Yes, this is Megan's favorite soda. Unfortunately, it was also partly Asher's skin color, which meant his bilirubin had gotten too high and he was jaundiced. Bilirun is a natural substance in our blood stream that is a by-product of the breakdown of red blood cells. Our body is constantly breaking red blood cells down, and usually the liver does a good job of clearing the blood stream of excess bilirubin. Newborns, on the other hand, can sometimes not clear the bilirubin fast enough, and it becomes deposited in fat cells and the skin (and gives the skin its orange color). This isn't too big of an issue, but excessively high levels of bilirubin have been linked to a few development issues, so doctors normally require some treatment if it gets too high. Photo-therapy, using a blue light that breaks down the deposited bilirubin, is the quickest way to remedy the situation. The picture above is Asher hanging out in his bilirubin bed, which fit comfortably in grampa's bassinet. Any time he was not feeding, he was required to be in his bed. This was a little rough for everyone, as his two favorite things, being swaddled and being held, were not possible. He ended up spending about 48 hours in the bed by the time his bilirubin levels had come down enough. He also had to go through a few heel pricks to check the bilirubin levels in his blood, so overall everyone was happy when it was over. It's been a full day since the treatment ended, and he has blissfully been hanging out in our arms ever since. Here's a couple more pictures of him in the bed:
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