Jaundice in Newborns
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=29816
Printed Date: 30 August 2025 at 7:48am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Jaundice in Newborns
Posted By: CuriousG
Subject: Jaundice in Newborns
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 6:17pm
|
Cam developed jaundice when we came home from hospital on day 2. Today he is still very yellow although it has improved (he is not so pumpkin like).
Just wondering, does jaundice usually make them sleepy? He is a very cruisy baby, sleeps most of the time, can be awake for up to 2 hours but its very very rare. Also, how long can I expect him to stay yellow for? He is fully breastfed which I understand can mean it takes a bit longer for it to go away. Crazy as I would have thought it would help rather than hinder the process!! Any experience stories gratefully received.  ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Replies:
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 6:37pm
| jaundice made my kids really sleepy. Is your midwife keeping an eye on things? just that seems like a really long time. we used to strip jake off and put him in the window in the sun. that helps get rid of it too apparently. |
Posted By: first
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 6:45pm
|
Jaundice makes your baby very tired which can make them very difficult to feed which makes their jaudice worse. Make sure you are feed often and getting lots of wet nappies.
It can take a while to clear up but make sure your MW is keeping a close eye on it. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/"> 
|
Posted By: Muz
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 7:00pm
|
Yip - makes them very sleepy and hard to feed, then if they dont feed enough the jaundice gets worse and so on. and first said make sure your MW is keeping a very close eye on Cameron, esp that he is gaining weight etc, we were very lucky with Dani - her jaundice got worse and so did her feeding, lost weight and we ended up in NICU at 11days old. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: MrsH
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 7:04pm
|
Also, I think it resolves from bottom to top so their face is probably the last to 'unyellow'.
And feeding as much as possible literally flushes it out. If he keeps falling asleep during a feed, give him a tickle, cool facecloth on the head etc. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: CuriousG
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 7:50pm
|
He didn't even lose 10% of his birth weight and then his weight went up on Saturday by 150gms. He feeds very well actually, usually 25 mins with a bum change inbetween then another 25 mins - active sucking and swallowing. He is also waking every 2.5-3 hours now, sometimes slightly longer (but I never let him go over 3.5 usually). His nappies are full and his poo seems to be the right colour too. I think he is probably ok - its just taking a while for the colour to go. His hands are fine - nice and pink but yeah, his face is definitely still yellow as are the whites of his eyes. But it is improving. I did pop him in the sun twice over the weekend but there hasn't been any today. Hopefully some tomorrow!!
Thanks for responding everyone. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 8:16pm
|
bella had jaundice and was very sleepy the first week. ------------- |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 8:55pm
| DD had jaundice , she was very sleepy for a little bit. gave her lots of sun baths and regular bf, cleared up in about 4-5 days I think. Do make sure your mw is keeping an eye on it |
Posted By: MrsH
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 9:02pm
|
I don't think it even has to be sunlight, daylight should help (with a heater nearby of course). ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: errii
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 9:22pm
|
Mia is the same and has been really sleepy, I was told plenty of daylight and lots of feeds. She didnt lose 10% of her birth weight either. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
Baby Alistair 7/1/09 |
Posted By: lovingmummyhood
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 9:45pm
|
DS had jaundice and we ended up back in hospital too.
Sounds like your little man is doing ok weight wise and sounds like he's a good feeder As everyone says, I'm sure your midwife will be keeping an eye on it.
The whites of the eyes were the last to clear. They were yellow for AGES, even when his levels were down and he was fine ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 09 November 2009 at 9:54pm
| can i just add i had no idea my kids had jaundice. i figured it was the cook island blood coming through and that they were looking nice and tan |
Posted By: kiwisj
Date Posted: 10 November 2009 at 1:44pm
|
LOL lizzle.
CuriousG Callum was really sleepy with his jaundice. His took a long time to clear up (he looked yellowish to me until after his due date!) but apparently that's normal with preemies. We were told to put him in daylight every morning and afternoon for 30 mins - 1hr at a time. We just went out for walks with the sunshade down on C's pram and a sleep in the window in the morning ------------- SJ Callum - Dec 2008 Daniel - Oct 2010 |
Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 10 November 2009 at 2:15pm
|
Yep makes them very sleeping, both kids had it but Jack had it really badly and I couldn't get him to feed well because he'd just fall asleep all the time.
He had sun baths (or light baths, sun is preferable but even sticking them in the light will help a bit) twice a day, fully naked and turned like a rotissery chicken lol It's the lack of vit D isn't it? and that's why the sun is the best to help as that's where we get our vit D from. |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 10 November 2009 at 9:15pm
|
Both my boys had it. Andrwe had it really bad that at day 4 we were back in hopsital with him on the billy bed. Josh nearly did but he improved overnight. Andrew was very sleepy he pretty much slept for the first 2 weeks of his life. Any light will help as I think it is the UV light that helps clear it (Andrew was on a bed with UV lights under him). If you aren't happy with it ask your MW to take the test to see what his levels are it is a heal prick test to get some blood to be tested. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: whitewave
Date Posted: 10 November 2009 at 10:06pm
|
I agree with everyone else, just keep an eye on it, and give him regular sunlight. It is the UV that helps flush out the bilirubin. Campbell was under UV lights and on a biliblanket for the first week of his life, he got it on day 2 before we even left the hospital so we both had to stay in for 8 days.
That's good that he is feeding well, because it really affected my Cam's feeding. And yeah, it can take ages for the yellowness to go away, I think Campbell was 4-6 weeks old before it was completely gone. |
Posted By: bub
Date Posted: 11 November 2009 at 8:21am
|
Amelia was Jaundice she was pretty yellow for at least 3 -4 weeks and even when her colour came back you could still see it in her eyes at her 6 week check up. ------------- mother to Brianna, Amelia & Mathew. http://lilypie.com">  
|
Posted By: Pinkygirl
Date Posted: 11 November 2009 at 7:15pm
| Travis had jaundice when newborn. I had to feed him every two hours during the day and four hourly at night until he reached his birth weight as my mw said that once he did it would go and it did |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 11 November 2009 at 7:53pm
Maya had really bad jaundice and should have gone on the bili bed but I didn't know any better and it wasn't till she saw a paed at 9 mths and he commented that her bili levels were still slightly elevated that I realised how bad it was and I should have pushed to get it treated. She was really sleepy and a poor feeder for the first few weeks, and looking back at pics of her she was really yellow too, but like Liz, I thought it was just her Maori colouring  .
Gremlins had slight jaundice and had their levels tested every couple of days for the first 3 weeks but never needed treatment other than sunlight. Lil miss spent 24 hours under the lights coz her levels were elevated. The paed said she had ABO jaundice which is caused by her having a different blood type to me (I'm O, she's A), which makes sense coz Maya is also A so that would explain why hers was so bad as well, whereas the gremlins probably just had a touch of it from being a bit prem. -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: Tigerish
Date Posted: 14 November 2009 at 2:11am
|
I can still see a bit of yellow in H, even though he's now eight weeks old. His jandice was quite bad though, and he had a few days under lights. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|