Emilyn had her first beach trip and wore sunglasses for the first time...
We brought Emi up to the mountain for the first time...
She also started discovering toys for the first time...
The final, and slightly scary, thing that happened is we found out more about Emilyn's Urinary Tract Infections...which were actually kidney infections. After having two UTI's in her short little life, Emilyn had to have a VCUG test (have no idea what that stands for...) to determine if she has Kidney Reflux. (The generic term for what the real name is)
Here is how I understand and explain Kidney Reflux in my simple terms: Basically our bodies have tubes that go from the kidneys to the bladder. There is supposed to be a one-way door on these tubes to allow the urine into the bladder, which then gets peed out. With Kidney Reflux, these tubes have a two-way, swinging door which allows urine to go back up into the kidneys. There are 5 grades of this problem, with 5 being the worst possible reflux. This problem can cause continual infections and permanent kidney damage...or failure. ...Now back to Emi.
Last Thursday Emilyn had her test, and her results came back as grade 3 and 4. Because they were such high grades, we had to see a urologist which we did today. Dr. Lashley is supposed to be one of the best in the Northwest from my understanding, and we feel very lucky that we are able to have him work with us. After our appointment today, Emilyn is on a permanent, low-dose, antibiotic to prevent infections from happening. She will have another ultra-sound in May (the first one was in the hospital over Christmas) to determine how her kidneys are growing and what, if any, damage has already been done. If there is too much damage (not too likely) Emilyn will need surgery soon. Otherwise we wait to see if the antibiotics and her growing a bit will make this problem go away. Dr. Lashley told us that she has an 80% chance of needing surgery at some point between the ages of one and four because her reflux is such a high grade. However, things could be worse, and she could definitely need surgery now. Thankfully that is not the case.
Emi is mommy and daddy's little trooper. Regardless of her medicine and the testing, she is happy as ever! During the VCUG test she laid there smiling at the doctors and nurses...even after they inserted her catheter. Not one tear. She also continues to sleep 8 to 10 hours every night, without even crying when she wakes up. I go to get her when my alarm goes off at 7am and she is usually wide awake and smiling. We feel so lucky to have such a little angel, and I can't imagine my life without her. She is growing fast and I had to pack up some of her newborn clothes this month...even though her newborn pants still fit her little chicken legs. (She seriously has one and a half tiny rolls on her legs and about three under her chin! I love her chubby little cheeks, and finally understand why people used to always say that about me!) Here's one more pic to make you chuckle. Emilyn in her swimsuit for this coming summer! I can't wait to go swimming with her. She LOVES her baths...and I think she might just be a water baby.
