The Call

Last night at around 6 p.m. we received a phone call from Dr. Liu with the results of Lizzie's most recent ultrasound of her kidneys. Now first off, this is not a normal thing for us to get called by the doctor this late on a Friday night, so already we are surprised. Then, she proceeds to tell me (Steph) that although the results of the test show that the swelling in her left kidney has not gotten worse, it unexpectedly has not gotten better either. Puzzled by these results Dr. Liu sought the wisdom of a different urologist than the previous time (for the first ultrasound a couple of months ago). This urologist (whose name escapes me) specializes in pediatric urology.

He said that to be sure of what is going on we need to have a test performed on Lizzie using a cathetor. He informed Dr. Liu that it could be that Lizzie's body is doing something, that although not normal, is still fairly common, called reflux. Generally fluid travels from the kidneys, down into the bladder and out the body. It is possible that what is occuring in Lizzie is that the fluid is going from the kidneys, down into the bladder, and back up for round two, and eventually out. The problem this presents is possible infection if not treated with antibiotics.

(Aside: from what we have read online on infant reflux, it is a problem of a valve not working properly, that in time could correct itself, or worse case...surgery can be done to fix the valve...sound familiar?).

Anyhow, the cathetor test needs to be done within the next 6-8 months. Dr. Liu being the great pediatrician she is knew that Lizzie will need to go in for a cathetor procedure soon for her heart (we had informed her of that at the previous appointment), so she called up Dr. Shaughnessy to see when we had the procedure scheduled. However, as we posted earlier this month, we haven't had to schedule one yet since Lizzie is doing so well.

Between the two of them they decided that in January when we see Dr. Shaugnessy next we will schedule the cathetor procedure with the cathetor test scheduled directly before it so as to limit the times that Lizzie will be put under, and given antiobotics for heart (since everytime she has a procedure or surgery done she has to have medicine to prevent any infection from moving into her heart, it is standard for all heart patients).

All that to say yet another test on the way, and confirmation that the cathetor procedure is fast approaching. We will let you know more as it comes.

(Also, sorry this is so long winded. Now you know why Allen usually is the one to post on these things.)

The Sub-Sub Club

November appt update

11/3/05 - 24.75 inches long, 12lbs 11 oz.

Elizabeth had another echocardiogram today. She made them earn their money. Even with a little sedative in her, she still squirmed just about the whole time. That's an hour and a half ladies and gents. We have one strong girl.

As for the results of the echocardiogram, things have leveled off since last time. If anything, her velocity levels in her arteries have lessened a bit, but that is probably because they were able to get more accurate readings since she was a little calmer today than last time (what's that tell you about last time?).

(Sidebar: her blood velocity in meters per second measures the amount of blockage, higher the velocity, the more blockage. Imagine your arteries are like PVC pipe. If you put putty around the inside of the tube, there is less space in the pipe itself, so liquid goes thru it faster.)

So, the implications of the results: we wait.

Seriously, that's it. Last time the cardiologist said that if the blockage continued increasing like it was, then Elizabeth would need to have another catheter procedure done before the end of the year. Since our next echocardiogram appointment isn't until early January, me thinks a before-the-end-of-the-year procedure isn't going to happen. :-). Doc still thinks that a catheter procedure will need to be done (no time frame given). With another catheter procedure comes the chance that a small leak discovered in the tricuspid valve could be made a little bigger. That chance and the state of the pulmonary artery blockage equates to a "good possibility" that she will need to have another surgery prior to age 5.

But for now, Elizabeth is stable, growing well and teething. So for now and for her first Christmas, she is a normal baby. Praise be to God for He has given us a good gift in Elizabeth.

Halloween continues

Happy Halloween

We've got rollover

And I'm not talking about cell phones or your 401k.

Yesterday, about 5pm, our little Elizabeth got all growed up and rolled over! She almost did it going from her back to her front, but a silly elbow kept getting in the way. Steph picked her up and put Lizzie on her tummy. With a quick flick of her stomach muscles and there you have it, Lizzie's first roll over. Steph and I shouted, hooted and hollered in excitement, proceeding to scare the living daylights out of our daughter. Munchkin quickly recovered however and simply looked at us with a face that said "What? What's the big deal? You people are weird."

We'll try to capture it on some digital film next time... :-)

Catching everybody up

Alrighty, didn't win the Cutest Baby Contest. Whatta ya gonna do? I guess the winner was cute. :-)

The "winner"

Moving on, Elizabeth had her four month check up today with her regular pediatrician, Dr. Liu. Munchkin is in the 25th percentile on her weight and height, which is fantastic. Dr Liu is very pleased. And apparently Elizabeth has a small head and that's all there is to it. Elizabeth's noggin is in the 5th percentile.

For those keeping score:

10/24/05 - 12 lbs. 9 oz. 23.75 inches long.

Oh! And perhaps the biggest news of this post, Elizabeth is teething! Yes, you read right folks. Our cute little four month old is working on her first official tooth. Down on the bottom gum, smack dab in the middle, there is a tiny pink outline of a tooth wanting to push thru. Right now it's at the point where the pressure it is putting on the gum makes the top of her gum turn the slightest bit white. I would post a picture of it, but you try getting a four month old who is drooling-like-a-fountain, finger-grabbing, and sucking-and-chewing-on-anything-you-put-remotely-close-to-her-face, to keep her mouth open, with tongue in mouth, long enough to snap a picture.

Back to our regularly scheduled program

We Need Your Vote!

We are going to submit a picture of Elizabeth for a local radio station's "Cutest Baby Contest," but we can't come to an agreement on which to submit! We won't say who likes which one, but it's down to these two pictures, each of us having our own preference. Let us know in the comments which one you would send in. We need your vote by tomorrow (Friday, 10/21) by 5:00pm. The contest deadline is 7:00pm, but we want to have a little time to submit it.

So which is it, left or right?

Sweet, sweet slumber

So, we got On Becoming Babywise from the library this week. A gal from church highly recommended it. After one full day of it, we're fans too. Why?

Elizabeth got 8 hours of sleep last night. That's right folks, 8 hours. From 9:30pm to 5:30 am. That is a thing of beauty right there.