Jaundice - Berwyn,IL

My daughter was jaundiced as well. We did not treat her. I had to keep taking her in to have her levels tested. The doctor's told me that breastfeeding helps eliminate the jaundice and told me to take off her clothes if possible (as much as possible anyway) and sit near a window with sunshine. The sun can help get rid of the jaundice as well. She was like this for about 2 weeks. unless it is really bad, they could send her home with a light to treat at home.

I am not a medical professional, but each of my kids were jaundice. We were told to feed the baby by the window in order to get sunlight because it is typically a lack of vitamin D. If you do this over the next couple of days it might help. As long as the baby is pooping you shouldn't have to stop breastfeeding, but if it does not get better you may have to supplement. I believe that if the baby does need light therapy you can bring baby in on a outpatient basis.

On a funny note my cousin was jaundice and my aunt fed him so much by the window he ended up getting a tan:)

Both of my kids were jaundiced but my scenario is a little different than yours. I remember there was a point when my dr. waited for her level to peak, (I just remember the number 14). then the levels dropped and my dr. was never concerned after that. It seems like all this took place over only a few weeks.

I remember for about 15 - 30 minutes each day, I would lay my children on a blanket on the floor in the family room, situating them in the morning sunlight, wearing only their diaper so that they would get a good dose of sun. I, too, breast-fed. With my daughter I was forced to supplement because of a diminished supply at the beginning, but with my son, it wasn't an issue. The jaundice for both of my kids went away within weeks.

I'm glad you have a dr. appointment set. I'm sure your baby is fine but, I'm with you, tomorrow morning looks like a better time to go in and visit the doctor. It's not something that you want to mess with. Keep your head about you. You are your child's best advocates. Don't get freaked out about this - it's good you are being proactive.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Of Course there is no sun out today in Northern Illinois, a day when you could really use it. If you are truly worried and can't get in to the Ped, I would drive there and ask them to look at her with out an appointment. They will not turn you away. Good luck to you.

Son had jaundice and did light therapy in hospital. To followup, doc had us sit him in the sun for 20 minutes a day for a few days to make sure it was under control. This was indoors in the winter.

One thing you can do until you go to the doctor is to find a spot in the house where the sun is shining in the window and lay her directly in the sunlight. This is very good and necessary for jaundice babies. I hope this helps.

YES, you should not have read everything online! But atleast you got the info you needed and knew to call the Dr! Now just stop! lol (I am the same way- shhhhhh)

Both of my children had jaundice. My son was born in June and since it was a mild case they sent him home I was just suppose to take him out in the sun for an hour total a day for 15 minute each time.... this is almost 20 years ago though!

My daughter who is 2 spent a week in the NICU since she was a preemie and jaundice and having problems with glucose etc.... Anyhow, all they did for her was the bili-lights for 24 hours. I was able to take her out to breastfeed her but that was it and I kept my arm in there to hold her for as often as I could. The amount of bilirubin was still high but just borderline after the bili-lights.

One of her neonatal specialists wanted me to stop breast feeding saying that I was the cause for the jaundice and the low glucose and kept giving her formula supplements even though I told them no. I finally went home for 2 hours and hit the internet to research to see if I was wrong in my beliefs. Armed with my research I went back and told them to pull the NG tube and stop giving her formula. Within 24 more hours we had no problems with her bilirubin nor her glucose and actually another 24 hours later we went home!

Over the course of the next couple of weeks... no more than a month though for us... I would notice her getting jaundice looking and then it would go away and come back- I was told to watch the color of her urine and if it looked brown then I needed to come in immediately. That was never a problem so I have no clue what it was and since it never seemed too severe I did not worry excessively over it.

You are doing the right thing by taking her in! Call her Drs office in the morning and see if there is any cancelations and tell them you are VERY concerned and that you prefer not to wait. If there is none then tell them you want to speak to the Dr to make him aware of the situation. Remember you are your childs best advocate.

I with you and yours the best and will keep you in my prayers! Let us know what happened!
God bless!

My daughter was the same way, the doctor recommended increasing her fluid intake and supplementing with formula. I nursed exclusively and refused to use formula so I just offered her more breast milk. Try increasing how often she is nursing or supplement with formula.
Good luck, I hope your doctor's apt goes well.

My daughter was jaundice for weeks. We went back and forth to the doctor for blood work. We were told to put her in the window in the sun also. Of course she was born in Jan. so there was not a lot of sun. Could be why it took her so long to clear up. If you are worried call your doctor. If you have a good doctor they will not mind.

