Thanks to everyone for their advice about jaundice. Madeline also was jaundiced, but since she was already in the NICU it was just one aspect to her treatment. We very much wanted to avoid any sort of hospital stay (we just do not need to deal with that kind of emotional trauma), not to mention any possible side effects the jaundice could inflict on little Annabel. She was already very lethargic, and that is why we opted to follow our medical team’s advice and give her formula for 24 hours. Mike and I absolutely researched both sides of it, believe me – we don’t make any decisions lightly when it comes to our children. The good news is that Annie’s bilirubin numbers dropped to 12.1 and she is officially back to breast feeding like a champ. And, now I have a nice little stash of milk frozen for any sort of emergency. Win!

I’m definitely happy that Annie’s bilirubin levels went down because her yellow skin tone was starting to make her act a little strange. Earlier today, for example, Mike turned the TV to an episode of MTV’s “Jersey Shore,” and Annie immediately locked her gaze on the screen. Mike and I joked that it must have been because she felt a connection to all the orange-skinned, overly tan guidos and guidettes on screen, then left the episode on as we went about our day. This was a mistake. Check out how I found her only a couple hours later:

I immediately took the weights away from Annie, I mean those things could really hurt a newborn! But she wasn’t done acting out. Not ten minutes later Mike found her like this:

Okay, so Annie’s tanning in indirect sunlight was actually a good thing considering her bilirubin levels, but where the heck did she get those sunglasses? Mike took the glasses away and told her she was too young for them (they were totally for 3-6 month olds (but of course they fit her giant Spohr Head)) and that she shouldn’t try to grow up so fast. Annie seemed to get what Mike was saying, but then, five minutes later, we found her like this:

What baby does their own laundry? Mike and I weren’t sure why Annie was acting so strange until it hit us… GTL! Gym, tan, laundry! Annie was only doing what ‘The Situation” taught her to do on “Jersey Shore!” Wow. I guess kids really shouldn’t watch TV. And those Jersey Shore people? Totally not role models. Thankfully, once we learned from Dr. Looove that Annie’s bilirubin number went down, Annie was less interested in imitating Snooki and the gang. Still, it’s cartoons only from here on out…although, I wouldn’t mind if she kept doing her own laundry.

Remember when you were a kid and, after kicking butt while playing “Ms. Pacman,” an intermission sequence came on the screen where a stork dropped a baby Pacman into the arms of Pacman and Mrs. Pacman? Well, Annabel is looking like Baby Pacman right now. As I mentioned yesterday, she was looking a bit jaundiced on Monday, so  we had some blood work done to test the level of bilirubin in her system. Getting the blood work done was less than fun as we had to take her to the hospital to do it, and that is not exactly the best place to have a ten-day-old what with all of the coughing and sneezing and measles and typhoid everywhere. I was hoping to get in and out, but of course our number was “5,” and they were at “76,” meaning they had to go all the way up to a hundred AND THEN start back at one. A good forty-five minutes passed and they were barely in the nineties. I was not happy, especially since randoms were stopping to comment on my having Annie there. My favorite comment: “Man, you sure are brave to bring an itty bitty baby like that up in here.” You know, because we were there socially. I didn’t want to do it, but eventually I went to the counter and did some complaining on account of my having waited with my newborn for nearly an hour and what not. We finally got back there and a nurse took blood from Annie’s heel. She took it like a champ and barely even flinched.

A couple hours later we got a call from Dr. Looove’s office. The results came back at 13.9 mg, which isn’t great. (18 mg or above usually leads to being admitted to the hospital so the baby can be treated under the lights.) Dr. Looove suggested we have another blood test the next day (Tuesday), and if that test resulted in a lower number, that meant the jaundice had peaked and Annie should be fine. Unfortunately – after another heinously long wait at the hospital – Annie’s number came back at 15.1 mg which is a bit worrisome. Dr. Looove’s diagnosis is Annie is suffering from Breast Milk Jaundice, where the mother’s milk “produces an enzyme that interferes temporarily with the normal bilirubin elimination pathways of the liver.” (Thank you, Dr. Google!) The awesome part of this is that this only happens to less than 2% of all babies (sarcasm). The plan now is to suspend breast feeding for 24 hours, and then test her again. In most cases, babies with Breast Milk Jaundice will have their bilirubin numbers back down to normal levels after 24 hours without the breast milk. Interestingly, they then can resume breast feeding without the jaundice reoccurring. Here’s hoping this works…neither Annie or I want to make a habit of getting her cute little heel jabbed at with a needle.

