Our first trip to A&E...

and not for Oz - Toby. You may have noticed from the pictures that he looks a bit like a WAG - fake bake tan I mean....he's had jaundice since we got discharged from hospital. And it hasn't been getting any better.

Today the midwife came - to discharge him - but when she saw his yellow tinge, asked us to take him to Casualty to get a blood test to rule out any liver problem or secondary infection. So off we went in the cold - I drove (yes I know I'm not supposed to but there was no other way) while Mum came over to look after Oscar.

It was awful. Just being back in the hospital I left so jubilantly 2 weeks ago. We were sent through to the children's A&E and seen very quickly. They took his temp and resps, felt his tummy and we noticed that he had an infected big toe - looks like a little green spot under his toenail and the toe itself was red - but poking it didn't seem to bother him! I hadn't noticed it before as he's rarely naked for long enough....that wasn't causing the jaundice obviously but I'm glad we noticed it when we did.

Then came the blood test. I was expecting a heel prick again. But no. They put a big fat needle canula in the back of his hand...and then squeezed and squeezed his whole arm trying to pump blood out - enough for 2 little vials - a definite armful. Toby screamed in my arms - bright red and fighting - when he was screaming the bloodflow was slow, so I kept trying to shush him and rock him and breastfeed him. I was in tears too - it was awful. I may be over-reacting but I hated every second.

Then the long wait for the results. Fuck all to do in casualty so my mind was going insane with ideas - they'll admit him....his liver isn't functioning....he'll end up in SCBU....all the things I was scared of before the birth came back. They'd strapped his little arm up just like Oscar's was in SCBU - to keep the canula drip thing in in case they needed to medicate him or anything.

After nearly 2 hours they came back - all clear. It's breastmilk jaundice - 5-10% of jaundiced babies who are breastfed get it - no idea why - it's just the breastmilk doesn't flush the excess bilirubin out of their bloodstream. They keep an eye on it but it's actually normal and will eventually fade in about 10 weeks. So I've got an appointment for baby clinic in a few weeks...antibiotics for his poorly toe....and we were out.

I know this is the first of many trips to casualty with 2 boisterous boys....I know friends who know all their local A&E staff by name as they return again and again with football injuries...boys falling out of trees....you name it.

I also feel for my Mum more than ever - I was seriously ill when I was 7 and she's always told me it was torture to watch them put drips in my rubbish veins - they always burst - they once took 12 goes to get one in - and Mum said if they could have put needles in her, she'd rather they had. And that's exactly how I felt today.

Ah the joys of motherhood.....we're all home and fine now......but I don't want to repeat that in a hurry....wonder if I can wrap them both in bubble wrap for the rest of their lives - like in that antihystamine ad.......lol....