DAY 4 – 26 October:

Michelle: Today Conor had his first bath. He screamed until he was in the water, and then he just relaxed and seemed to love it. Today was also the day we were going home. I was so excited and happy to be able to leave the hospital with my baby – a new experience for me. When the paediatrician checked him, he noted he was jaundiced and did some blood tests. That also explained why he was pretty sleepy and not feeding as often as he should’ve been. When his blood work came back, the paediatrician decided to discharge us, but put us in touch with a nurse who was to come to our home with a light bed for him to lie on to help reduce his bilirubin levels. I didn’t really mind, we were getting to go home after all.

When we got home, Mike proudly showed him off to our domestic workers, who were excited to meet him. The rest of the afternoon was a bit of a blur as the nurse came and got him all set up on his special light bed. I just wanted to hold him and cuddle him, but he had to be on the bed a lot, and I was really only allowed to hold him for short periods while feeding him. I reassured myself that this was temporary and when he was better I would be able to have all the cuddles I wanted.

Michael: They’re coming home today! Is everything ready? We sure hope so!

Michelle tells me that he is jaundiced, no biggy, a few days in the “tanning salon” and he’ll be good again. Nothing a bit of vitamin D can’t sort out. Looking outside, it is a glorious summers day, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and we are going home! We have a bili-bed dropped off. Rachel cuddles her baby brother, fortunately this moment is caught on camera!