I don't know how to update a thread with the word "update" in it, so I'm starting a new thread for this...
Zoe was released from the hospital yesterday, after being admitted for newborn jaundice.
Although the staff was friendly, they were definitely more insecure about breastfeeding than I am. Zoe's weight dropped to 6lbs 2oz (her birth weight was 6lbs12oz), and so they wanted her on a strict feeding schedule and asked me to keep a precise log of when she was fed, how long she was fed, which breast she was fed from, etc.. They also asked me to supplement her feedings with expressed breastmilk from a bottle. I had a pump brought into our room, and pumped for the very first time (this is my 4th baby). Zoe did not like the bottles, though, and we had a hard time with those.
When she wasn't being fed, she spent her time in a bassinet with bili-lights all around her. She had her "sunglasses" (made out of cloth) velcroed to little heart-shaped stickers on her temples.
Her bilirubin levels had gone down dramatically in the morning, so we stopped the photo-therapy. We still had to spend the entire day in the hospital to make sure her levels stayed down even without the therapy, which they did.
I was given a bed to sleep in, and they even brought me meals, which I was grateful for. The pediatric ward was nearly empty, so we got a lot of attention.
Still, I'm so happy to be back home. Her weight has gone up by a few ounces, and I like nursing her on her own schedule. It's so much more relaxing. She's still a very sleepy newborn, but I think that has more to do with her personality. She's just a very mellow baby.
Off to switch laundry and do some dishes before baby wakes up again....
Zoe was released from the hospital yesterday, after being admitted for newborn jaundice.
Although the staff was friendly, they were definitely more insecure about breastfeeding than I am. Zoe's weight dropped to 6lbs 2oz (her birth weight was 6lbs12oz), and so they wanted her on a strict feeding schedule and asked me to keep a precise log of when she was fed, how long she was fed, which breast she was fed from, etc.. They also asked me to supplement her feedings with expressed breastmilk from a bottle. I had a pump brought into our room, and pumped for the very first time (this is my 4th baby). Zoe did not like the bottles, though, and we had a hard time with those.
When she wasn't being fed, she spent her time in a bassinet with bili-lights all around her. She had her "sunglasses" (made out of cloth) velcroed to little heart-shaped stickers on her temples.
Her bilirubin levels had gone down dramatically in the morning, so we stopped the photo-therapy. We still had to spend the entire day in the hospital to make sure her levels stayed down even without the therapy, which they did.
I was given a bed to sleep in, and they even brought me meals, which I was grateful for. The pediatric ward was nearly empty, so we got a lot of attention.
Still, I'm so happy to be back home. Her weight has gone up by a few ounces, and I like nursing her on her own schedule. It's so much more relaxing. She's still a very sleepy newborn, but I think that has more to do with her personality. She's just a very mellow baby.
Off to switch laundry and do some dishes before baby wakes up again....
so glad to hear you're both home again. hope she feels better every day! 
