More Olive

Olive is 1 week old today. She is such a darling little thing and I just want to stare at her all day. She is a pretty good baby too. She left the hospital with a level 8 of bilirubin (jaundice) and I had just been instructed to bring her back within a couple of days to have that level checked again. On Sunday, it had reached 18 so the hospital sent over the horrible "bili bed" right away.

Olive loves being swaddled so the bili bed was absolute torture. For anyone who has ever used one before--you know what I am talking about!!! It requires the baby being stripped down to diaper and strapped into this mini tanning bed-sort of contraption. Olive thrashed and screamed and just hated it. I think she probably slept a total of 6 hours in there over the span of several days. Luckily, they also gave us a bili paddle type thing that is intended to be used in conjunction with the bed, but we ended up just using that by stuffing it into her clothes. She hated that too but at least we were able to feel better that she was getting SOME phototherapy.

Olive had to get her levels checked every day which meant torturing her at the lab to get her heel stabbed. I think today was the 10th time. Her levels today were down to 12 though which is considered "normal" so we got rid of the stupid bed FINALLY. Poor thing. She probably thinks it is part of her daily routine. She is doing just great though and we are amazed at how much she changes every day.

I am extremely sleep-deprived but I feel like the "mom" hormone is what is getting me through. I think I have been getting 6 hours of sleep per night. And I am still pretty sore from the "carnage" below. THAT, in combination with learning to breastfeed and take care of a new baby has just been exhausting. Yet, I feel like I can't just sit and let myself relax and recover. Everyone has been so excited about Olive that we have been innondated with visitors and I just really haven't even had time to nap. I look forward to a couple weeks from now when I will be completely healed and have a lot more energy to be superwoman again.