newborn jaundice but not sleepy? in the uk

[soootired]

Hi my little boy has jaundice started on day 3, it covers most his body (not hands or feet) and he is quite orange but nobody seems concernend (other than me) as he is very healthy otherrwise, big baby, being awake and alert more than expected and putting on lots of weight (and i mean lots) feeding on demand every hour at first. Its now day 7 and he still has it, feeds now getting more spaced out and he has 2 long sleeps at night (4 hours each ) which I am reluctant to discourage.
Online I have heard lots about blood bilirubin levels and lights etc but we left hospital on day 1 and just had midwives come and check us so havent had the blood tests. Is this normal and what point do they do more tests. I am getting paranoid about it! Is it really ok as he isnt sleepy or could it still be a problem? Obviousally spoken to midwives about this but they just say call them if he is sleepy and he isnt,
Thanks in advance!
Oh breast fed and reluctant to top up with formula

 

[tu123]

Hun, have no experience about this so i can not advise Is your daughter under 10 days old? In my PCT the MWs look after you and babe until 10days so i would call the postnatal ward and say you want an appointment either at the hospital or at home.

 

[KatelynsMummy]

congratulations...
If you are worried, dont wait for your midwife/HV, take your LO to a&e to get checked out, better safe than sorry in the long run, the worst they can do is send you home...

 

[blondey]

The only advice I would have hun is to keep with the regular feedings during the day as this helps flush out the toxins and also if he is napping, may be put him near a window as the sunlight helps.

Maybe speak to a MW if it doesn't look like it's improving in the next few days as jaundice should clear up sharpish. Also maybe get someone who hasn't seen him for a few days on their opinion if it is better or worse, as I found it really hard to monitor Ava-Mae's jaundice as I was with her all the time and couldn't see changes.

That is strange about only just being visited by the MW's. I was in and out on the same day and the MW came to me the next day at home. Oh and we had the heel prick test done at about a week old. If you're worried, call them and get them to come round. You're still under their care until LO is 28 days old.

xx

 

[Rachel_C]

As far as I'm aware jaundice is normal especially in a BF baby, so I wouldn't worry unless LO is very sleepy, not feeding much or not having plenty of wet and dirty nappies. If he's otherwise good, try not to worry. If it hasn't started to improve by two weeks, I would ask for a midwife/HV appointment just to ask their opinion but I still wouldn't worry.

My LO was very jaundiced and dehydrated, she wasn't feeding properly (couldn't get her to stay awake for more than three sucks!) and was very sleepy with hardly any wet nappies. They sent us to hospital for blood tests but she still wasn't bad enough to go under the lights, they only do that when it's quite bad. They just told us to feed feed feed, so if your LO is feeding fine, don't worry

 

[allyk]

My LO was jaundice until she was 4 weeks old, she was bf til 3 weeks. Jaundice in breastfed babies take longer to clear. Regular fluids I would suggest. Also look at whites of LO eyes some says we thought she was looking better colour but mw would say still jaundice, it was frustrating!!!

Bit once on formula jaundice went within week, but I think that's bcos she got more fluid from bottles than me!!

If you are concerned I would speak to mw/hv and ask to be refered to jaundice clinic

 

[KatieB]

Firstly, don't let them convince you to top up with formula. My DS had jaundice, he was born with a tongue tie which was quite severe and latching on was impossible. They did nothing to remedy this until 2.5 weeks later and he then latched on a dream. I was told to top up with formula which I did as I was scared what with the tongue tie and now I combine feed but if you're not careful it will affect your milk supply if you "top up". He had heel prick tests done by community midwife for his bilirubin levels and he was borderline so had to have one session of phototherapy at the paediatric unit. If your baby is this young, the midwifes should be coming out every day/couple of days anyway (especially if he has jaundice) until you're discharged to health visitor. He sounds to me like he's doing great but I would wake him more frequently for feeds to flush out the jaundice from his system. Hope all goes well x

 

[lozzy21]

If LO is feeding well and isent sleeping then usualy levels arnt high enough to need treatment. Lots of feeds and lots of sunlight, Put lo infront of a sunny window but not direct light and that should help.

 

[capricorn1]

I'd third putting LO near window to get some sunlight, this really helped with my LO. Hope it clears up quickly, but as the others have said if in doubt bypass the midwives.
xxx

 

[emiliasmummy]

hey my little lo had jaundice til she was 16days old but we had mw out everyday checking on it ..... we popped in her moses basket near window and sat in sunlighht for feeds ,she had it real bad u can see it in my picture of her she was 9days there but it cleared real quick when it did ,i would defo voice concerns to mw or pop to doctors just for some advise and reasurance xxx

 

[furr76]

When our baby was a couple of days old he went quite a cool shade of orange! Hence his nickname of Oompa Loompa which has stuck even now lol!! Don't know if you can tell from his photo. The second one was about 2 weeks later.

But the midwives told us over and over that he was perfectly okay and the only time to worry would be if he seemed floppy or unwell with it. They recommended to put him in the sunlight a bit although this was quite tricky as he was born on Christmas Eve, not a lot of sunshine haha xx

 

[soootired]

thanks all. little one is fine now (just a paranoid mummy who must ban google use lol)

 

[summer rain]

Good to know LO is fine now. Prolonged jaundice is very common; particularly in bf babies but also in a small percentage of FF babies, but it can rarely be a sign of liver problems. So if baby is significantly jaundiced for more than 14 days urine and blood tests should be pursued. In the vast majority of cases though jaundice is not harmful xx