Slow Love 3-Chaos and Disorder

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I find myself trying to deal with my husband weirding out on me and holding a sick baby, Nanny is reassuring both of us as best she can Adeline will be alright. I am pacing the floor hoping the doctor arrives soon because I am gonna kill my husband if he doesn't shut up and stop lamenting something bad is going to happen to her or we are going to lose her. Bless his heart, I know he's scared, trying to cope with our baby being sick, but Daaaammm! If this is how he reacts to this first case of jaundice, how's he gonna react if another one has it or if one falls down and needs stitches? Or one has a schoolyard accident while playing games? We can't exactly wrap them up in bubble wrap and send them off to school.

Finally, I sit down, unable to keep it together any longer, I fall completely apart crying uncontrollably while rocking Adeline forward and back. I cannot stop sobbing the ugly cry where my breath is hitched and I am sniveling between. My husband kneels down at my feet looking up at me now trying to console me. "Mama, the doctor will be here soon. They texted his ETA and he will be here in about 2 minutes." 

He stands and leans over to wrap his strong arms around me to console me. Feeling him and our connection calms me just enough as the doctor comes in. "Mr. and Mrs. Nelson, I am Dr. Jacobi. I understand one of your twins is jaundice. Is it the one you are holding?" I nod as he motions for me to bring her over to the bassinet so he can examine her. My husband helps me up and over to place her in the bassinet. We take her out of her blanket and sleep gown. Nanny is looking after Adele while we observe him checking Adeline. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Nelson, Physiologic jaundice is due to an underdeveloped liver. This is the most common type of jaundice, affecting 50 percent of all newborns. You may question as to why so common? A newborn's liver needs a little extra time to mature and get rid of the bilirubin in her body. Some experts call this type of jaundice a "normal" response in the first few days of life; it usually disappears within a week or two. More importantly, this type of jaundice is very common in preemies, as their livers may not be fully developed. Let's examine the other twin and see if she is showing any symptoms of jaundice." 

Nanny strips her down to her diaper and brings Adele over next to Adeline. Oh my gosh, you can clearly see the difference in their skin color. I am shaking and trembling trying to hold back the onslaught of tears so I can listen carefully to the Dr. I know sometimes when he's upset he doesn't hear everything that is said so I have to take it all in concisely. All the commotion brought Chari and Benny over to see what's happening. My crying permeated the suite so they came out of concern, I'm sure. 

The Dr loops his stethoscope around his neck. "Mr. and Mrs. Nelson, I think Baby B needs to go to the NICU for bloodwork and light therapy to bring her bilirubin levels down. If her blood test shows only a mild amount, she can return back here after 6 hours of light therapy. Mom and Dad, your baby girl will be alright. Jaundice in newborns is not unusual. She will need to be breastfed every 2 hours to expedite releasing her spent blood cells from her body. That will lower her bilirubin levels." 

I am shaking my head, trying to hold back the tears, this cannot be happening. Our baby can't go to the NICU, she's not that sick. My husband tilts his eyes upward and is thinking, "Doc, can we do the light therapy here, in our room? I don't understand why she needs to be in the NICU when we can do the same thing here. That way we won't be separated and can be close to both babies. My wife and I prefer to not spend time in the NICU if we can avoid it." 

The Dr nods, "Yes, enlight of the fact you have a private duty nurse, we can keep her here with the same result. I will order the bloodwork to be drawn, also have the lights delivered and set up. As a precaution since they were born preterm,  both babies should be placed under the lights, it's beneficial to both of them. Tomorrow, put them in natural light by the windows two times for 30 minutes each time. One hour of daylight is equal to 6 hours of light. The lights are portable and can be set up anywhere. I know you are deeply worried and concerned about your baby. All new parents are. Rest assured, the girls will be alright. This condition should be resolved quickly. Get your babies and cuddle up with them until the lights get here. I will check back in tomorrow morning to see how they are doing."