is effecting my supply at least a bit, but I'm a FTM, so I can't help that too much. 

Also, what would be the best/least expensive electric pump that I should get?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

[foreverinbluejeans]

In general a full term baby doesn't need to be treated for jaundice unless his bilirubin is over 20. Babies have to have extra red blood cells when before they are born and when they break down after birth it causes normal physiological jaundice. The first stools are black from the red blood cells breaking down. The more a baby poops the sooner the bilirubin drops. If the mother's milk doesn't come in then the bilirubin is slower to drop.  

You need to build your supply quickly and an inexpensive pump won't do that. You should only need a rental pump for a few days or a week to bring your milk in since your baby is less than a week old. If you bought a pump you should spend at least $300. You can get used Medela Pump in Style pumps from Craigslist for less than $50 in my area. However, breast pumps are considered single user items and it is supposed to be a health risk to buy used.  

Your baby's breastfeeding problems may not be from bilirubin. You may have had a difficult birth, he may not have breastfed well in the first hour after birth, he has gotten artificial nipples, he has had many interventions, he has had painful procedures, and he has probably gotten water and formula.  The major problem will probably be getting your baby to take the breast and suck well. Once the baby does that then the baby's suckling will increase your milk. The hospital LC may be free and WIC should have free LCs. La Leche League Leaders provide phone help for free and some do home visits. If there isn't a Leader in your area you can call the LLL International toll free number.

www.kellymom.com is a great source of info. Here is a link to an article about jaundice.

http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/html/jaundice.shtml 

All three of my babies had jaundice. I was a medical lab technologist (I did the bilirubin tests) and I had picked a doctor for my first baby that wouldn't treat until the bilirubin was over 20. His bilirubin did go over 20 and he had therapy in my room. Breastfeeding went well because everything else went well. With my second baby I went home a few hours after birth. His bilirubin went a little over 20 but his doctor wasn't concerned since he was nursing and pooping well. My third was born at 35-36 weeks and he had the bililights in an incubator in my room with no breastfeeding problems.

For some women it seems all their babies are jaundiced. If you choose a hospital and doctor that don't treat until levels are higher you may be able to avoid breastfeeding problems in the future. I'm not blaming you. I was a medical professional and I knew the things to prepare for.