Welcome to an incomplete history of our newest baby's brief experiences so far!

The Basics

Name: "Baby G" Guinness Djin Tan Duniho (it's official!)
Date of birth: December 8th, 2005
Time of birth: 2:28pm
Weight: 10 pounds, 2 ounces
Length: 21¼ inches
Head circumference: 14 cm inches (oops...that would have been a tiny head!)

Visitation Status: Guinness is done with his light therapy! Debra still has a bad cold, and so is sleeping whenever Guinness isn't feeding (and sometimes when he is :) ). Pete has also now come down with what seems to be the same cold. Visits are probably not advised right now.

His "Blog" (that's "baby log")

12/8/05

— 4:50am - Debra wakes Pete up, "I think I'm in labor"
— around 2pm - Debra says it might be time to actually deliver
— 2:28pm - Debra delivers on her prediction. A wonderful baby boy!

12/9/05

— around 5pm after Baby G's last blood test, we're discharged, free to go home!
— about 10 minutes after we get home, we're called back to the hospital, to admit Baby G for treatment of hyperbilirubinemia.
— Back at the hospital Baby G is admitted to the Special Care Nursery (natal intensive care unit). After being processed, Baby G is put into his glowing basinet.

12/10/05

— A blood test for "C-reactive protein" causes the on-call pediatrician to order treatment for bacterial infection with IV antibiotics.
— The blood culture started the previous day is negative, and a blood draw for a second culture is taken just before the antibiotics are started.
— We're told that if both cultures are still negative the evening of the 11th, that Baby G will be discharged on the 12th, assuming the bilirubin level that morning is still stable.

12/11/05

— Bilirubin level is doing fine.
— New discharge plan: we're told that even if the cultures remain negative, Baby G will stay through the 17th, on antibiotics, "just to be on the safe side".

12/12/05

— Bilirubin level is still doing fine. Both blood cultures are still negative.
— Debra and Pete sit in on "rounds", the staff meeting at which all of the hospital staff involved in Baby G's care meet to discuss his treatment. A new pediatrician is on duty, and he suggests that the blood cultures ought to be the primary factor for treatment decisions, rather than the CRP level (which only indicates inflammation, but not what is causing it).
— The new plan is to release Baby G on the 13th, as long as the blood cultures are both still negative this evening. Home treatment for the bilirubin level may be required, if the bilirubin level isn't still stable the next morning.

12/13/05

— Bilirubin level checks out, the blood cultures are still negative, Baby G comes home!

12/14/05

— We are still on bilirubin monitoring orders. So we head to the pediatrician to get our daily test. Bilirubin has jumped back up, but now that Guinness is older, it's less of a concern. Another test is ordered for the next day.

12/15/05

— Another day, another bilirubin check. Yesterday's jump was more dramatic, but it's risen a little today as well. "Future is hazy; check again tomorrow". In the meantime, we are remembering what it's like to be parents of a newborn, being woken every couple of hours at night for food, comforting, diaper changes, etc.

12/16/05

— A very slight rise in bilirubin level, still. Most likely, the level will peak and start to drop again without rising to dangerous levels, but in this case, a relatively low-impact intervention is available: home light therapy.
— An R.N. comes over to our house to deliver an insert for Guinness's basinet; Guinness will be in the basinet practically any time he's not out for feeding. No extended baby holding time, which is a hardship for everyone, especially the grandparents, but it should only continue a couple of days or so, and then things should be back to normal.

12/17/05

— Bilirubin is down a whole point, even with just a half-day of light therapy.

12/18/05

— Bilirubin down another two points.
— Debra's cold has finally caught up with her. She is sick as the proverbial dog (but our own dog is doing quite well, thank you!)

12/19/05

— Bilirubin down just one more point. Not sure what that's about, but it's still going in the right direction.
— Debra is still very sick, in bed with a fever.
— The pediatrician calls to let us know that the bilirubin is down enough that we can discontinue the phototherapy. Yay!

12/20/05

— The home care nurse came by to pick up the phototherapy equipment and to take a final blood check.

12/21/05

— Guinness has his two-week checkup with the pediatrician. So far, so good! His weight was back over 10 pounds. All that eating must be doing something. :)

12/22/05

— Guinness has his hearing check. At this age, they can't test his actual perception, but we at least know all the equipment is working properly.
— And it seems that we are done with tests and checkups and whatnot for at least two weeks. Yay!