This post is probably going to be long and kind of boring but I want to remember everything so someday I can tell Rigby all about how he scared his parents!
When I was pregnant with Rigby, my blood started testing positive for 3 different antibodies. (I'm Rh negative and took the rhogam shot but it wasn't enough) They kept a really close eye on him with ultrasounds and nst's and as far as we knew everything was just fine. They decided to send me to a maternal fetal specialist just to be safe when I was about 38 weeks. I thought it seemed silly since I was so close to the end but we went. The Dr looked at the baby and my lab work and told us everything was great. We left and got a call a few hours later telling me to go to the hospital for more testing. When I got there MY ob told me the mfs wanted me to deliver before the week was over. This was confusing since he just told us everything was fine but I was huge and uncomfortable and not about to complain. 2 days later on May 24th, Rigby Pierce was born. He was another 9 pound 1 ounce baby just like his big sister Lacey! His birth was uneventful. I went in, they broke my water, I got my epidural and had a baby in less than 2 pushes. Don't hate me. It only hurt right before I had to push. I felt like my hips were going to explode but besides that, it was smoothe sailing! We called everyone and gave them the exciting news that the Smathers family now had a son! It was hard to wait but so exciting to have that moment when he was born! My mom of course left work early and came to meet him. Nate, Mel, Griff, Marlee and the girls came later and everyone got to hold and love on him. All was well.
That night when the nurse came to check his weight she noticed he looked a little yellow. We knew jaundice was a possibility because of the antibodies but I never really saw it as a serious thing. I just thought you put them under some lights for a day, call it good and go home.Here are some of the risks of jaundice.
Acute bilirubin encephalopathy
Bilirubin is toxic to cells of the brain. If a baby has severe jaundice, there's a risk of bilirubin passing into the brain, a condition called acute bilirubin encephalopathy. Prompt treatment may prevent significant permanent damage.
Kernicterus
Kernicterus is the syndrome that occurs if acute bilirubin encephalopathy causes permanent damage to the brain. Kernicterus may result in:
Involuntary and uncontrolled movements (athetoid cerebral palsy)
Permanent upward gaze
Hearing loss
Intellectual impairment
Also severe anemia because the antibodies that passed into his body are breaking down his blood too fast.
Who knew right?
Rigby's jaundice was so bad though that he needed 2 iv infusions of
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). Jaundice may be related to blood type differences between mother and baby. This condition results in the baby carrying antibodies from the mother that contribute to the breakdown of blood cells in the baby. Intravenous transfusion of immunoglobulin, a blood protein that can reduce levels of antibodies, may decrease jaundice and lessen the need for an exchange blood transfusion.
They even considered
Exchange blood transfusion. Rarely, when severe jaundice doesn't respond to other treatments, a baby may need an exchange transfusion of blood. This involves repeatedly withdrawing small amounts of blood, diluting the bilirubin and maternal antibodies, and then transferring blood back into the baby — a procedure that's performed in a newborn intensive care unit.
Luckily that didn't happen. I was not a fan of reading stroke and death as the risks!) I was able to stay in the hospital with him. I wouldn't have left if they wanted me to. Luckily Nate and Mel took care of the girls while I stayed. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. I felt guilty for complaining when there were preemies that had already been there for a month! I have to say though. A week in the nicu feels like an eternity. I stayed in a room with no tv and no bathroom and I was only allowed to hold Rigby to feed him. It is so so hard to not hold and snuggle your newborn baby! Every now and then I would get a nurse that would give me an extra 10 minutes and then I'd get a devil nurse who made me feel like I was in the way when i wanted to sit next to my baby. After a week his numbers were finally low enough for us to go home. Yay! He was still pretty yellow but no longer in danger so to speak. For the next week and a half we just enjoyed having him home.
Before we left the hospital, the neonatologist told me to watch his lips. If they were pale, he needed to have a cbc (blood count) to make sure he wasn't anemic. Anemia is very common with his type of jaundice which was not newborn or breastfeeding jaundice. People didn't seem to get that it was caused by antibodies so couldn't be treated the same ways. I always looked at his lips and they were getting pretty pale. He was SUPER yellow so I kind of thought it was just the jaundice. I made an appointment and asked the dr to do a cbc. We went over to nathan Littauer Hospital and his blood count was so low they thought they had made a mistake. His jaundice levels however weren't that bad. He was so yellow because he didn't have any blood in him. He only had 10% of his red blood cells where a healthy baby has closer to 40%. The Dr told me to take him right to Albany Med then called back and told me to stay at the emergency room and they would come get him. (This is all happening on Lacey's 6th birthday! Poor girl!) While we were there, the Dr told the nurses they had one chance to get an iv in. They didn't want to put him under any stress whatsoever because they were afraid that he could have heart failure from his lack of blood. They were amazed that he was doing as well as he was but the dr kept saying that that could change at any moment. Thanks for that! When the ambulance got there, they had sent the head nurse and a respiratory therapist. She couldn't get the iv either so I had to sign consent for them to do surgery to get an iv in if it was necessary once they got to Albany med. They packed him in his little portable incubator looking thing and I had to watch my baby drive away complete with lights and sirens. I met Jake at Nate and Mel's, apologized a million times to Lacey and we were on our way. By the time we got there, he was already on his first transfusion (He got 2) An amazing nurse named Lee (who was also very entertaining) was able to get the iv in so no surgery! The next morning he looked like a different baby. We hadn't seen him pink since he was first born!
