Medical Update on Sweet Pea: Please pray!!

Aug 05, 2011

First, I would like to ask everyone to pray for Melody, Sweet Pea’s birth mother.

She is doing well as far as we know.

I cannot say much but I will say that we were never able to meet Melody due to her circumstances.

This does not change the fact that she is constantly on my mind and will forever hold a very special place in my heart, just like Tracy does.

I am hopeful that one day in the future we will be given the opportunity to meet Melody.

Before heading back to the hospital this morning, I want to give a medical update on Sweet Pea.

Sweet Pea is jaundiced because of the “rH factor”. This is how my mother’s cousin who is a doctor explained it to us:

I presume that Sweet Pea’s blood type is positive and Melody’s was negative. That means that Melody’s blood carries antibodies to + blood types and would reject and transfusions with any positive blood types. She would make antibodies against them.

Likewise she would make antibodies against any fetus that was rH + She should have been given rhogam which is a shot to block her from making antibodies. At birth, some of those antibodies could cross to the baby and begin to attack the baby's red blood cells causing them to breakdown. The baby can get anemic. The breakdown of red blood cells leads to increase bilirubin and jaundice.

One form of bilirubin is toxic to the brain. The bili lights convert the bad bilirubin to a non harmful kind.

Sweet Pea’s bilirubin levels were at 17 (before we met her) and yesterday they were at 14.6.

Sweet Pea must be on the (triple) phototherapy lights 24/7 for the next few days.

The nurses told me she sometimes likes to have her feet held like I am holding them in the picture above. Since she cannot be swaddled under the lights, holding her feet brings her some security.

She cannot even be held to be fed. When we arrived at the hospital yesterday the doctor’s and nurses were SO gracious to us and SO supportive of adoption. One doctor even had tears in her eyes as we shared our story. Since Sweet Pea had been on the lights constantly since arriving at the hospital, they let her get off long enough for us to hold her and for me to do her 5pm feeding. I hate that we cannot hold her! However, I will do what is best for my baby and being on those lights is what her little body needs! We sit right by her bedside shushing her, touching her and talking to her. Although, yesterday I kept touching her and caressing her little back but I quickly noticed the stimulation was not what she needed at the time. So I let her be and she slept very peacefully for almost 2 hours until it was time for another feeding. Please pray Sweet Pea’s bilirubin levels decrease drastically over the next few days. There is a possibility that Sweet Pea may require a blood transfusion in the near future because of this rH factor. I have O- blood (universal donor) and I would love nothing more than to donate blood to my daughter should this procedure be necessary. We will be speaking to the doctor about this this morning. Please pray that Sweet Pea won’t require a blood transfusion, but that if she does, that I would be able to be her blood donator. Another medical concern is the methadone withdrawals. Withdrawals usually start making an appearance around day 3. Today is day 3. I noticed some tremors yesterday. Her little limbs just flail about. The nurse told me some of the flailing about is simply because she is an unswaddled newborn baby that is used to being held tight in the womb and now, suddenly, she is out in the open. The nurse did say that some of the tremors are likely from methadone withdrawals because a baby who had no methadone exposure would not tremor as much as she is. Only time will tell how severe Sweet Pea’s withdrawals will be or won’t be. Please pray for Sweet Pea’s little body as it processes the methadone and goes through withdrawals. The prognosis for Sweet Pea concerning both of these issues is excellent. Thank you for praying for our tiny BIG miracle!!

- Elaine