Personal blog

So Vasilia and I took Thanasi to the hospital today because when we had our appointment with our doctor today, she said he looked jaundiced, and should be checked. We were both a bit freaked out by this, but acted relaxed and tried to be cool about it.

We got the hospital and expected to have to wait a while, but we were ushered into a private room (more of a broom closet) almost immediately. Apparently newborns are given priority in England, which I have to say worked in our favour. We were still in the hospital for a total of 3 hours, but frankly most of my own emergency room trips have been far longer.

So the first thing we had to do is provide a urine sample from Thanasi, which was complicated by the fact that he had just already donated a sample to his diaper. So we sat down and put him over a make-shift potty and started to wait. Unfortunately for me, I had him in my lap, and of course the potty position is not only for peeing. He quite happily pooed all over my leg, but never decided that this was the right time for peeing.

Next, we had to help the doctor collect a blood sample from our son. This was pure torture for both Vasilia and I, because we couldn’t stand seeing our son in pain. Also, I’ve never been pleased by the sight of blood. I tried to be strong for my son’s sake, and I sang a lullabye to try and calm him while the procedure was going on. Vasilia was a superstar though and managed to calm down our now screaming son. Thanasi was obviously in a lot of pain, and was screaming his head off at first pretty much as soon as the doctor started to draw blood from him, but Vasilia got him settled down and quiet pretty quickly.

It was a stressful and tramatic experience for all 3 of us. The only ‘bright side’ was that as soon as the doctor started to draw blood, Thanasi peed (probably because he was afraid) into our make-shift container, which saved us a bunch of time in the hospital.

So after the doctor finished, she took the blood up to have it tested, and we waited to find out the results. We were both pretty nervous, but we tried to relax. Thanasi wanted to be fed, and looked like he had pretty much forgotten the whole incident already, but I think it will be a while for Vasilia and I still.

5 minutes later, the doctor came back and gave us the good news, which is that our son doesn’t have unusual levels of jaundice, and should be fine. We are going to continue to take him outside for some sun, and keep up the regular feedings. The doctor also took a few extra samples of blood, and they will let us know the results of the additional tests in a few days. I hope very much that nothing else is wrong, which I expect, but mostly because I don’t want to have to watch him get any more blood drawn.

So more relaxed, we walked home, with Thanasi completely asleep in my front baby carrier, looking very peaceful. Thanasi was terrific the whole time, and even though he got scared, I really felt proud of him for surviving the incident so well. Once we got settled in, one of the first things Vasilia said was, ‘He’s sleeping with us tonight.’ I didn’t disagree at all.