Hey all I just had my little girl on Monday the 23rd, and she is a little jaundice. I am so worried because when we went home her level was 8.9 then Friday it was 15.2 then today it was 15.5. The doctor said technically because she is two days older its pretty much the same level. Has anyone else had the levels go up so much a few days after discharge???

Also my little girl keeps crossing her eyes and rolling them in the back of her head is this normal??

And one more question(sorry if I am being a pain) she keeps making noises that sound like she is gasping for breath.. I know she isn't cause she breathes fine before and after. I don't notice a pattern or anything she just randomly does it. Any opinions? My doc doesn't seem to worried about it but I thought I would ask if anyone else has had this before.

the eye crossing thing-perfectly normal, it will be that way for a while. the jaundice thing, if the doc aint worried, you dont worry! the level is different for every age, like each day, its different, my 2nd little one we had to go back once or twice to have him re checked, and the gasping thing, my second also did, he is only 4 months now and dont do it anymore, if doc aint worried, dont stress it

congratulations on your new little one!

my first was jaundiced a bit after she was born (we have pictures of her getting ready to leave the hospital and she nearly matched her little pooh bear in color!). the doctors weren't worried about it at all though. they just said to put in front of a sunlit window for an hour a couple of times a day (we lived in an apartment and didn't have sunlit windows, so we sat with her in the car!

are you nursing? they told me that it was very normal for nursing babies to get a little jaundiced (can't remember why though). anyway, she cleared up within a matter of a few weeks and didn't have any problems from it at all!

my second used to just freak me out with her weird eye movements! seems they don't gain full control over their eye muscles for several months after birth. it's weird, but normal.

as far as the gasping noises, it's probably nothing, but keep an eye on it. she might just be experimenting with her body and the noises she can make... people might tell you she's too young for that, and maybe they're right, but i'd swear both my girls did similar things when they were just a few days old, and it really seemed like they were just experimenting with what they could do!

anyway, congrats again! how exciting to have a precious new baby girl! :)

After my boy was born I read (I don't remember where) that babies that young have weird breathing habits. They just started breathing so they have to get the hang of it. Could also be what "mcr285" said, she could just have learned that she can do it.

Thank you everyone for your quick responses.. Even though the doc told me it's "normal" I still wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one who ever really went through it, especially the eye thing it can be so freaky looking:) .

We have another doc appt to check her jaundice levels tomorrow and then a recheck at the doctors to check her weight(even though she gained really well last time we were at the doctors.)

I will definatly keep you guys upated! :)

Hi HappyMom2Be! Congratulations on your new arrival!

My first dd was jaundice as well and her levels kept going up just like yours. My pediatrician had me put her in front of a sunny window (like another poster suggested). He told me it would do the same thing as the thing they put her under in the hospital (I can't remember what they called it). Her levels were normal within a couple of weeks.

I use to harrass my pediatrician for the first few months over everything. I wish I knew about this board back then.

they are 'billi' lights at the hospital and as long as the doc is doing a recheck of the billi level (billirubin which is indicated for jaundice) I wouldn't worry too much. it is challenging, but billi levels can change every 12 hours (or even more frequently) so don't get too caught up in the numbers game. ds was in nicu for a week because his jandice was so severe (even had 2 ivr transfusions-we had underlying medical condition that is pretty rare). you're hearing right about the levels, as long as they are staying pretty stable and she is getting older she is getting better, (though a little sun would probably be a great thing for both of you).

also, i think the reason breastfed babies sometimes take longer to get rid of billirubin is because it takes a couple of days (for most moms) to get the real good supply of milk going which makes baby poop more and baby poop is what takes the billirubin out of their systems.

My son was admitted to the NICU for jaundice the day after we brought him home. His billis were up to 18 at the time and he didn't go home until they were down to 12 (took about a weekend under the lights).

Just keep an eye on him and trust your gut. If you feel something is wrong, take him to the doctor or hospital. They can very easily check his blood. I just knew that my son looked too orange and the doctors and nurses were all praising me for being so intuitive. He was getting sicker by the day and it was a good thing I called my doctor.

Yellowrose is right about the milk supply. Fliuds help to flush out the bili and if your baby isn't getting much fluids from breast feeding, then the jaundice will stick around longer. I had that exact problem with my son. My milk took 5 days to come in and by then, he was in the NICU and started on Similac. My supply never fully caught up to his demand.

Best of luck and CONGRATS!

Hello all.. I just wanted to update you. We got DD's blood work done again to check her Bili levels and they went way down! They were 8.9 which is what they were in the hospital. I feel much better knowing that at least her kidneys are woking.

:) fabulous!

:) hooray!!! i know how relieved you must be feeling!!! now go and enjoy your little one!!! :)

The gasping may also be caused from a light breeze blowing over the babies face. People used to thing it was funny to blow in my babies faces and watch them gasp. They just can't process the change in pressure and current. It can even be cause from something as simple as turning on a fan, the wind blowing, or you fanning yourself or your baby.

My two little munchkins (twins boys 13 mos.) used to do the same breathing thing. My husband would get so alarmed from it he asked me if I thought they had asthma! The doc said many newborns make breathing sounds like that - as long as they show no other signs of distress - they are okay. Sure enough - my twins stopped making those little gasps when they were about 8-10 weeks old and haven't done it since.

Also so happy to hear your baby's billi numbers went down. I know it can be concerning. One of my twins had to go under the lamps for his jaundice while he was in NICU his first week. No worries, he is doing wonderfully as is his brother!