Tell me about your experience with jaundice

[catscatscats]

Baby girl was born at 37 weeks by about 9 minutes and weighed 6 lbs 9 oz. Latching was painful and over the next few days she was down about 9% in weight and a bit jaundiced. They sent us home and it has gotten worse. Last night they set us up with the bili lights and instructions to feed like crazy and supplement with formula if needed. Her latch is now pretty lazy and we are mostly expressing with the pump and feeding with a tiny syringe and tube.
I feel so guilty and scared. First that she is sick and second that she might not be able to feed directly from the boob when all of this is over. She's only 5 days old and I just feel so sad. Maybe if I had worked harder at feeding her more at the beginning this wouldn't have happened?

[greycat]

Please don't be feel alone and don't blame yourself. Many of our LOs had jaundice. DS was monitored (two blood tests when we got home) and I supplemented with a little pumped milk and formula. His levels stayed low enough that he didn't need the lights.

BFing can be very challenging in Te beginning. I suggest you meet with an LC if you have worried about his latch. You have lots of time to sort things out. In the meantime the two things that helped me were sandwiching my boob and trying to get it into DS's mouth as far as possible and using a pillow (my brest friend) to help support DS while I nursed.

Be kind to yourself. BFing was surprisingly emotional. I remember crying in the pedi's office a few days after DS was born when we were going through weight gain / jaundice issues.

[chickens987]

No experience, but have you met with a lactation consultant? They will help you get her feeding well.

[chickadee77]

L had jaundice - we didn't need the lights, but gave Vitamin D drops and kept her in the sun (fedbya window, put her bassinet by a window for naps, walked around outside, etc.) and her levels got better.

She was 6lb. 11oz. at birth and got down to 5lb. 9oz. The doctor never seemed too worried about weight, though we did have to wake to feed for about a week. Her latch was pretty bad, too, so the LC recommended a nipple shield, which allowed us to nurse more easily. We were eventually able to ditch it and nurse regularly, until my supply tanked around 3.5 months.

Chin up - this all sounds par for the course. You have a lot going on physically, emotionally, chemically - presumably you can trust your pedi, so do that. You've got this! (((hugs)))

[dulcemariamar]

My daughter had really bad jaundice. She was in NICU for about a week and then had to go back for another three days after we had taken her home.

During the time at the hospital LO was basically FF. I got to hold her every few hours for a few minutes so I tried BF then. I am not sure she got much of anything and I only tried pumping like 2-3 times. I had a difficult recovery and didn't want to add another painful experience on top of that. So BF at that time was the last thing on my mind.

As soon as LO was home for good. She preferred more BF and at that time I was open to doing anything to stop the crying. It took about 2-3 weeks to get the latch right and it was really painful for the first 6 weeks. I was extremely lucky that everything fell in place in terms of BF and that I had formula to keep my daughter alive the first month.

Things will get better. I didn't reach out and that was my biggest mistake. Contact a LC to help.

[Stingyshark]

HUGE HUGS!!!!!
I know that feeling of failure, but you're absolutely doing an awesome job.
BABIES ARE HARD!!!!!!!

When we were discharged DD's bili was 11, and then when we went to the pedi 2 days later she was like a lemon.
No one told me I had to wake her around the clock to eat - she slept ALL THE TIME, (YAY, right? No.)
I totally melted down in the pediatricians office bc DD had to go to the hospital to have labs drawn to check what her bili number was. I supplemented with formula and started pumping bc I was SO FREAKED OUT over her having to be admitted. We did labs for 4 days. I pumped for a while to make sure she was getting enough to eat - we also had a really difficult time with BF bc her latch was SUPER painful.


Hang in there Mama, you are doing great!




Here's my thread when DD had jaundice (pandce.proboards.com/thread/270445/update-feeling-helpless-re-jaundice)
I just re-read that thread, we were also at day 5. 

[Deleted]

J was jaundiced and went under the lights.I supplemented him with pumped milk and a syringe.

The girls weren't jaundiced but we did have to supplement them. We used a syringe and a supplemental nursing system (sns). You may want to look into the sns if you are concerned abot her not latching later due to all the supplementing. It really helped us keep the girls at the breast while still getting them the extra calories they needed those first few days. You can get the medela sns at babies r us or from a lc. Good luck!

[cobber06]

A also had jaundice- we were discharged from the hospital with instructions to get her blood drawn the following day. Her levels had gone up, so she was admitted to peds. Thankfully about 24 hours under the hospital lights was all she needed.

Definitely consult with a LC. One of the nurses told me that formula was better at "flushing out" jaundice than breast milk. That seemed odd, so I mentioned it to the LC and she was furious.

Don't beat yourself up- jaundice just happens. A was supplemented with formula from the get go bc she was in the nicu and it made no difference.

[kershnic]

Both my girls had jaundice in the NICU (they were preemies and it was not the primary concern, but did play a role in extending their stays). It's true that formula can clear it faster, but there's generally no need to give formula if you don't want to, especially if you're using the lights. Jaundice is very common and not a big deal unless it's not caught/addressed. They call it 'breast milk jaundice' - earlier success at bfing likely wouldn't have prevented it.

Also - all the hype about omg must bf now or baby will never learn - lies! Babies can learn to nurse for weeks after their due dates. If you want to nurse this does not have to stop you, even if you do decide to supplement w formula to clear it faster.

[linz]

Both mine had jaundice but were in NICU so did photo therapy there. It is not your fault though! Don't feel like she is sick or that you did something. Many babies get it and it's super easy to treat. I wasn't breastfeeding so can't help with that. DS cleared in 2 days and DD was gone in 3 days. Get ready for some nasty poops when the bilirubin leaves.