We had to stay 2 nights just to be sure his blood count stayed at a good level and then we went home! He's been following up with a hematologist but his numbers have been good ever since. Now we just sit home and adore him! Like I said, it's pretty long and boring but I wanted to keep a record. Maybe my next post will be more exciting!
That night when the nurse came to check his weight she noticed he looked a little yellow. We knew jaundice was a possibility because of the antibodies but I never really saw it as a serious thing. I just thought you put them under some lights for a day, call it good and go home.Here are some of the risks of jaundice.
Acute bilirubin encephalopathy
Bilirubin is toxic to cells of the brain. If a baby has severe jaundice, there's a risk of bilirubin passing into the brain, a condition called acute bilirubin encephalopathy. Prompt treatment may prevent significant permanent damage.
Kernicterus
Kernicterus is the syndrome that occurs if acute bilirubin encephalopathy causes permanent damage to the brain. Kernicterus may result in:
Involuntary and uncontrolled movements (athetoid cerebral palsy)
Permanent upward gaze
Hearing loss
Intellectual impairment
Also severe anemia because the antibodies that passed into his body are breaking down his blood too fast.
Who knew right?
Rigby's jaundice was so bad though that he needed 2 iv infusions of
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). Jaundice may be related to blood type differences between mother and baby. This condition results in the baby carrying antibodies from the mother that contribute to the breakdown of blood cells in the baby. Intravenous transfusion of immunoglobulin, a blood protein that can reduce levels of antibodies, may decrease jaundice and lessen the need for an exchange blood transfusion.
They even considered
Exchange blood transfusion. Rarely, when severe jaundice doesn't respond to other treatments, a baby may need an exchange transfusion of blood. This involves repeatedly withdrawing small amounts of blood, diluting the bilirubin and maternal antibodies, and then transferring blood back into the baby — a procedure that's performed in a newborn intensive care unit.
Luckily that didn't happen. I was not a fan of reading stroke and death as the risks!) I was able to stay in the hospital with him. I wouldn't have left if they wanted me to. Luckily Nate and Mel took care of the girls while I stayed. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. I felt guilty for complaining when there were preemies that had already been there for a month! I have to say though. A week in the nicu feels like an eternity. I stayed in a room with no tv and no bathroom and I was only allowed to hold Rigby to feed him. It is so so hard to not hold and snuggle your newborn baby! Every now and then I would get a nurse that would give me an extra 10 minutes and then I'd get a devil nurse who made me feel like I was in the way when i wanted to sit next to my baby. After a week his numbers were finally low enough for us to go home. Yay! He was still pretty yellow but no longer in danger so to speak. For the next week and a half we just enjoyed having him home.
Before we left the hospital, the neonatologist told me to watch his lips. If they were pale, he needed to have a cbc (blood count) to make sure he wasn't anemic. Anemia is very common with his type of jaundice which was not newborn or breastfeeding jaundice. People didn't seem to get that it was caused by antibodies so couldn't be treated the same ways. I always looked at his lips and they were getting pretty pale. He was SUPER yellow so I kind of thought it was just the jaundice. I made an appointment and asked the dr to do a cbc. We went over to nathan Littauer Hospital and his blood count was so low they thought they had made a mistake. His jaundice levels however weren't that bad. He was so yellow because he didn't have any blood in him. He only had 10% of his red blood cells where a healthy baby has closer to 40%. The Dr told me to take him right to Albany Med then called back and told me to stay at the emergency room and they would come get him. (This is all happening on Lacey's 6th birthday! Poor girl!) While we were there, the Dr told the nurses they had one chance to get an iv in. They didn't want to put him under any stress whatsoever because they were afraid that he could have heart failure from his lack of blood. They were amazed that he was doing as well as he was but the dr kept saying that that could change at any moment. Thanks for that! When the ambulance got there, they had sent the head nurse and a respiratory therapist. She couldn't get the iv either so I had to sign consent for them to do surgery to get an iv in if it was necessary once they got to Albany med. They packed him in his little portable incubator looking thing and I had to watch my baby drive away complete with lights and sirens. I met Jake at Nate and Mel's, apologized a million times to Lacey and we were on our way. By the time we got there, he was already on his first transfusion (He got 2) An amazing nurse named Lee (who was also very entertaining) was able to get the iv in so no surgery! The next morning he looked like a different baby. We hadn't seen him pink since he was first born!
We had to stay 2 nights just to be sure his blood count stayed at a good level and then we went home! He's been following up with a hematologist but his numbers have been good ever since. Now we just sit home and adore him! Like I said, it's pretty long and boring but I wanted to keep a record. Maybe my next post will be more exciting!
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