Billy Rubin

Today we had a 2 day old kiddo come into the hospital because of increased bilirubin levels or a fancy medical term that I've been known to use---hyperbilirubinemia. The treatment for increased bili is to expose the kiddo to UV lights. It binds up the free bilirubin and takes care of the job.

The two other med students and I, plus a resident, and a nurse went in to meet the happy couple and the brand new baked-duck-to-be. One of the main reasons why this disease occurs is because of dehydration. Mom and dad were pretty freaked out, but were eager to learn how to breast feed their kiddo better. The resident had mom de-gown and show her what she's been doing during feeds. The resident was explaining how to engage the entire breast to help the kiddo out, while we stood behind her trying to get a peek of what was going on. Dad just kept shouting "Stick the whole thing in her mouth!" "Stick it in her mouth!" "Just stick it in!" I would have loved to be a patient on the other side of the curtain.