And mine were just getting breastmilk, we didn't supplement with formula but don't feel bad if you chose to. I would just make sure to keep pumping.

[boxerdog]

Noo, this is not your fault! My DS was 36w and had jaundice too. He was supplemented like crazy at the hospital and is great now. I did end up exclusively pumping, but I really think that if I had gone back to the LC after I got home we would have been more successful at latching. I would definitely recommend seeing an LC asap.

[undecidedowl]

First, remember that 5 days is SO early. You still have lots of time to work on breastfeeding.

Both of mine had bad latches and were pretty jaundiced. The LCs had me start pumping right away to make sure my milk came in despite their bad latches. I would feed, then pump, and DH or I would give the baby the pumped milk from the previous session in a syringe. DS1 also needed a nipple shield to be able to latch at all. I fed every 2 hours during the day and every 2.5-3 hours overnight. DS1 came home on a bili blanket and DS2 had to stay at the hospital a little longer under the stronger lights. Both of them needed a lot of work to help them stay awake for feeding so we used all the tricks (naked, cold washcloth, rub their head,tickle their feet, pump their arm, etc.)

My best advice would be to see a LC as soon as possible and keep putting the baby on the boob as often as you can. That was one of the most stressful times in both of my babies life so remember that things WILL get better soon.

[ohgillian]

One of mine came home on a biliblanket. It was stressful. This is not your fault. Say it: "This is not my fault. This is not my fault." I will say, given the scenario you describe, do not be surprised you she ends up readmitted. That has happened to some of us and it too is okay and not your fault.

My DD didn't have enough energy and health to exclusively nurse until at least 2 months old. And we still managed to transition from mostly pumping to exclusively nursing. Please don't think that your chance to nurse is over.

Huge hugs.

[Deleted]

This was our situation too and it was even worse because dd had full leg/feet casts for another condition and they couldn't prick her toe for the bili tests so they had to try to take a blood sample from one of her tiny veins and it took hours and multiple pricks.

We fed formula via sns tubing and syringe before my milk came in. I had problems bfing and I was terrified that she wouldn't latch later or wouldn't bf because we were already supplementing. Looking back, my h and I both agree this was one of our biggest regrets right after her birth-feeling guilty and scared about supplementing. Eating a lot is crucial to overcoming jaundice. You do not want the jaundice to get worse. She is only 5 days old. You can work with a lactation consultant later about latching.

[runblondie26]

DD needed the lights for a couple days in the hospital. DS was ok until the day we were discharged. He had mild jaundice for almost 3 weeks. We just went back to the pedi weekly for a check and since it seemed to be stable, we let it work itself out. Honestly, I can't think of any baby I've known who hasn't had at least a mild case.

[shortstax]

DS had a strong case of jaundice. He was born at 37w1d and his bilirubin levels were heightened by his 2nd day after birth. He was under the lights at the hospital for 2 days, and we were sent home with a portable light for him to wear under his clothing. Each day we had to go get his bilirubin levels checked for a week. I felt so bad because he would scream when they pricked his heels to get a blood sample. That lasted for over a week at home.

We supplemented with formula starting in the hospital and after (because my milk didn't come in for 5 days.) After that I did a hybrid feeding of formula and breastmilk for a few weeks before going 100% formula. He's now a happy and healthy 4 year old.

Don't feel guilty over anything. Your DD will do great!

[dancingirl21]

First of all, don't blame yourself. It is likely because she was early and nothing you could have done.

J was born at 36w 5d and was jaundiced. They sent us home but said we needed to get blood work done every day until his numbers were normal. A few hours after we got home, the whites of his eyes were turning yellow so we went back in.

He was set up with the bili blanket at home and ended up having it for about 48 hours. We left him in it as much as possible, outside of eating and a few cuddles.

He had blood work every day for 5 days before being given the okay.

Hang in there. It's tough to see your little one go through this but she will be just fine!

[mrssandro]

DD had really bad Jaundice. We where in the NICU for two weeks. 

Is the pedi seeing the baby every day to check the levels? Are they declining on their own?

We had a excellent latch the first few days of birth but then the jaundice ruined it for us. We had to switch to bottles and DD never really wanted to go back to the boob again. So I have been EP. We have also been struggling with weight gain because jaundice set her back. 

This is not your fault. So don't feel bad. I know this is better said than done. I have struggled with mama guilt from day one with this baby. You will get through this. 

[Deleted]

I don't have much advice obviously, as my baby is also only 5 days old. If you saw my other post, we're down over 11% in birth weight, but I'm working on feeding her as much as I can to get her back up.

The stress is hard, and real, and scary as hell. You're not alone. I promise. Message me if you need.

[catscatscats]

Thank you all so much for your responses. It really helps to be reminded we aren't alone in this.

DD has been sleeping in her new bili bed since last night and I have been pumping and supplementing with formula.

We had a great meeting with an in home jaundice nurse today. Baby cats is up a few ounces and her levels are down a bit today too. The nurse was able to watch me pump and showed me that I was getting milk blisters from using flanges that were too small. And that pumping wasn't supposed to hurt so much. So, adjusting that and also adding coconut oil to lubricate. Such a learning curve for me!

Tomorrow another lactation consultant will come and we can hopefully work on baby's latch too, if it's not extra painful. I didn't expect to care about nursing so much, and had always told myself that if it didn't work I wasn't going to feel guilty about formula. I'm trying to remember that just making sure the baby gets enough to eat is the most important thing, whether it's from nursing or expressing or formula.

Thanks so much for sharing your stories and telling me it's all going to be ok!