Good news Tues

We have good news to share on several fronts today!

First of all, we got word this morning that our nephew, Cole Stephen Rader, was born to Marc and Allison! Yay! We are rejoicing at his safe and healthy arrival and can't wait to meet him! We're not sure if we'll ever get to hold him, since he has 3 big sisters (Emma, Lily, and Maggie) who might never let him go:)

Secondly, we had good news at the lengthy Materal Fetal Medicine appointment this morning. They performed another more thorough ultrasound and we were able to see the cause of the hydronephrosis....a "kinked" ureter. Thankfully, they also ruled OUT other things connected to this sort of diagnosis, including a fatal condition. The MFM doctor referred us to a pediatric urologist who we will follow-up with, but did not think that the hydro was bad enough to need any procedures prior to birth. It is likely that our little one will need some sort of procedure or minor surgery after birth however. For now, we are just thankful that he was optimistic and that there doesnt seem to be any other concern. He also said that in most cases, the baby can go to term and can have a normal delivery and hospital stay.

The baby weighed in at 2 lbs 15 ounces and we even saw HAIR! (This will be our first kid with real hair when its born!). They looked closer at the heart and it was amazing to see a 4-chamber view with all the valves working so harmoniously and in perfect rhythm. SO AMAZING! There was some concern about the bladder being so full initially, but thankfully, when the doctor took a second look, our kiddo had peed, which he said was very reassuring. They tried to give us a pretty profile view, but the hands were over the face the entire time, so we'll have to wait to see our shy little one's face.

We are thankful for this news, and continuing to pray that the kidney would not enlarge to the point of disease. In some cases, the kidney has to be removed after birth. Our prayers continue to be that it would drain, despite the "kink". After birth, they can fix the kink and we can expect fairly normal kidney health after that.

God is good. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!