The first few days at home are a blur. It’s amazing how little sleep your body can learn to function on. (I use the term “function” loosely — the most complex pieces of machinery that I was allowed to use were the microwave and my breast pump!) Dave’s parents arrived on Tuesday and were here to help us get settled in for the first 48 hours. They left on Thursday and handed the “change of the guard” to my parents who arrived just hours after Betty and Rob left. Needless to say we had some very excited Grandparents who showered Avery and us with lots of love and support.
On Friday we took Avery to her first doctors appointment. Because I am breast feeding they schedule the appointments just days after being released from the hospital to make sure that things are on track and the baby is adjusting well. I had a rough time on Wednesday and Thursday, I questioned whether Avery was getting enough nourishment from me. She would latch on but would feed for just a minute or two. My milk had not yet come in and I was discouraged because I could tell that she was hungry. We learned on Friday that she had dropped from 6 lbs 6 oz (her weight at the time of discharge) to 6 lbs 2 oz. I know, I know... everyone says it is normal for them to drop weight but when it’s your tiny baby it doesn’t feel “normal”. Also, she was jaundice and her bilirubin levels were high, 17 to be exact (They admit babies if the levels are 20 or more). We left the doctors office discouraged but determined. Breast milk and sun light — that’s what Avery needed. Luckily my milk came in Friday morning so as soon as Dave and I got home we set up camp in our bedroom. We opened all the curtains and I pumped and he fed... all day long!
Saturday morning we went back for another check, if her levels increased to 20 we would need to take her to the hospital. We sincerely hoped that wouldn’t be the case, for many reasons. One somewhat selfish reason was that Sunday was Father’s Day and she was by far the best gift I could ever give Dave — she needed to be home with us. The appointment started with a weigh in, to our surprise she weighed 6 lbs 10 oz! Our baby gained 8 oz in 24 hours! Our wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Ross, laughed and put us to ease when she told us that the most weight she’d ever seen a baby gain in that amount of time was 4 oz. She was confident by looking at Avery and her weight gain that her bilirubin level had dropped. The test confirmed that it had. Level = 14. We were in the clear!
On Friday we took Avery to her first doctors appointment. Because I am breast feeding they schedule the appointments just days after being released from the hospital to make sure that things are on track and the baby is adjusting well. I had a rough time on Wednesday and Thursday, I questioned whether Avery was getting enough nourishment from me. She would latch on but would feed for just a minute or two. My milk had not yet come in and I was discouraged because I could tell that she was hungry. We learned on Friday that she had dropped from 6 lbs 6 oz (her weight at the time of discharge) to 6 lbs 2 oz. I know, I know... everyone says it is normal for them to drop weight but when it’s your tiny baby it doesn’t feel “normal”. Also, she was jaundice and her bilirubin levels were high, 17 to be exact (They admit babies if the levels are 20 or more). We left the doctors office discouraged but determined. Breast milk and sun light — that’s what Avery needed. Luckily my milk came in Friday morning so as soon as Dave and I got home we set up camp in our bedroom. We opened all the curtains and I pumped and he fed... all day long! 
Saturday morning we went back for another check, if her levels increased to 20 we would need to take her to the hospital. We sincerely hoped that wouldn’t be the case, for many reasons. One somewhat selfish reason was that Sunday was Father’s Day and she was by far the best gift I could ever give Dave — she needed to be home with us. The appointment started with a weigh in, to our surprise she weighed 6 lbs 10 oz! Our baby gained 8 oz in 24 hours! Our wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Ross, laughed and put us to ease when she told us that the most weight she’d ever seen a baby gain in that amount of time was 4 oz. She was confident by looking at Avery and her weight gain that her bilirubin level had dropped. The test confirmed that it had. Level = 14. We were in the clear!
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