Jaundice??

[chilichiki]

Okay, while at the hospital after Henry's birth, the nurse constantly made comments about how she thought he had jaundiced.  His blood tests came back with normal levels (I believe 5.4) and we were given the all clear.   At his three day check up he was given the all clear again...

The past few days people have made various comments on the darkness of his skin/complexion compared to my husband and myself.  And his eyes have been a bit yellowish since the day he was born, i can;t neccessarily say that they are any more so now than last week.

Anyways, now everyone has me worrying.

I am exclusively breastfeeding.  He has been eating every couple of hours (usually about fifteen minutes or so in length). He has MORE than enough poopy/wet diapers. 

I have never had experience with jaundice, so I don't know if I am being paranoid or not.  I am adding a pic so other mommies can give me their input. 

He doesn't have any sort of temperature, I don't think he is sleepier than any other baby his age....I really don't want to be the paranoid mommy here.  Any thoughts ladies?

 

I will have my internet back by Tuesday and will be able to catch up on everyone's stories soon, can't wait!!

[Kindermama]

DS had jaundice from day 3 or 4 until about 2 weeks old. Midwife said it's only a problem if he is super fussy, too sleepy to nurse enough causing not enough wet/poopy diapers or if the jaundice reached the palms of his hands or soles of his feet. None of the above happened and it went away without us even noticing! Then came the baby acne! LOL! 

[Kindermama]

ps- he's a litte ruddy looking but it doesn't look like anything to worry about! Enjoy your OompaLoompa! 

[chilichiki]

Like I said, he will eat every couple of hours usually (the past day has been a little more frequent though).  He eats for about five or ten minutes, then starts drifting to sleep.  So I will burp him and feed him for another five or ten minutes.  Then, he usually needs a diaper change and if he cooperates, I will feed him again.  Then he pretty much conks out for a bit :o)

IF he is jaundiced, I would say it is only at his eyes and head....his neck and stomach and everything else seem normal in color. He is definitely not super fussy.  He is a pretty easy going child.

That damned nurse just made me so paranoid.  She made several comments about how I should think about discontinuing breastfeeding in favor of formula, which really discouraged me.  With DS1, I had a very hard time breastfeeding.  This time around,  it seems like a breeze, but I am paranoid now that my breastmilk is making him jaundice because of her.

[juneboymum]

Originally Posted by chilichiki 

Like I said, he will eat every couple of hours usually (the past day has been a little more frequent though).  He eats for about five or ten minutes, then starts drifting to sleep.  So I will burp him and feed him for another five or ten minutes.  Then, he usually needs a diaper change and if he cooperates, I will feed him again.  Then he pretty much conks out for a bit :o)

IF he is jaundiced, I would say it is only at his eyes and head....his neck and stomach and everything else seem normal in color. He is definitely not super fussy.  He is a pretty easy going child.

That damned nurse just made me so paranoid.  She made several comments about how I should think about discontinuing breastfeeding in favor of formula, which really discouraged me.  With DS1, I had a very hard time breastfeeding.  This time around,  it seems like a breeze, but I am paranoid now that my breastmilk is making him jaundice because of her.

Oh gosh, forget everything that crazy nurse told you!  He looks fine to me (and totally adorable!).  My son is also has a bit of an olive tone which may be real (like me) or he may get lighter like his dad.  If the slight jaundice is only on his head there is no need to worry.  Is his urine dark orange/brown?  That's another sign of jaundice.  The other AM, Eli's pee was really dark but as my milk came in more fully it quickly turned light yellow.  Breastmilk is totally fine!  I think they tend to be more jaundiced until our milk fully come in, but there is NO need for formula.  You are doing great!!!  Just trust yourself and your body...it knows what to do!

