Children's hospital

We were instructed to return to the hospital the day after being released so Samuel could have blood work done to see how his bilirubin count was (jaundice).  We were on our way home when Samuel's pediatrician called to say his levels were dangerously high and we needed to go to St. Louis Children's Hospital soon so Samuel could be admitted.  We did a u-turn and headed right there.  We spent 2 1/2 days at Children's where they took fantastic care of Samuel and me.  Two things likely caused his bilirubin levels to get so high: 1) he was dehydrated... probably not getting enough breast milk yet, so we supplemented with formula and an IV and 2) my blood type is O and his is B, which can cause a conflict in babies early on.  The doctors tried taking Samuel off his light therapy on Tuesday, but his bilirubin levels went back up.  Finally Wednesday afternoon, his levels held steady after being off light therapy for 6 hours, so we got to go home.

Samuel's bili-bed.  Or the baby tanning bed as we called it.