I'm not trying to be an alarmist, but I say push for an appointment today. I just had my second baby 5 weeks ago and she was incredibly jaundiced due to a blood incompatibility between she and I. They caught it right away and she spent 3 days in the NICU. It all depends on what the cause is. If you two have an incompatible blood type, this is more serious then normal causes of jaundiced. I've also had a friend who had something similar and the doc kept putting it off and then he situation got much worse. She ended up in children's and almost needed a transfusion. Everything could be just fine, but based on my experience nad the experience of my friend, I would say be over cautious. I'm suprised your docs office is being so lax, to be honest. If you cannot get in with them, ask to go to children's to get her levels tested. Again, I hope I'm not scaring you, I just have recently been through all this and feel being extra cautious worked to our advantage.

Hi P.,

My son was also born with jaundice. They checked him in the hospital and said it would go away...it wasn't high enough to keep him in the hospital. After we brought him home we started getting really yellow. We took him to the doctor and then we had to go for several blood tests. The Dr. told me to make sure I was feeding him every couple hours and to not let him sleep for long periods of time. Fluids are the most important and sit him my the window while nursing. It is scary because your trying everything and nothing seems to work. I think going to the doctor and expressing your concerns will make you feel better.

Hi P.,

Both of my children were born with jaundice. I was afraid also, because all they did was sleep and their skin and eyes were very, very yellow. But my mom being the mom that she is, instructed me on what to do and the jaundice went away. Give your baby plenty of clear water and if possible direct natural sunlight. My mom would sit my children in a window where the sun came through the most. If you don't have a spot that you can do this, find a lamp with a bright light bulb and sit it near your child with the shade removed, but cover her eyes for protection. Do this for a few days and see how it goes. Blessings to you.

P., my daughter was born jaundice too the best thing is to keep nursing her as much as you can ever hr to 2 hrs and then get like a lamp like what you would clip to the side of like a turtle tank and clip it to some thing and have her lay under it the sun light will help a lot but with it being winter you not going to find a lot of it just leave her in her diaper only when she is laying under it she should get warm but not hot that sure help its what i did for my daughter good luck wish you the best for her

My brother's son was jaundice. They treated him by putting him in the sunshine. They laid him in his carrier and then put the carrier in front of a sunny window. That cleared it up in a giffy.

Hi P.,

My son was born with Jaundice as well. When he was born he weighted 9lbs 14oz. He was born on a Fri came home on Monday and we went to the doc on Tues and Wed then they drew his blood every day for the first week. We had to go to Proctor Hospital for that. The doc ordered lights to be put in his bed. He had to be in the window like a little flower for the sunshine to shine on him. Well, he was born in Nov of 07. There is not much sun in Nov. Anyway, He was on the lights for 24 hours. He could only sleep in a diaper. Well, he was a mad little man. His levels were almost high enough to be hospitalized. If the lights did not work then that would have been the next step.

Now, my little man is 15 months old and as healthy as can be. Don't worry! Things are much better these days and your little one will just fine!!!!!!

L.

What are the color of the whites of her eyes? Are they yellow. Not just tainted yellow or slightly yellow but pretty yellow. If they are not at that point yet, then you probably don't have anyting to worry about. The cases on the internet are rare. Both of my sons had jaundice, one very serious, both requiring triple light therapy. For my older son, we even brought home a bililight that he had to sleep with under his gown. He looked like a glow worm. Overall he had light therapy for a week. But as high as his levels got, he didn't suffer any brain damage. If you notice his eyes slightly yellowing, call your dr. They will probably send you in for some bloodwork. In the mean time, nurse her until you're empty and try to feed him more formula. Feed her alot more then you usually would. Let her "pee it out".

Hi P.. I wouldn't wait. I would get in w/i one day. Rather hear from your doctor that you 'over reacted' LOL then assume yourself.

This is your doctor's job! Babies don't keep regular or convenient hours!

Please check out this link:

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/07jaundice.html

tell them you need a sick appt. for today. the baby is probably fine, but you don't mess with jaundice. at such a young age don't be sensitive to the drs office, be sensitive to your baby! insist on an appt today!

When my children were a bit jaundiced,doctors told me to position them near a sunny window.Strip them down to undershirt and diaper.The warmth and brightness of the sun works wonders.Keep checking to make sure they are warm.My children are grown now.The doctors suggested the same"spa" treatment for my grandson two years ago.My daughter is doing this with her newborn.Short intervals are fine. This
should help until you see the doctor.
stayathomegrandmother-best job in the world.