Not to mention I loathe pumping.

In light of Annie’s Baby Pacman impersonation, I thought it might be as good a time as any to try out taking some black and white photos. She is so yummy, like a yellow M&M.

Two years ago today was one of the greatest days ever. After 68 days of fear, longing, and worry, our little girl finally left the NICU and came home.

the first time I ever walked around holding my daughter

Maddie on the loose!

in the sun for the first time

our family

When you’re in the NICU for as long as we were, you learn that discharge days are arbitrary. We saw plenty of parents get disappointed and frustrated as their child’s discharge date would get delayed for one reason or another. We were told Madeline would come home that week, but we didn’t let our hopes get TOO high. But that morning, our phone rang, and it was the head of the NICU. “Hi Mr. and Mrs. Spohr! Your daughter is ready to come home!”

Magical, wonderful words.

Mike and I raced to the NICU, car seat installed and ready to be occupied. We practically ran into the NICU and I gleefully removed the last sensors that were stuck to her skin. I dressed her in the going home outfit we’d chosen, and then I picked her up and walked around with her – the first time I’d ever been able to do that. She’d always been tethered to a monitor, or a medicine drip, or a an oxygen tube. But she was finally unencumbered. Mike and I walked her through the NICU for a goodbye – her victory tour – and everyone remarked how big she was. She weighed six pounds two ounces, double her birth weight. We thanked and hugged all the people who saved Madeline’s life, and then we left. I remember feeling like we should run, like the doctors and nurses were going to tell us that a mistake had been made and she wasn’t REALLY allowed to leave.

Mike drove so slow on the way home I still can’t believe we made it back before the sun went down.

Those first few days with her home were amazing and scary and fantastic. We stared at her. We couldn’t believe we got to be with her all the time, that we didn’t have to drive to visit her anymore.

Even Rigby stared at her:

the beginning of a (beautiful) relationship

We were so grateful to have our family together.

It was the best of times.

Ever since my 30th week of pregnancy (when my body decided to go crazy and send me to Labor and Delivery three times in a week), I’ve been thinking about my hospital bag. When I was pregnant with Madeline, my hospital bag was packed differently. I knew I’d be in the hospital for a long stay, and that I most likely wouldn’t be leaving the hospital at the same time as my baby. This time I am hopefully only going to be in the hospital for a few days, and Binky will be coming home with me. I realized I had no idea what to pack.

I turned to twitter for advice and got TONS of ideas. I realized that a lot of what I brought when I was on hospital bed rest would still apply. One key difference this time is that I’ll be able to wear my own clothes (if I want) instead of hospital gowns. I can’t stress how awesome this is. I get weekly updates about my pregnancy from TheBump.com, so I skipped ahead a few weeks (ironically to week 35, where I am now) to see what they suggested for a hospital bag. Their list is great – they list by essentials, the stuff you don’t HAVE to have but might want, and the stuff to leave at home. It helped me whittle down a lot of my list.

So this is the final-ish list of what’s in my hospital bag:

Um. So. Yeah. What does Mike need? I don’t have any idea if he needs anything special. When I was on hospital bed rest, Mike came and went as necessary. This time he’ll stay with me and Binky the entire time, so I want to be sure to have everything he might need.

As is my way, I’m now wondering what else I’ve forgotten. I had a phone list packed, but then we signed up for this awesome service that will call all our friends and family for us. Instead of a notebook and pen and a separate DVD player, I’m bringing a laptop that functions as all those things.

What am I forgetting? Help a mama out!

Also, today is the 11th, which means 11% of all sales made today at Kinga’s Kreations will be donated to Friends of Maddie!