Olivia's First Two Weeks

It's been an eventful first two weeks for us and Olivia! The Monday after she was born a visiting nurse came to our home to follow up on both her and mom. The nurse noticed that Olivia was jaundiced down to her toes. Jaundice is caused by hyperbilirubinemia (increased levels of bilirubin in the blood). We had to go in for a blood test immediately and a doctor's appointment that same day. The blood test showed her bilirubin level at 23.6. Anything over 5 is technically jaundice and anything over 15 is pretty bad in newborns. She was admitted to the NICU that evening where she received light therapy and fluids to lower her bili level. The light therapy breaks down the bilirubin in her blood to make it easier for her body to process. The only other treatment she received was IVIG, a blood product from plasma, but they were able to lower her bili level with that and the light therapy, so thankfully, no full blood transfusion was necessary.

These pics were taken after the main lights were turned off and she was on the bili-blanket alone. The blue glow below her is the bili-blanket. She received some rockin' shades to protect her eyes from the lights.






She was taken off all the light therapy on Tuesday afternoon, but stayed in the NICU until Wednesday to monitor her bili levels in case she had a rebound. When she was discharged on Wednesday, her level was down to 14.2. We agreed to take her in for a blood test the next morning and a doctor's appointment Thursday afternoon to continue monitoring the level. At that point she was up a little again to a 14.4. We had her tested again on Friday morning and she was up to a 14.8. Since we were going into the weekend and nearing the level 15 mark, the doctor wanted us to put Olivia on the bili-blanket again. We were able to have one delivered to our home and she was wrapped up in it until Sunday evening. By this past Monday morning, her level was down to 11.1, the lowest it's been so far! Thankfully, she is now old enough to be out of the danger zone and will not have another rebound. Her level will continue to decrease on its own and is no longer a danger to her.

These are the pics of the bili-blanket at home. The blanket was wrapped around her torso and clothes went on over the top of it. She didn't seem to mind it much, but we sure found it annoying to basically have her on a three foot leash. I kept calling her a Glo-worm and Brian said she looked like she should be in Tron. Both are pop culture references that she'll have no clue about! Luckily, this is all done with now and we have a healthy little girl!