A week in the hospital continued...

So we headed home, packed up our stuff and drove to the hospital.  When we got to the hospital they informed us that we were going to be staying on the peds floor because NICU was full and peds only had 1 other patient.  The first nurse we were assigned to came in and was really nice from the get-go, but it felt a little off.  It didn't seem like she had that much experience (or any at all) with newborns.  When she was changing Ryan's diaper she didn't keep him covered and he ended up peeing in his face.  Funny, but also a little disconcerting.  She informed us that Ryan would have to live in a "bili-bed" which basically looked like a baby tanning bed.  The lights provide a phototherapy that helps break the bilirubin down. 

Ryan in his bili-bed.

 

He had to be in his bili-bed for almost the entire day and we were only allowed to pick him up to feed him or change him.  I broke this rule many times.  In fact, I broke this rule whenever he cried.  There was no way I was going to let my 4 day old cry it out. 

 

When it was time to feed Ryan the nurse came in and took his weight before he was fed and would take it again after he ate to see exactly how much food he was getting.  The first time we did this it seemed like Ryan had a really good latch and nursed for a long time so we were really excited to see just how much he got.  We were really disappointed when he had only gained a few cc's.  He was getting next to nothing while he ate.  This explained the weight loss and the reason the jaundice wouldn't go away.  The most effective way to get rid of jaundice is to poop it out and with Ryan not eating much, he wasn't pooping much either. 

 

 We snuck Ryan out of the bili-bed for a few snuggles with auntie and Tatum.

The next feeding the nurse came back in to help Ryan latch and once again it seemed like he had a really good latch.  Once again, he ate almost nothing.  I requested that the nurse call lactation to assist for the next feeding.  

 

To make a long story short, our nurse had NO CLUE what she was doing when it came to getting a baby to latch.  She also yelled at me at one point and told me I had to "figure out now or feed the baby formula".  Formula was something I was not willing to do unless it was absolutely necessary.  When she finally called lactation (after repeated requests), we found out that Ryan has a really high arch to the roof of his mouth and couldn't get a proper latch.  The lactation nurse was fantastic and after spending a night pumping every hour and feeding Ryan a bottle, she finally suggested the nipple shield.  It worked like a charm.  

 

 One of the bonuses of being in the bili-bed - pedicures from daddy.

Unfortunately we had to go through a few tantrums by me (my baby's needs were NOT being met by our nurse!) before they finally gave us a new one.  After 3 days more in the hospital, we were finally allowed to take our sweet baby home.