No surgery required!

I know that title probably surprised a few people. Just to summarize his kidney news...

At my 20 week ultrasound the doctor noticed that Luke's kidneys were both swollen. Because of this they wanted me to have ultrasounds every 6 weeks to keep an eye on it. This was a good and bad thing - good because we got to see the him so much! and bad because it was a constant reminder that his kidney was having problems. The right one eventually corrected itself, but the left kidney has been a little stubborn. The ultrasound that I had at 8 months confirmed the fact that his kidney was still swollen and the doctor said that the delivery should go fine and that we would just need to get an ultrasound on Luke after he was born to continue checking on it. The doctors would always explain to us that if it was bad enough, Luke would need surgery to correct the problem (which turns out to be a slightly constricted tube leading from the kidney to the bladder). But the hope was that it would just fix itself over time. Or right away. That would have been nice too. We did the ultrasound when he was 3 weeks old. Can you just see this little guy on that huge bed with the goo on his belly? It was again confirmed that his kidney was still swollen. So our pediatrician (I love her!) ordered a VCUG, a renal scan, and a visit with the urologist at Primary Children's Hospital.

For the VCUG they use a catheter and put a dye into his kidney and watch as the dye moves from his kidney to his bladder. This one was quite an adventure. They called me the day before and explained that they are going to sedate him in order to make things a little more comfortable for him and therefore would need to fast prior to his appointment. For a little guy that eats every 1 1/2 hours, this was a little bit surprising to me. They said nursing was okay until 8 am, and until 10 am he could drink only pedialyte. Well, that meant using a bottle and he did not go for that. He hated it in fact, which means that the last time he at was 7 am and his appointment didn't start until 11:30. I was so worried. Dave gave little Luke a blessing that morning that the Spirit would be with him to comfort him and that all would be well. We have never seen him so calm when he was hungry before. It was amazing in fact. He just sucked on his pacifier, which I don't like to use unless in circumstances like this one, and was just peachy. Well we got there and to make a long story short, they tried 6 times insert an IV for the medication. I hated every second of it. I couldn't hold back the tears. He is just too little for all of this stuff! In the end they decided to just stop trying and just give him a bottle of glucose water. Heavens. He was fine with just that. They inserted the catheter and got the pictures they needed and we were done. I was so excited to get out of there and feed him. Poor little guy.

Next came the Renal scan which we did today. For this they did the same thing - inserted a catheter and an IV. But this IV was used to put radioactive fluid into his bloodstream which would eventually end up in his kidney and his bladders. With this they could check the kidney from both ends, the filling up and the drainage. It took them two tries to get the IV in there and after they put heavy pillows on his legs and arms, we were able to sit there with him for 45 minutes while the fluid was tracked. We could watch as his kidneys filled up and then drained into his bladder. It was pretty cool to see, except that it was completely obvious that his left kidney was not draining like his right one. I thought that surgery was going to be the only option. With that test over we went upstairs to meet with the urologist about the results. He explained to us that the normal drainage time for a kidney is 10 minutes or below. Twenty minutes and above to drain is considered abnormal and requires some help. Luke's right kidney drained in 2 1/2 minutes and his bad one, the left one, drained in 11 minutes. The doctor explained that between 10 and 20 minutes is really the "okay" zone. It doesn't mean that we should worry about it, but it is good to keep an eye on it. He said that surgery is not required and all is well. Oh my goodness. I was so happy. I couldn't keep the smile back. I hated even thinking about his having to have surgery. Anyway, the urologist said that he would like to keep an eye on it and to have an ultrasound done in 6 months. He usually keeps an eye on things until they are potty-trained and then it's just nothing to worry about.

What a day. And to top it off I took the last final of my undergraduate career. I am graduating in April and can't wait. Again, what a day. We are definitely blessed. Heavenly Father is watching over us for sure.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Brienne

More Photos

His little rat tail

His first real bath.

Toes

Time with mommy.

Our cute little bug

We sure love our little guy. My mom was here for the birth, of course, and she stayed for a week and a half. She is my lifesaver. My heart goes out to any woman who has to go through labor and the recovery on their own. I wouldn't say that my experience has been horrible and recovery has been slow, but if not for my mom and Dave I would be curled up in the corner, crying, trying to nurse a baby. They cooked, cleaned, my mom taught me to nurse, held the baby to let me eat and shower and use the bathroom, and helped me recover. I have recovered as much as I have because of them and I am forever grateful for that. I had a couple of days of crying about everything but it was so good for me to release some emotions of what I had been feeling about the huge change that just came into my life and the huge event that I had just experienced. Other than that I think my recover has gone fairly well. Sleep, however, is another story. We discovered the other night that our little Luke loves to be close to us. Go figure. There were a few nights of Luke waking up for me to nurse him and then as soon as I would lay him down after an hour of feeding him, he would wake up 45 minutes later. All night long. That really took a lot out of me. Then the next night Dave thought that maybe we should sleep with him. And that night Luke let me sleep for 2 hours at a time. That is much better. But he is still eating like a little mad man. I call him the hungry hungry hippo because all he does is eat! But I heard that is how it's supposed to be so I can't complain :)

He is most alert in the late morning and has started to look at us longer and will just lay and look around at his surroundings. Dave can't wait until he can run around and play with him. But that won't be for a while. I am trying hard to enjoy every day with him because he won't be under 8 pounds for long. It's pretty scary to have someone be so completely dependent on me for his very life. But it is also very humbling to know that Heavenly Father has put so much trust in me to take care of one of His children. Quite a responsibility but quite an amazing thing at the same time.

He is 18 days old today. He has gained about 1 pound since we left the hospital, bringing him to 7 pounds 11 ounces. He was born at 7 pounds 2 ounces and 19 1/2 inches. He has grown one inch as well. It's good to know that the many hours of nursing is helping him to grow and be healthy. Everyone that takes a look at him says that he looks like Dave and my mom said that "he is all Shumway". But his little toe is a little hunchback looking like mine, so I guess that is what I will claim. He was circumcised a few days ago and I hated it. No nurses or doctors are allowed to touch him ever again. Only his mommy and daddy. During the procedure he was holding my fingers so tight that I just wanted to take him out of there and hold him forever. It's amazing how much love I have for this little guy, but I guess that is how Heavenly Father planned for things to be.

This is pretty much what my life is all about. I am finishing my last class for graduation and I get so much done at 4 in the morning. I am taking the midterm this coming week and have 6 more lessons to do before April 3rd. I can do it. I can. I just have to keep doing it. Dave is doing great. He has continued to help me tons and will take him for a couple of hours in the morning to let me get a little bit more sleep. He is great at burping (for himself as well as patting Luke on the back) and he probably never imagined that he would have to change so many diapers. It's good for him though. He's a great daddy and Luke will love playing sports with him.

I sure love my boys.

Love you all,
Brienne