Our little alien

Well, day 4 has had Mommy and Daddy all over the place with anxiety as Emmalyn has become pretty jaundiced.  Jaundice occurs as a substance called bilirubin builds up in her blood during the transition from Mommy's fluids to baby's fluids.  Like most infants, her little liver isn't mature enough to process the bilirubin, but natural aids such as sunlight and good nourishment help to break down and expel it.  Unfortunately, she's at that awkward time where Mommy's milk hasn't quite come in yet and to make matters worse, there hasn't been a day of good, direct sunlight since she was born. She's now down to 5lbs., 4oz., so her size has the doctors a little concerned and looking for treatment. 

Fortunately, modern medicine has a few options which will hopefully do the trick.  Mommy's milk is now being supplemented with infant formula (not the recalled stuff...we checked!) and she's been placed on "bed rest" in a special bed that emits blue-green light (only the wavelengths that break down bilirubin - no Hollywood tan for our little girl).  Hopefully, the exposure to the light will help make the jaundice go away.  She has an appointment in the morning to get another blood test to see how her body responds.  In the meantime, the result is a little freaky as we now are the proud parents of an ET-like lifeform.  The picture below says it all.  The good news is that she appears to actually like the bed and is happily and quietly watching her surroundings and, as of this post, just about zonked out for the night.

We'll keep you posted on her progress.