Today, baby looked slightly yellow to my inexperienced eye. Various visitors, depending on whether they were trying to reassure me or talk straight disagreed or agreed, but the bottom line was that the guy looked rather yellow.
The nurses assured me that mild jaundice was normal and not an issue. The pediatrician agreed with that statement, and was fine with us taking the baby in its yellow colour home on the next day.
Needless to say, I hunted on the net, and this is what I discovered.
- Jaundice is common in newborn infants and resolves in a week to ten days
- If it lasts longer, talk with doctor
- Jaundice is more common with breastfed babies
- And for once…. jaundice is less prevalent in newborns of mothers who smoke. Though I guess this is not any benefit considering how easily jaundice can be sorted out and the other messes smoke creates on the health front.
- Exposing baby to mild sunlight will help with jaundice. Precautions for it and stuff is material for another post.