first days of life

While still inside of my belly, I had the impression our baby would be a strong-willed optimistic little one with her determined kicks and movements. Indeed, Lilly did so well during an extremely long labor. Her heartbeat was great until just a couple of hours before birth when it dropped a little and the nurses had me breath through an oxygen mask to boost the baby. Also, the umbilical cord was tied around her neck at birth. Lilly did not start breathing on her own right away, and so after only seconds on my chest, she was whisked away by the nurses who proceeded to massage her to get her going. After that, she was taken to the nursery and placed in an incubator to increase her oxygen level, and various tests were taken before she returned to my arms a couple of hours later.

The saga continued the day after birth with more tests and (in my opinion) unnecessary screenings (such as an ultrasound of the head to check for internal bleeding, of which there was none). The early blood work showed a quite low platelets count and an increased white blood cell count, but those levels soon evened out (her little body might just have prepared for the worst during those intense hours of labor). Yet, the pediatrician at Albert Lea requested we transfer to the neonatal intensive care unit at the Mayo clinic for further (and very expensive) follow-up, which we did Monday evening. At Mayo, Lilly was treated for high bilirubin levels (jaundice) and placed under photo-therapy lamps.

We were finally discharged from Mayo yesterday afternoon and Lilly is now receiving the best of care at home with periodic exposure to sun light and frequent nursing followed by good poops and pees to pass the bilirubin. We're in touch with a pediatrician at Northfield Hospital and of course, Rachel, our midwife, who'll come check on us this weekend.