I haven't read all the responses, so please forgive me if this is repetetive. My son was jaundice when first born too. We had the same scare as it seemed to get worse after we brought him home. I breastfed exclusively...after seeing the doctor at his one week check up, I found out the breastmilk can actually cause him to become more jaundice. We were told to give him a supplement of formula. And, we had him in the sun a lot. Even if there isn't direct sunlight, put him by a window.

strip her down to the diaper and stick her in the sunshine!!!! follow the sun around and keep her in it. Good luck!!! and yes it might be serious.......but don't buy too much into. With today's modern techniques,etc. she'll be fine!!!! 3 of my 4 were jaundice and only 1 actually had to have photo theraphy at home, and he has been just fine...turned 18 in Nov. The other 2 are girls and one is 26,the other 24. Your baby will be fine too............good luck!!! J.

My son's levels were very high & was in the hospital for four days on a bililight because of it. They released him with a bililight blanket that he had to wear 24 hours a day for 7 days. It was horrible! He had to be plugged into a wall for 7 days after we got home. We had a home nurse stop by the house twice a day. Despite all this, he never had to have a blood transfusion & his brain is just fine.
Jaundice gets worse from top to bottom. Check his trunk by pressing your finger into his belly. If it turns white, then back yellow, then check his legs. The more jaundice a baby is, the farther down the body it travels.
Although you have every right to be concerned, I wouldn't worry about the worse case scenario. Call your doctor, he'll see your baby early if you insist. Believe me, new mom's have called him much more than you have. In the meantime, keep his bassinet near a sunny window as much as possible in the next two days. Oh & trust me when I say this, stay away from online websites! You'll worry yourself to death. Instead, use this website. It helps alot!
Your baby is fine. Best of luck!!!

P.;
I feel for you, I was there too. It is very scary, but I also did a lot of reading about this and hired a lactation consultant just to ease my fears and found out that the majority of breast fed babies get jaundice. If the doctors are not having you go in to test every few days then the levels aren't that bad. My daughter's levels were high and the doctor scared us to death. She ended up being fine and her levels went down very nicely. It took until her 2 month apppointment to really stop seeing the yellow. And I think my daughter turned more yellow after I found out too. I think it is the fact that you are aware of it so you notice it. It was like all of a sudden the whites of her eyes were yellow and I thought I didn't see that before. Just keep nursing and nursing and nursing and once the levels start to drop they never go back up and will continue to drop. Check out the info from Le Leche League on Jaundice that helped me feel a lot better. Or contact your local leader they all have stories to help you feel like your not alone. Hang in there before you know it this will be over!

Our daughter was also borderline at the time of discharge from the hospital. After taking her home we had to take her into Children's daily for blood tests. At one point her level went up to 21.9 (I believe after 72 hours 21 is the cutoff for treatment). We had a billirubin bed delivered and a billi blanket. My daughter was under it in our home for about 36 hours. I think as long as your child is still eating well and is not lethargic all should be ok. If you are really concerned, ask your doctor for a bloodtest, that way even if you can't be seen you will have peace of mind knowing what the billirubin levels are. I breastfeed exclusively and never had to stop, or supplement with formula. My older daughter also had jaundice but was never treated and she stayed yellow (our bronze godess we called her) for many weeks. I too was completely freaked out because of an article I read in the wall street journal before I even had my first about a mother's struggle in dealing with a child who had severe brain damage due to billirubin poisoning. Good luck and if you have any concerns call your doctor again today.

There is something called breastmilk jaundice- totally normal. Here is some info:

http://www.bflrc.com/newman/breastfeeding/jaundice.htm

But aside from that I would insist that you are seen before next week or find a new doctor.

It would help if you asked the doctor to give you/fax to lab a lab order before you even see her/him and to have the baby's billirubin checked asap.(since they cannot fit you in sooner and besides, doctor cannot just scan the baby magicaly with her/his eyes and tell you if the billirubin is too high). Lab will notify the doctor if your baby's test is abnormal and doctor can order a treatment from there.
The sunlight and Vit D helpfull in this condition. Polivisol with Vit D is the vitamin drops of choice. If your baby needs an ultraviolet light and you do not want to go to the hospital you can ask the doctor to order you a mashine for home use (the hospital one is just much stronger).
We've been through this, so good luck!