BilliBaby

It's amazing the emotional roller coaster we've been on for a week. 16 minutes from now Bella will be a week old and we were on such an emotional high during that entire time. People came by to see our beautiful little girl and to see how we were doing, and Bella did great. She was swaddled and passed around like green beans at Thanksgiving dinner. When we went to the Pediatrician on Monday she told us to go to the hospital to get her Jaundice level checked again. We thought, no problem she's been eating great, pooping regularly and just being a happy healthy baby. But when we got the results her level had risen from a 12.5 when we left the hospital to an 18.6! I can't describe the feeling I felt when I heard the news, we haven't had this angel in our lives for a week and already I'm worrying about her health. I know Jaundice is common and it's not something that's a huge concern, but that doesn't matter, when it's your child it's an entirely different situation. So we tried getting more sunlight on her and feed her every 2 to 2 1/2 hours to get her system working even faster. We did that the rest of the day and into Tuesday, then Tuesday morning she had to be tested again. She increased again, now to a 19.1. So as a precautionary measure the doctor prescribed a BilliBed, which looks like an infant tanning bed. I know this BilliBed is for her own good and she has to be in it to get better, but it's the hardest thing to try and continually soothe your child when she's screaming cause she just wants you to hold her. Stacy and I camped out on the living room floor last night with Bella. We put her bed in between us and just tried to make her as comfortable as possible, but there were times we just had to take her out and comfort her. She gets tested again today, hopefully she's doing much better, otherwise we have do this for another 24 hours. If both of those sessions don't work then she has to go back to the hospital. Stacy and I have the highest hopes and are saying our prayers that she will be fine after today and won't need any further treatment or hospital admission. I just want my daughter to be healthy and not have to worry about anything other than changing her diaper for a little while.