Back to the Hospital (Part 1)

It was 5pm when we arrived back to the ward and we were greeted and shown to the waiting room. We were told that a nursery nurse would be coming to see us and that we should wait there. Jack was sleeping soundly as usual in his car seat.

When the nursery nurse arrived she was very very nice and explained what would be happening to us this afternoon. She said that Jack would need a blood test to check his jaundice level, that he would be examined by paediatrician and weighed. 

I mentioned how I had been having trouble feeding him and that we had been syringe feeding. They said they would help me. 

Depending on the result of all of the above would determine if we were to stay in hospital or not. 

Of course we had to stay. His jaundice level in his blood was borderline but needed treatment. His weight had dropped from 6lb 14oz birthweight to a tiny 6lb 4oz and they were not happy with his feeding. 

We were both admitted to the ward but this time at the other end in bed 20! 

This time it was different. The toilet was clean! Huzzah! The room had 2 other ladies in both with babies and there was an empty bed. Jack had to go under the UV light as treatment for his jaundice. He had to stay under there all of the time and could only be removed for feeds and changes. The more time he spent under the light the quicker we could get out of there. 

Before they put him under the light they were more keen to feed him. They asked me how much he had been taking (approx 12-15ml!) via syringe. They then tried to latch him on and saw the difficulty. They knew I was keen to breastfeed so they tried cup feeding. He didn't take to it very well so they said they have to give him a bottle. I agreed and they gave him some formula via the bottle. He gulped down 60mls. Just. Like. That. I was amazed, and felt very guilty. 

They told me I must do this every 3 hours from the start time of the feed. I was to wake him if he didn't wake for feeds. 

I told them that he had been sleeping very well. They explained to me very tactfully and nicely that in actual fact my baby was so sleepy because he didn't have the energy to wake up. I was mortified. I'd unknowingly been starving my baby! And made his jaundice worse by not giving him enough nutrition. Now they don't mention this in the classes! Then there's the people that told me never to wake a sleeping baby.... 

That aside I did what I was told! They supplied a cold water steriliser for me to use and showed me how to prepare bottles and how to store them etc... 

They asked me to keep a feed diary and offer him a breastfeed before each bottle feed. 

They also taught me how to express milk using their electric breast pump and told me to do it as often as I could to keep my milk supply coming. 

They then got Jack set up under the UV light in a special cot next to my bed. It was absolutely awful for me to watch. 

They had to cover his eyes and this upset me a great deal. He was fine with it and this whole thing was worse for me than him. He was stripped down to the nappy and placed under the light. I sobbed. 

4 days old under the UV therapy light 

He looked so tiny and vulnerable and I guess I felt extremely guilty but it was for the best that we were both back in hospital. That night was one of the hardest nights of my life. For one the stupid blindfold would not stay in place and so I had to stare at baby every single minute. Every time I nodded off or went to the loo I came back and he'd pulled it off. Yep, even at 4 days old, he was not silly! 

Every time I looked away the goggles were off!

Overnight he drank 90mls in one go! The poor baby must have been starving! I got no sleep at all and sobbed most of the night. Especially as Oliver was asked to leave again! 

Jack had to have 6 hourly blood tests while he was on UV therapy to see if the treatment was working. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see my baby son have blood taken but he didn't seem too bothered by it! 

In fact he was pretty relaxed in his cot!