little guy's jaundice story

my baby is coming to 3 weeks old!! i wanna extend my warmest and happiest welcome to my little boy to this world and our big family. im sure this has been and is going to be a great journey and experience ahead for us. my mil and sis used to call him hann hann, even before he is born cuz the father wanted to name him 亦航. but due to some certain reasons, his name is changed and finalised as 亦炫=)

my 叮咚 auntie calls me tintin. the other nickname suggested by another auntie is X. perhaps my youngest auntie wants to get me another nickname? but all in all, im a little boss in this family. 

baby is a tough boy. he has been jaundiced since born. the paed said it's common for asian babies and will go peak on the Day 5 to 7. however, we noticed he has been quite sleepy and "yellow" on the Day 4, so mum and hubby took him to the hospital. the paed took his blood sample and the reading was 217. according to the paed, the reading was normal so long it didnt exceed 220. two days later, we took him back to the hospital again as he looked quite lethargic. this time, baby has become smarter. he started to cry even before the dr poked his hand. just a gentle touch by the paed, he cried so loudly and the paed laughed, "aikks, smart boy, i haven started and yet you are crying." his reading was 218 and dr assured us everything would be fine over the weekend. somehow, mr. hubby and i were not convinced by the paed=(

mr. hubby at the same time registered baby's birth at the government clinic nearby. they sent nurses for home visit the next day and advised us to take baby for further check up. the jaundice reading was 12.2 mg/dL, and he would be admitted if it goes above 17. nevertheless, we still have to go there every other day for monitoring purpose. his reading at the second visit was 9.0, then the third one went up to 11.9. this has got me worried as the dr concerned, the jaundice has been prolonged for two weeks, baby most probably may have to be referred to hospital for further blood/ liver test. since baby is on expressed breast milk, i cut down ginger and wine intake, trying my best to feed him more ebm so that he can poop alot. last friday, we went back to the clinic and a blood sample was taken. this time around, his reading went down to 5.8 and it was a great relief that we dun have to go back to the clinic again=)

 from private hospital to the government clinic, a total of 6 blood samples were taken, but i was not allowed to see the whole procedure, even just to take a glance. the whole process is, i leave baby wiv the nurses in-charge, then i'll be instructed to leave the room. when it's all done, i'll be called to get my baby back. however, i was told that my boy din cry at all during the last sample collection. oh, my little strong man.

  

but, tell me how this blood stained his sleeves?

many people upon knowing my baby was jaundiced became worried abt him, i felt even more upset. my mil has been making frequent trips upnorth to see baby and me. when hubby was away for the past whole week, she purposely came to accompany me to the clinic despite i have my sister here.

i just couldnt be more grateful for all i have been going thru in this life, i know how truly blessed im=)