However, by Monday afternoon May 7, when we went back to the doctor, she was even more yellowish. The doc sent us down to the lab to check her bilirubin levels. She called us within an hour of leaving the office, saying her levels were quite high and that a home-health company would be bringing some equipment over that evening. That began Elizabeth's "light" days. She had to lay on the bili-bed or a bili-blanket every minute, except when she was getting her diaper changed. The ligths turned on Monday evening around 8pm and were turned off on Thursday morning around 8am. She had to go to the hospital daily for blood checks, which fortunatley dropped fairly quickly each day. The jaundice was going away. Her liver was working. She was becoming a fair-skinned pink baby.
Her levels were 22.6, which is high, but when the doc called with her first blood results, I wrote down 26.2 on a piece of scrap paper. And what did I do with that information? I googled what the numbers meant, of course. Apparently, levels above 25 indicate serious concerns like hospitalization, possible brain damage, blood transfusions, etc. I was more than nervous that first night with her on the bed, and felt incredibly relieved the next morning when we went back to the hospital. It was then that the doc told me that her levels were 22.6, not 26.2. Phew. Maybe a sleep deprived mother should not be trusted with copying important details like that.
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