A ray of hope...

As I stood in the bathroom with a giggling toddler aiming the hand-held showerhead at me full blast, the phone rang. Ryan caught it just as our high-risk OB was leaving a message. He reviewed our ultrasound footage again rotating the images and studying it further. The doctor thinks the baby's cysts are communicating which means the kidney is functioning, not perfectly, but functioning. What this means... well, with a multicystic kidney, the cysts usually do NOT communicate. If it is discovered they are communicating, then it is likely obstructive hydronephrosis with caliectasis (or blockage in the kidney). The doctor still wants us to follow up with the same testing after the baby is born, but he thinks the baby will be a candidate for the balloon procedure which will "roto-rooter" the kidney and likely be the end of his kidney troubles.

We are thrilled to share this news with everyone and appreciate the prayers and sweet e-mails we have received. Please continue to pray with us that this issue will resolve before our baby boy arrives.

Update on the baby...

While we are happy to report that Ethan is in great health, we are a little sad to report that baby #2 might have some health issues. Last week, when I went for an ultrasound, it was discovered that the baby had fluid in one of his kidneys. This discovery led to today's appointment with a high-risk OB and another ultrasound. The doctor told us that our unborn child might have a "worthless kidney". He didn't sugarcoat.

Basically, the baby may have a multicystic kidney. He is neither presenting as a "classic" case for blockage in his kidney, nor a "classic" case for the multicystic kidney. All we can be sure of is that he has fluid in his kidney with the fluid pocketing in such a way to give the appearance of cysts (and a slightly enlarged kidney). Nothing can be confirmed until the baby is born and this is not anything that would require an early delivery, thank goodness!

So, it looks like we'll be really busy after the baby is born shuffling him to and from doctor's appointments, some of which will be out of town. On the other hand, we are rejoicing that he is healthy everywhere else! He is currently estimated to be about 5lbs 11oz, which is a good size considering we still have several weeks to go!

Ethan would like to wish his Raddy a very Happy Birthday today! Wish we could be there to celebrate with you!

A Trip To The Zoo and Easter Too!

For Easter, Daddy and Mommy took me to the Atlanta Zoo! I had a great time looking at the elephants, giraffes, and especially the gorillas! All the gorilla mommies just had gorilla babies!

The view wasn't so good all the time because it was crowded, so my Daddy let me sit on his shoulders. Thanks Dad!

Here I am Easter morning studying the thesaurus. I'm always looking for new words to learn.

Easter evening, we went over to our good friend's house to celebrate Easter with other families and friends from church. Ms. Tracey has a great backyard for an Easter egg hunt and the food was yummy. Daddy took advantage of the open space to spin me round and round like an airplane. Mommy about had a cow when she caught Daddy and I doing this...

I think we took one too many spins because I could hardly stand up when the flight was over.

To finish up the evening, Mommy and Daddy had an egg fight... a new tradition introduced to us this year by Ms. Donna's family. Mommy won, but I think Daddy's egg was already cracked anyway from him juggling his egg a few minutes before the fight began.

A quick update on Mommy and the baby...
The baby is due in about 4 weeks, so stay tuned for his announcement on my blog. We will also reveal his name then too!