new parent paranoia

Rohan will turn 2 weeks old tomorrow and so far, he's been to the pediatrician 4 times. Two of those appointments were standard follow-up appointments as a result of Rohan being in the NICU to check on his weight and overall health.

Rohan was 6 lbs 10 oz when born (approx 3 kg) and was down to 6 lbs 2 oz (2.78 kg) when discharged as part of a normal weight loss upon birth. His first appointment -- two days after being dicharged had a modest gain to approximately 6 lbs 6 oz. However, the doctor more concerned about his apparent jaundice and wanted us to give him some time in the sun to bring it down.

By his next appointment he had made some progress in both his weight as well as his jaundice. He was up to 6 lbs 10 oz and the overall yellowness of his skin and eyes was on the downward trend. The doctor was content to have us come in a week later for another weight check.

Two days later however, L and I were concerned about some pus emenating from his bellybutton / umbilical cord stump accompanied by some blood. In talking to the nurse on the phone, she was more concerned about the jaundice levels not going down, so off to to the doctor we went. Surprisingly, Rohan's weight was up to 6 lb 13 oz! A huge improvement over the previous measurement a few days earlier. This time we had a different doctor and she asked that we get a blood test done to be sure about Rohan's bilirubin count the next day at CHOP.

That night brought about our first 4 AM call to the doctor as Rohan was feeding very little and generally proving to be a very fussy baby -- especially in contrast to his earlier few days. Though his temperature was lower than "feverish," the nurse contacted a doctor and advised us to come in first thing in the morning.

Our 4th appointment in one week was no big deal -- Rohan started acting and feeding normally while his weight had only gone up 0.2 oz from the previous afternoon. From the doctor's office we were off to CHOP for the bilirubin test and a CBC (complete blood check).

No matter how many times i saw it in the NICU, watching the little guy get poked for a blood draw is traumatizing! The tests came back normal, so I guess Rohan is doing just fine. We'll know for certain when he goes in for his next weight check on Tuesday.