[AfricanQueen99]

Because of our blood combination, they assumed that Q would be jaundiced, but it never came to fruition.  Our Ped said that you shouldn't look at the basic color, but press on their skin with your finger.  When you pull away if there is a yellow trace then you might consider jaundice, but if there's just a white trace you're fine.  Oh, and something about jaundice hitting it's highest level around days 7-10.

A NURSE said to use formula?  Seriously?!

[Devaskyla]

He looks a bit jaundiced in his face. Definitely not down to his feet, can't see his chest of hands in that picture.

There is such a thing as physiological jaundice, which is perfectly normal & common & goes away on its own. The best 'cure' is nursing as much as possible. I'd just keep an eye on it for a couple days. It should start going away. If it spreads more, you might want to get his levels checked again.

[rtjunker]

Just keep doing what you're doing and try to forget the nurse's comments. I've found that trusting my own instincts works best for me. I know breastfeeding is best for my LO. I know my body was built to meet her needs. And just because someone works in the medical field doesn't mean their opinions are in line with mine.

[lactatinggirl]

DD2 was a little jaundiced (didn't blood test so I don't have levels) at our 2 day check-up and the midwife said it was nothing to worry about. She just told me to take Floradix (an iron supplement) for both myself (I was a bit dizzy) and because it bonds to the bilirubin and flushes it out of her system. She said jaundice tops out at 7 days and it's normal for babies to get a little jaundiced just because their extra blood cells are breaking down. 

[Kindermama]

Originally Posted by Devaskyla 

The best 'cure' is nursing as much as possible.

Same thing my midwife told me! 

[GreenMamma]

The more they poop, the more the levels go down. I wouldn't worry at all. He may be a tad jaundiced, but he is super cute!

[hippiemommaof4]

First the nurse is an umm  idiot sorry but she is because she does not have one clue what she is talking about , formula???? really wth, and scaring you about jaundice of all things when the tests were normal is just asinine  :-X... my baby had jaundice and we nursed thru it just this past friday we finally got the all clear...we nursed through it all the way. Some babies just look a bit yellowish ime after 6 kids. My baby's head is still on the yellowish side her eyes are too. she's fine and now she never sleeps LOL. It sounds like that nurse needs a little breastfeeding education. My ped (who is from australia originally <3 ) never said one word about stopping nursing EVER not one single solitary comment. Dont worry about that lady.

[veggiemom2004]

Our ped said they don't even get concerned till the levels are 20 or higher, so 5.4 is pretty low! I would go by that rather that a visual opinion

[chilichiki]

Thanks everyone!! It is a big relief reading all of your comments.

Henry seems to be clearing up a little more everyday.  His pee has always been normal in color.  The numerous poopy diapers continue unabated...I swear his brother never pooped this much!

I am still upset about the experience I had with the nurse at the hospital.  When talking to my mom about it, she told me I should have requested another nurse.  Don't know why the thought never even occurred to me.  I did inform my friend who is a resident OBGYN at the same hospital of my experience with her, so hopefully it gets back to the right ears.

On a side note- my mother thinks DS2 looks like I did as a baby so she brought my newborn picture up to the hospital.  The nurse saw the pic and asked who it was, I told her it was me, she replies "Hmmm...you looked a little jaundiced."

My husband (who was beyond fed up with her jaundice comments) replied "Its a thirty year old aged picture. Its yellowed. She didn't have damned jaundice!"

Then the nurse hurried out of the room and barely came back in the rest of our stay (which was only 24 hours thankfully!!) DH says she had jaundice on the brain...

[AfricanQueen99]

^^^ Methinks Nursey O'Jaundice recently had an in-service training on catching jaundice in newborns.  Maybe the "winner" of the most cases gets a Target gift card and she couldn't be in second place behind the others!

[element2012]

I just wanted to chime in that my LO has a touch of jaundice too.  I actually thought most babies get it a little bit..?  My MW is not at all worried about it, and we're going to her first ped visit tomorrow so we'll see what the good doc has to say about it.  But yeah, that nurse has jaundice on the brain.