Phototherapy

For me the first few days home with a newborn is rough.  My hormones are out of whack, I'm wired with anxiety and this time around I randomly would start to cry for no reason.    To make matters worse Spencer is always having a rough time adjusting to sleeping on his back.  He prefers to be curled up tight on his belly.   Sleep started out hard because he just wouldn't let me lay him down.

So when I got a call first thing on Monday morning, after a long sleepless night, from the pediatrician's clinic saying his bilirubin was way to high and he needed phototherapy to help break down the jaundice,  I started to bawl.  How was I going to keep a kid who hates being on his back strapped to some contraption for 24 hours a day.   I text the expert Mary who has been through this with most of her kids and her compassion and assurance helped calm me down.

Soon the lights were delivered and I painfully strapped Spencer in.  At first as was expected he squirmed and fussed but surprisingly he settled down and went to sleep.   What was more surprising was that he actually mostly happily stayed there the remainder of the night.  There was a time at 4 in the morning when I had just barely fed him and he wouldn't settle down.  Bart being the amazingly patient person he is in the middle of the night sat next to him keeping the binki in his mouth for an hour while I rested.    The next day a gift from God was sent to our house and Spencer had one those sleepy newborn can't stay awake days and peacefully slept in his jail cell.

Oh what a relief it was to get the call later that day that is bilirubin levels were normal and the lights were no longer needed.    How nice it was to cuddle him without any jaundice worries.


He also slept so much better that following night.  I think the lights may have been a blessing in disguise.   It forced him to learn how to relax and sleep on his back.    So here's a hope to more restful nights.