My Baby Girl

So, last Friday at my regular OB/GYN appointment, my doctor told me she would like me to get another ultrasound.  Now, if you've ever been pregnant, when you hear your doctor say those words, panic usually takes over...and for me, it did.  She then said she was reviewing my files before she came in and noticed at my 20 week ultrasound that the tech mentioned that my placenta was low-lying.  Since she didn't specifically measure how far away from my cervix the placenta was, my doctor wanted me to get another ultrasound to have them measure exactly how far it was.  Phew...okay, I can handle that news, is what I thought.  Worse case scenario is that I have to have a C-Section, right?  I didn't have one with my son, but that is okay, it is not my ideal situation but I was prepared to handle it. 

Then she said she also wanted them to check my baby's kidneys.  Ugh.  Knife to the heart.  What?  Why?  Nobody had mentioned anything to me before about her kidneys.  I had been there MANY times since my December ultrasound and seen all three doctors in the practice...none of them had mentioned anything about my daughter's kidneys!  She said that at my 20 week ultrasound the tech also documented that there was a bit of fluid in the kidneys and my doctor said it usually goes away and is nothing to worry about, but that she wanted to have an ultrasound to re-check them.  Okay, I worried about it for a while but when you have a 2 year old wanting your attention, you kind of put it to the back of your mind.  I prayed every night that everything would be okay with my baby and that if anything had to be wrong, please let it be with me, not her.

We had our ultrasound yesterday and my placenta is fine, but her left kidney has fluid in it.  Ugh, I lost it.  My husband was there with me and luckily the tech left for a minute and I just started crying.  I know, I'm pregnant and the hormones are crazy-out-of-control but I was so upset.  I feel like it is something I did, even though I know that is ridiculous to think.  We met with a doctor afterward who assured us that her other kidney was functioning at 100% and she was urinating fine, etc. so there was enough amniotic fluid around her and she was fine.  The doctor said that it was likely one of two things...either a kink in the vessel that takes urine to the bladder, thus causing a backup of liquid in her kidney or there was a faulty valve between her bladder and her left kidney.  She said that after she is born, my doctor will refer us to a specialist and they will determine whether/when surgery is necessary.  I am just picturing my little baby girl having to undergo surgery and it is an awful feeling.  BUT, the doctor said that she is fine.

Thank GOODNESS my doctor caught this, is all I can think!  I am glad I know this information now instead of when my daugher is having a urinary tract infection, which is what can happen if this goes un-checked, and she could possibly have lost the kidney if she kept having infections and we didn't catch them, etc.  So, I am glad to be informed, just feel awful for my little girl. 

I just needed to get this out because I'm just a wreck about it inside.  I'm a natural-born-worrier so it doesn't surprise me that I'm so emotional about this and my husband is feeling much better after meeting with the doctor yesterday.  I'm feeling better about it too, just having trouble knowing our baby may have to have surgery while she is so tiny. 

One good thing came yesterday though...when the tech was doing the ultrasound, she was showing us our baby's head and she was head down, which is good at 33+ weeks and she was looking sideways kind of...so we could see her face on the monitor!  It seriously took my breath away!  I didn't have an ultrasound this late in my son's pregnancy, so it was just amazing to see her little face there looking at us.  She was blinking and moving her lips and nose.  I teared up and was just so happy to see her.  She has chubby cheeks already!  It is just so hard to picture a full-grown baby inside of me, even this being my second pregnancy and to see her face filled me with so much love.  Maybe that is why I'm so emotional about her kidney...I know picture her face when I think of her...not just a little bean.

Please keep us in your prayers!