Motherhood is Stressful.

On Monday afternoon, we took Hank to Ashland Community Hospital for an appointment. We mentioned that he looked a little jaundiced, and they took a blood sample. It came back extremely high, so the doctor told us to check him in to Rogue Valley Medical Center (a much larger hospital in Medford) immediately, so we rushed straight over to the pediatrics ward there. The doctor had mentioned that bilirubin levels that high could be very dangerous (causing deafness, brain damage, or death), and that they didn't have the equipment to test or treat Hank appropriately at the Ashland hospital.

So Monday night, Tuesday, Tuesday night, and Wednesday were spent watching Hank lie in the incubator with UV lights and hooked up to an IV, praying that his bilirubin levels would come down so that we could take him home. We woke him up every two hours to feed and change him, and until the last day, we had to do it through two arm-holes in the incubator so that he would get the most exposure to the UV lights that would get rid of the bilirubin in his system.

Finally, Wednesday afternoon, the test came back low enough that we could take Hank home, but we still have to go back to the hospital for follow-ups tomorrow and Friday. I'm sure that those of you who are moms all have your share of harrowing, stressful situations like this, but as a first-time, new mother, I have never been so terrified for the well-being of someone that I just met five days ago.

So, we're not 100% out of the woods yet, but it's so nice to finally be home after the longest week of my life. Other interesting things that happened: I accidentally dropped his head on the changing table and he started crying, so I felt like the worst person ever. Also, he spent the last three days randomly smiling, which is the cutest thing. I don't think he associates it with an emotion, he just does it to work the face muscles. But man, he's got a cute smile.



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