Little glow worm Benson

Having a baby has definitely been the most amazing experience in my life. It is so incredible. Benson is such a sweetie. He's very good and rarely ever cries. In fact, he never even lets us know when he's hungry. We went to the pediatrition for the first time on Tuesday and he weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz. He weighed 6 lbs.6 oz. at birth. The pediatrition said it was normal for babies to lose weight their first week, especially breast fed babies, but he wanted to see us back on friday to check his progress. On Friday, his one week birthday, they weighed him and he still weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz. He hadn't lost any weight since they last checked, but he hadn't gained any weight either. He was also a tiny bit yellow, so they checked him for jaundice.

Sure enough, his bilirubin levels were elevated to 18. I wasn't sure what that meant, so the doctor explained that when a baby is in the womb, it gets oxygen from the mama, but right before it comes out, it has a build up of red blood cells (which carry oxygen throughout the body) in order to prepare to breathe on its own. After the first few hours, the excess red blood cells begin to die and the baby's liver starts metabolizing them and sending them out in the stool. When a baby has jaundice, their liver can't metabolize the dead red blood cell product, called bilirubin and it is stored in the skin and the eyes, giving them their yellow color.

Premature baby's are at a disadvantage because their lungs and their liver are the two last things to develop. Benson's lungs worked like a champ, but his liver was having a little difficulty handling the increase in red blood cell digestion. This was causing him to be very sleepy all of the time. He couldn't even wake up to eat. Come to find out, his liver was using up all of his energy to rid his little body of the bilirubin.

Because he wasn't gaining any weight, the doctor decided to treat his jaundice with a "bili blanket." It's a machine that has a high powered light going through a fiber optic cord with a pad that straps to his bare back. This light breaks down the excess bilirubin in his skin and helps his liver not have to work so hard, so he has energy to do things like EAT! And coo at mama. In the olden days, people would put jaundice babies in front of a sunny window to accomplish the same purpose, but the bili blanket can be used 24 hours a day and therefore, get rid of the jaundice faster which means more energy quicker. What a blessing that Benson was born in 2007 instead of 1907!

The babies usually have to wear the blanket for 3, 5, or 7 days. We have a doctors appointment later today, his third day, so we're hoping those levels are low and we'll be able to get rid of the "wallaby 3." That's what the machine is called, a wallaby... and it is so appropriate, because he looks like a little wallaby with his little tail hanging out of his outfit.

He also looks much like a glow worm. Regardless, he's still stinkin adorable. We went to the doctor yesterday and on the way home ran some errands, so we parked the car where the sun would shine through the window and one of us sat in the car while the other ran in to do the errand.

We're glad to know what is wrong with his little body and glad to have the remedy. Praise the Lord!