Bili-What?

Bilirubin. Have you heard of it and did you know you have it? It's not the fact that you have it that's the problem. It's the fact that you should not have too much of it. Too much of anything is not usually a good thing. And that is true of Bilirubin. Too much of it causes jaundice, not uncommon for newborns. In addition to a yellowing of the skin, biliruben causes a lack of appetite and increased lethargy (sleepiness). Thus, Carsten has not been feeding consistently well and he sleeps more than what would be expected to be normal (to include feeding time). To make things more complicated, breast milk from the mother actually increases bilirubin.
So we feel like we are in a never ending cycle where he is always sleeping and not feeding well because of his high bilirubin. And yet it may be mama's milk that adds to that increased level. But the hospital favors breast milk over formula. Hmm. We feel particularly pressured (from within ourselves) here at the hospital to ensure that he is feeding appropriately. If his feeding doesn't improve, we can expect him to receive a G tube to feed him intravenously. This situation is something that could prolong his stay here and ours.
We are discouraged and frustrated right now. His level was high upon admittance at ACH. Last Saturday, they put him "under the lights" for two days to reduce it. Two days later it did decrease and so they took him off the lights yesterday. We were thrilled. He hated the light and we did also. However, last night his level of bilirubin increased. He was more lethargic and it became more difficult to feed him. So maybe the light wasn't that bad. He did eat better when he was under the light.
It seems to us that this is the most pressing issue right now for him and we long for a targeted plan of action.