No more blue light specials ;)

It appears that the bilirubin sessions may be over for now. Along with the use of the bilirubin light, another way for Jack Henry to rid his body of bilirubin is through his first poohs.

These first BMs are called meconium. You may not want to click the last link unless you care to see a picture of what I'm talking about (and want to never eat a gooey chocolate chip cookie again). Ha!

Thus, no pictures in the post, but more of an update of why you probably won't see anymore images where the blue light makes Jack Henry look like a smurf.

Back on the bilirubin light

So Mr. Jack Henry is a slick little dude.

His bilirubin levels dropped out of the range that required phototherapy for his size. So after a day of being off of the "tanning bed", the blue light came back due to his levels popping back up. While this is normal, it requires Elaine and I to refrain from Kangaroo Care so as to maximize his time under the sun.

Who is Billy Ruben and why do they dislike him so much?

You'd think that hospitals really dislike this guy named Billy Ruben considering their interest in getting rid of him.

Oh, wait ... that's right - it's the old bilirubin.

What? You don't know what this is?

Well, me neither until my son's skin was tinted orange! Yuck!

As noted below, bilirubin is common in all babies, but especially preemies. Yet, the phototherapy sessions can be very effective, even if the elevated bilirubin levels will return after the first round of treatment.

Here's a few pictures of the treatment process:

The first step is a small light focused mainly on his body, but this doesn't catch his extremities. Yet, he does wear a protective eye covering.




The next step is a brighter, more cover all phototherapy session with the stronger blue light.



And after the bigger blue light, the bili-blanket comes into play.