Nathan's newborn appoinment

Weight: 5lbs 8ozs
Length: 19 inches
Head circumfrence: 30 cm

Nathan had his first appointment with Dr. Hirsch on Monday. Since Nathan was a little jaundice (occurs when bilirubin builds up faster than a newborns liver can break it down and pass it from the body)when he was discharged from the hospital, the resident pediatrician wanted us to schedule a follow up appointment with his regular pediatrician as soon as possible. Jaundice is a very common condition in newborns, but occurs frequently in premature babies since they are even less ready to excrete excess bilirubin for premature babies. Jaundice can also occur when a breastfeeding baby is not getting enough breast milk because of difficulty with breastfeeding or because the mother's milk isn’t in yet. But since she didn't notice any yellow in his skin or eyes she decided not to take a sample of his blood to check his bilirubin, especially since the numbers were on the lower end anyway, based on his discharge papers.

Nathan weighed 5lbs 5ozs when he was discharged Sunday and his weight was up 3 ozs at this appointment. His stools have also transitioned from meconium to yellow seedy stools, so it appears that he's getting enough breastmilk. So overall Dr. Hirsch was very happy with how well he's doing and the fact that I was able to stay pregnant as long as I did. We have a follow up appointment next Thursday to check his weight to make sure he's still getting enough breastmilk.