Mr. Billi

After little Gabsters was born we were anxiously awaiting the day we could leave the hospital. The day before we were scheduled to go home tests came back that showed her billirubin was a little high at 12.2. The doctors said that if her levels had come down after being on the bed the whole day we could take her home that night. After lots of time under the billi lights, her levels went up to 14.4. I was so sad :-( So daddy and I were then released from the hospital but were boarding in our room as if it was a Motel 8. The next day her levels came down to 12.2 so we were able to take her home but she would need to stay under the lights at home. Poor little Baby G had to be in the Billi Bed instead of snuggling in our arms a little longer. We absolutely HATED this thing for several reasons...

Reason 1:
Baby G is a wild little sleeper who used to enjoy being swaddled before she met Mr Billi Bed, but since she had to lay in the bed in nothing but a diaper all the day long, she discovered her new world of wide open spaces and her frantic wild movements of flailing arms and legs would constantly wake herself up....who could blame her after she checked out of her tight stay in the mini bed & breakfast she was rooming in for the past 9 months. She would also kick her blankets right off of her which would make her cold and unhappy. In fact, in order to get any shut eye at night we ended up loosely pining her blanket to the top of the bed so she could kick freely but still be warm. Now, let me clarify, I TOTALLY knew that having a newborn would result in a lot of sleepless nights but I was literally awake ALL night. The WHOLE night!!! I knew that if I could just swaddle her or dress her in something warmer than a birthday suit + diaper, she would sleep a little more than well, anything more than what she was sleeping. Let's just say that since that bed is now gone and I can dress her up in PJ's and wrap her up in warm blankets, she wakes up only once at night making me one happy mama.

Reason 2:
Baby G has an adorable wardrobe that was awaiting her. Since she has to be stripped down to nothing but a diaper, that fancy wardrobe had to wait until we could say buh bye to the blasted Billi Bed.

Reason 3:
Poor little babe was suppose to put her arms through these fancy sleeves...

and be constricted in a straight jacket at all times , it prevented her from sleeping like she has since exiting the womb....


So we resorted to leaving her little dainty arms out and covering her with just a blanket.

Reason 4:
Along with the Billi Bed comes the daily trips to the hospital for heel pricks and blood work. It's so sad when you walk in the the receptionists and nurse know you on a first name basis and say "Your back again??" They were always really sweet and I know they meant well because they would then always tell me "We love to see you, but we hope we don't have to see you again"

Reason 5:
Since we have to go to the hospital lab daily we also get daily calls from the doctors office calling to check up on Gabby's status of how many messy/wet diapers and how often she is eating. So while I would love to take a nap because I've been up all night, I spend an hour on the phone waiting to talk to the nurse who called me but I missed it since I was feeding the babe. Then by the time I get off the phone, my lovely little girl is hungry again :-)

Reason 6:
After several days of being on the bed, her levels came down into the 12 range which is actually normal and nothing to really be worried about. But since her mama has a genetic blood disease known as Speherocytosis, the doctors were worried that she might have it as well but it's too soon to tell. So, we needed to keep her on it just to be safe.

I don't want to complain or sound ungrateful for this little bundle of joy by all means. I love my little girl and anything that comes with it......except the blasted Billi bed. We are so glad to have it gone so now we can snuggle her, dress her up, snuggle her some more, and enjoy every little piece of her from head to toe!

See ya later Billi!!! Hopefully we will not have to be reunited in the future.