Baby's pretty red...

[GinaRae]

The babe has been quite "red" most of the time and I wondered why.

The doc told me today it's from a high hematocrit level and the only concern is if it causes jaundice. But he's past that stage and doing fine. I just thought this was interesting to know.

[lisarussell]

babies who get all their cord blood really do have more blood circulating in their bodies than babies who are clamped immediately upon birth (by comparison, they're pale and pasty looking)

It's the liver (naturally, normally and healthily) freaking out about processing all those red cells as they (naturally, normally and healthily) die that creates the physiological (Normal and natural) jaundice that sets in anywhere between (help me if these days are wrong) 3 and 10 days after birth.

Pathological Jaundice, which sets in after the baby is a few weeks old, is an entirely different thing, and has nothing to do with the NORMAL jaundice a newborn experiences.

So how old is this red baby? I think it just means he's healthy and has a good blood supply. Is he happy and healthy otherwise?

[*Lindsey*]

Lucy is redder (more red?) than Hazel, and we were told it was the hematocrit thing, too. I also wonder if it they had a bit of TTTS since L was a whole pound bigger than H.

[oskie]

Originally Posted by lisarussell

babies who get all their cord blood really do have more blood circulating in their bodies than babies who are clamped immediately upon birth (by comparison, they're pale and pasty looking)

Hmm, I never thought of that before, but it makes sense. Everybody has mentioned what good coloring James has and we did delay the cord clamping. He's not reddish, but he's not pale either.

[chrysalis]

i couldn't delay the cord clamping/cutting as sheamas needed to go immediately to the warmer to have his throat suctioned, etc. for meconium. so that was fine w/ me,i had already covered that prior to birthing him. what needs to be priority, just is sometimes........

sheamas is real red sometimes...i have wondered about this myself. i'll watch him for jaundice but i'm not too concerned about that as he is nursing real well and very healthy. ooo i see a bug crawling on the sheet from here...............brb.

got it. box elder bug...wonder if that is from MN as we had them there big time...guess it could survive in a box??? don't think they'd be coming in here now in OR...its cold and light dusting of snow outside...hmmmmm.

[lisarussell]

Also- since their skin is thinner, we can see their faces turning red when they grunt to poop or something. Some ladies wonder why their babies faces turn red or purple when they're pooping. it's normal.

TTTC- I think the weight difference is significant, were they fraternal, though because identical twins are more likely to have the same weight barring TTTC, and fraternal twins would be more likely to have different weights (a pound not being a sure sign of TTTC at that point.) I can't wait to see more pictures!

[gokiamma]

DD was red (real red) for about 2+ weeks of age. Now I can see her true complexion.

[savithny]

Mine were both very "ruddy babies" as the midwives said. We delayed clamping with both, too.

Both of my kids also got *very* jaundiced, quite quickly. Ruddy baby plus yellow jaundice=orange baby. Very becoming. Our pediatrican also associated this with ruddiness - because, as your doc also said, of all the hemoglobin.

DH and I are both fair-skinned and ruddy-cheeked. We figured it was genetic.

[veganjoy]

Originally Posted by lisarussel

...babies who are clamped immediately upon birth (by comparison, they're pale and pasty looking)

Not trying to call you out here, but this is a big generalization and just doesn't sound like the kindest thing to say. We had to cut Glory's cord earlier than I would have liked because of a retained placenta. She's nice and ruddy--certainly not pale and pasty, even by comparison (look at my sig!).

[maisiedotes]

Mairaed is pretty blotchy- I assumed it was because of her irish mommy and scottish daddy. But I will ask about the hemocrit at her next ped. appointment. Poor girl- her skin is going to be SO sensitive with us as parents!

[Mahre]

My DS was very very red and still at almost 1 month old he gets red at times. My mom was concerned that something was wrong because of the extreme redness. I am glad to know that it was the extra blood. He was born at home before the midwife arrived and his cord was not clamped or cut for 1 hr. That would explain his redness.

We teasingly called him Esau. Esau in the Bible is described as being red and hairy when he was born. Our DS was red RED red, and hairy. I teased that he is growing a beard already and his shoulders are furry. I know that the hair is normal for some babies also.

[*Lindsey*]

Originally Posted by lisarussell

TTTC- I think the weight difference is significant, were they fraternal, though because identical twins are more likely to have the same weight barring TTTC, and fraternal twins would be more likely to have different weights (a pound not being a sure sign of TTTC at that point.) I can't wait to see more pictures!

They are identical.

[GinaRae]

Originally Posted by lisarussell

So how old is this red baby? I think it just means he's healthy and has a good blood supply. Is he happy and healthy otherwise?

He's now 13 days and a bit less red. Picture of health! And yah, he got all that good cord blood, so that makes sense. He was slightly jaundiced day 3-5 maybe, but that's gone. Glad he has the extra blood supply as I am anemic from the birth and not offering as much iron.