Jaundice

Carter's jaundice seems all cleared up. The whites of his eyes now look white instead of yellow. And he no longer looks so tan which was the yellow coming through.

I didn't know what jaundice was (other than you turn yellow) before our birthing classes. Jaundice is caused by excess bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is produced by the normal breakdown of red blood cells. Normally, bilirubin passes through the liver and is excreted as bile through the intestines. Jaundice occurs when bilirubin builds up faster than a newborn's liver can break it down and pass it from the body.

We were told Carter had a little bit of jaundice on Sunday morning after he was born (though we already suspected that he did). Carter had a blood test to determine his bilirubin level that morning, and his test result was 11.2. This was a low enough number to not have to do anything about it at that point. We were told that they start getting concerned at a level of 15 and at 18, light therapy is required to aid in clearing up the jaundice.

Carter was tested again on Monday morning before we left the hospital, and his level then was 11.8. Since it was going up, the pediatrician wanted to see us on Wednesday so he could do a visual assessment of Carter.

At the doctor's appointment, the pediatrician decided Carter's jaundice wasn't clearing up yet and sent us over to Parkwest Hospital to have another bilirubin test. I think we were sent there since their lab would be able to have the results within an hour. Carter did not like having blood drawn for that test. I held him while they pricked his foot and squeezed blood into a little vial. He is not a quick bleeder. He screamed the whole time. But once they were done, he calmed back down quickly. Anyway, his level after that test was 12.2. So it was still going up, but at least it wasn't high enough to have to do anything about it yet.

We went back to the pediatrician on Friday so that they could do a visual assessment again of Carter, and they decided that he was starting to look better and we didn't need to get his bilirubin level tested again.

We're glad he's healthy!