- Jaundice-free....check
- Maintaining weight....check
- Not terrorizing her parents as much through the night....kinda check
- Staying absolutely gorgeous...double check.
Just to update you, Mariah is in perfectly good health as of this afternoon.
When Mariah was born, the doctor was concerned that she might be jaundiced. Her bilirubin levels (which indicate jaundice) were borderline high (at 14 or 15) and they would have to give her light treatment to get them down. We had them checked yesterday at UVRMC and now they well within normal (at 11 or so), which makes her jaundice-free!
We also went to the pediatrician to check her weight level. As most of you know, Mariah was born at a shocking 4 lbs, 11 oz (a little peanut). By the time she left the hospital two days later, she was at only 4 lbs, 4 oz (losing water weight after birth is completely normal). The doctors were concerned that she might start losing real body weight because babies in her weight class have a harder time maintaining their weight. He was talking to me about possibly supplementing her diet with formula. But of course, Mariah is the most talented baby in the world and worked really hard with her mommy to eat lots and lots over these past 2 days. Today she weighed in at 4 lbs, 7 oz. The pediatrician was very impressed that she gained so much weight, halfway back to her birth!. It usually takes babies 2 weeks to get to their birth weight after losing their post-birth water weight, but it's taken Mariah only 2 days to get halfway there. The doctor was also confident that she wouldn't have any sort of growing issues later down the road. She just likes being peanut-sized!
To sum it up, Mariah is amazing! Don't let her size fool you. She is even letting us put her on somewhat of a routine during the night time. Last night, I swear I got at least 4 or 5 hours of sleep. She's the best little baby in the world.
Photos courtesy of Chantalle Bishop
