Jericho was admitted to the hospital today. It does not appear to be anything serious, though the name of the problem sounds dramatic. He has hyperbilirubinemia, with some jaundice. Basically, that means that his body has too much bilirubin, which is a normally-occurring substance that the body creates in the process of getting rid of old red blood cells. Apparently, this isn’t serious and is a common occurrence. The resolution isn’t too dramatic, other than the actual admittance to the hospital in the first place. Basically, Jericho has to spend most of a 24-hour period under a bluish light, which helps his body to break down the red blood cells and reduces the bilirubin to a normal level. Heather and Gabriel are in the hospital with Jericho, Heather so that she can nurse and attend to Jericho and Gabriel because he loves his mom’s company.
I went to visit the three of them at the hospital tonight. I brought Heather and Gabriel our favorite Papa John's pizza (pineapple and ham with extra black olives). Gabriel loves that pizza! He usually eats more pizza than Heather, but he is so active, he burns it off in a hurry. We were watching Curious George and Aladdin, while Gabriel was busy writing on the dry erase board. He drew a picture of the waves in the ocean with a blue dry erase marker and then made sure that we all not only saw but also heard the sound of the waves that he created. His imagination is definitely active, and that is a good thing!
Jericho has been nursing frequently, almost hourly tonight. His feedings will be reduced to every two hours now, so that he is not trained to see it as a method to be pacified. You know, we want him to come looking for mom when he is hungry! Everything is showing improvement for Jericho tonight. Along with being more active and awake longer, his increased appetite is a good sign. So far, it looks like Jericho will be home sometime tomorrow. The house is too quiet without my family, and I am looking forward to everyone coming home.
I went to visit the three of them at the hospital tonight. I brought Heather and Gabriel our favorite Papa John's pizza (pineapple and ham with extra black olives). Gabriel loves that pizza! He usually eats more pizza than Heather, but he is so active, he burns it off in a hurry. We were watching Curious George and Aladdin, while Gabriel was busy writing on the dry erase board. He drew a picture of the waves in the ocean with a blue dry erase marker and then made sure that we all not only saw but also heard the sound of the waves that he created. His imagination is definitely active, and that is a good thing!
Jericho has been nursing frequently, almost hourly tonight. His feedings will be reduced to every two hours now, so that he is not trained to see it as a method to be pacified. You know, we want him to come looking for mom when he is hungry! Everything is showing improvement for Jericho tonight. Along with being more active and awake longer, his increased appetite is a good sign. So far, it looks like Jericho will be home sometime tomorrow. The house is too quiet without my family, and I am looking forward to everyone coming home.
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1 comment:
I am glad Jericho will come out of it within 24 hours. It is always a scary thought to have an illness when they are only a 5 days old. He is in good hands at the hospital and recovery should like it should go quick. It is no place like having your family back with you, with the laughter and talking in the household. It is a quiet & comforting time when all is together. laura(mom)
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