2 Day old Pediatrician Check-up

Today, baby Kara was due for her 2-day old pediatrician check-up with Dr. Mike at Valencia Pediatrics. Papa and Mama Wong woke up at around 8am, and started to get baby Kara and themselves ready for the appointment. They arrived at Valencia Pediatrics shortly before 10:30am. After a short wait, the nurse came out to get baby Kara to go to the examination room.

They first put baby Kara on the scale, and found her to be down to 6 pounds exactly. She had lost 8 ounces from her birth weight. The nurse then proceeded to test baby Kara's bilirubin level, and found that to be a 17, which is considered to be high risk for jaundice.

While we were waiting for Dr. Mike to come into the examination room, we heard a knock on the door. We were pleasantly surprised to see Dr. Mary Ellen McCormick. Apparently, Dr. Mike's schedule was very busy, and had asked Dr. McCormick to fill in on this checkup. Papa and Mama Wong have met Dr. McCormick before baby Kara was even born. They have determined that Dr. McCormick would be baby Kara's pediatrician. However, sometimes due to schedule conflicts, we may have to see other doctors in the practicel, especially during the first 2 weeks of newborn's doctor visits.

Dr. McCormick visited with papa and mama Wong for a good half hour, and discussed the treatment options for jaundice. Dr. McCormick wanted to treat the jaundice aggressively. First, she wanted to draw blood for a blood test, to confirm the test results. The blood would be sent to Henry Mayo hospital, and the results would come back in the afternoon. In the meantime, Dr. McCormick started paperwork to have a bili-blanket sent to the house, in an event that we need to start home treatment on baby Kara.

At around 3pm, Dr. McCormick called the house and spoke to mama Lyanne. Dr. McCormick said that the jaundice level was not dangerous, but wanted to be aggressive and bring that level down.

The bili-blanket arrived at around 8:45pm, and baby Kara was put under the blanket. Papa and mama Wong were hopeful that the blanket treatment would help the test results in the morning, when we have to visit the doctor again.