Today the baby went to UMass for the tests to see if he has reflux of the bladder. He woke up in such a good mood. I felt so bad because I knew what was coming and that the tests were not going to make him happy but the poor little guy had no idea (even though I talked to him about it!). First he had an ultrasound of his bladder and kidneys. He did so well! He didn't fuss at all. He just laid there and let the woman do her thing.
After that was the big test. He had to have a catheter put in and a dye was injected into his bladder. Then they took X-Rays of his bladder as he was peeing to see if the urine was going into his bladder. After that test was done the doctor was able to show us right on the screen that he does in fact have reflux of the bladder. They grade it on a scale of 1 through 5, 5 being the worst. He is at a three. He has it in both kidneys and his right side is worse than his left.
Eric was very positive about the whole thing because we were already told ahead of time that unless he was a 4 or a 5 he would most likely not need surgery. It took me a little bit of time to see the bright side of all of this. Everyone keeps telling us that this is common as well as him having an extra thumb. However, I have come across a lot of kids in my day and have not heard or seen either. My mom did inform me that someone I know had the reflux of the bladder as well so at least that made me feel a little better. I just hate putting the baby through all of these tests. It breaks my heart. I'm so thankful that we caught all of this when we did though. Now we can just focus on his recovery.
So, from this point on he has to be on an antibiotic for at least a year. After we were done with our appointment they sent the results to the pediatrician's office and within hours Dr. Evans gave me a call to give me more information and answer any questions that I had. Dr. Evans has been so great to us through this whole process. She has stayed on the phone with me for 15 minutes at a time going over things and answering my questions. She is very thorough. Although I like the nurse practitioner at that office, I think from now on I am going to make his appointments with Dr. Evans because she knows everything that has gone on with him lately. She also was the doctor who saw him when he was first born.
A year from now we will have to take him to Children's hospital to re-do all of the tests he had today. Dr. Evans said that she normally sends patients to UMass for the intial tests because they are very thorough but after that she sends kids to Children's Hospital because they use less radiation in their tests.
Eventually the reflux should clear up on it's on as he grows. According to Dr. Evans, 90% of patients won't need surgery. There's not a lot to do about it. The antibiotic really is just given to keep him from having any more UTIs while the problem fixes itself.
On another note two new relatives have joined the family. My gramma now has two more great grandchildren. My cousin Jane did not know what she was having. We were all hoping she would have the first girl but surprise surprise, she had a boy named Ian Benjamin. She was two and a half weeks late. She chose not to be induced. She's a brave one. My cousin Andrew's wife had the first baby girl, Avery, this morning. His wife went through a horrible labor and ended up having a c-section.
All of this makes me feel very thankful and blessed that I delivered 2 weeks early and had the easiest delivery ever. I'm sure if I didn't I would be sold on not having any more children. I'm still not sold on having another child down the road. It's been a tough almost 4 months with Eric and I don't know if I'm up to the possibilities of going through this with another child. Daddy Eric is definitely sold on one more baby (not anytime in the near future!). He is set that we will have a girl next. We'll see how the future plays out. If we do have another child I hope that baby naps during the day unlike baby Eric!
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