No Longer a Pumpkin

The pediatrician had us come into the office today. Clara last had her bilirubin levels checked on Monday (Christmas) and it was only slightly down from Sunday. As she still has yet to achieve the nice pink hue Michael has, they wanted to check her out.

We love Dr. Powers. She is funny, smart, witty, and isn't afraid to give you a ton of information. When the nurse put Clara on the scale, she weighed in at 8 lbs 2 oz, only two ounces below birth weight. We mentioned that Clara hasn't pooped in over twelve hours, but the doctor assured us that was okay and that Clara would eventually get it all out. The doctor said she is gaining weight like a champ, but still looks a little yellow. She had us go over and do another heel prick to make sure the levels were coming down.

We walked over to the hospital and got Clara's fifth outpatient bracelet. I'll spare you the picture of the bracelet chain on her carseat. The phlebotomist who took her blood was the same guy who took her blood on Christmas day. While we were there, the phlebotomist who took her blood on Friday came in. It was a little reunion. Have to say, don't like the guy who took the blood today. He's rougher than the other folk we've had. Poor Clara screamed the entire time. Once it was over I quickly scooped her into my arms and calmed her down. Mean blood-taking man.

The doctor called an hour or so after we got home (no Target trip today) and said that her levels had dropped down to 14.8 (see graph below). She was quite pleased with this and said that we don't need to go in for any more heel pricks. "Huzzah!" says Clara's heel. "Huzzah!" say her parents.

As we were driving home Kristin asked, "Is it weird that I know everything about the bowel movements of someone else when I can't even remember the last time I went?" I reassured her it's not.