The day after Alex was admitted to the hospital for jaundice, he was released from the phototherapy around 11am. After finding out that his bilirubin level had decreased to 12.6 overnight, the doctors felt confident that we were over the hump with that threat and they let us leave. We were home by 1:30 that afternoon. The next morning, we were to report to the pediatrician who was upset that we were released before it was proven that Alex was gaining weight. He was down to 6lbs. 15oz., more than a pound lower than his birth weight. So she decided that we should bottle feed him formula throughout the night to see if he’d gain weight or if there was something wrong with his metabolic system. Andy did a good job of feeding him every 2 hours throughout the night while I watched idly and felt inadequate to help my child grow. Needless to say, it wasn’t a pretty evening. But the next morning, Alex had gained 6 ounces so they allowed me to go back to nursing and asked us to come back on Monday. Then, he’d lost an ounce and we were supposed to supplement nursing with formula. Against my better judgment, I supplemented him after each feeding with an ounce or so of formula. By Wednesday, he’d gained two ounces and was back up to 7lbs. 6oz. so the doc was pleased with that. We were told to come back in a week to see how he was doing. Charlotte had a different plan and on Sunday night, came down with what we knew was an ear infection. So we trotted off to the pediatrician on Monday morning to have her checked and while we were there, I asked if Alex could weigh in. Low and behold, he’d gained 5 ounces and was 7lbs. 11oz.!!! We were thrilled!!!
So now we’re strictly nursing on his demand and he seems to be content. He’s spending more and more time awake each day, looking around and enjoying the ceiling fans throughout the house. And although they’re not intentional yet, we LOVE seeing his smiles. He has little dimples right next to his mouth and one big, deep dimple on his left cheek!! We’re looking forward to watching that grin develops over the coming weeks to intentional smiles!!
|