Week 2 - Follow-up Begins

Today I managed to get out of the house with Leo all by myself! AND, I managed to keep him happy, calm and occupied for the duration of our 5-hour visit to Swedish today. No newborn melt-downs! Yay! True confession...Jay arrived for the second half of the day but still, I got him out of the house and handled the first part of the day at the hospital alone! Woot!

First was a trip to radiology for an ultrasound that the Nephrologist (kidney doctor) wanted as a follow-up to his time in the hospital. And I managed to feed Leo without incident (with my pre-measured bottles specific for each feed - this one with vitamins, that one with meds, a third with extra milk in case he was really hungry - look at me!) in the ultrasound room before dashing across the Swedish campus to the Nephrologist's office to discuss his progress. The ultrasound showed things to be much improved in the kidney arena...the calcification he had on his kidneys while in the hospital was greatly reduced so hopefully that'll continue and be all cleared up in another couple of months when we go back for another ultrasound. She also took some more pee and blood samples (the sound of him crying at the blood draw made me surprisingly emotional...wasn't ready for that) to check for any lingering urinary tract infection, etc. But overall she was very happy so things are going in the right direction there. Sadly we can't come off any of the meds/minerals/vitamins she has him on just yet. But hopefully soon.

After those two appointments we quickly dashed back across the hospital to our Pediatrician's office for our weekly check-in there. And we were a little bummed out when Leo weighed in only 2 ounces heavier than last week's weight. But the doctor explained that his overall weight gain is exactly where she wants it to be - more than one ounce per day since he's been out of the hospital - so that perspective helped. She even said that last week's one pound weight gain is WAY uncommon and therefore not sustainable. Again with the slow and steady!!! I'm reminded of the need for patience yet again. But, as with the kidney doc, the Pediatrician is also very happy with where he's at. Nothing more to do but keep shoveling food into the little guy and go back next week for another weigh-in.

And we have a couple of dinners to look forward to this weekend from wonderful friends and family as well as some superb weather finally headed our way. Safe to say that we are desperate for some sunny Summer-ish weather. Perhaps some grilling and a lovely summer salad are in order.

Hark, I hear the call of the hungry one now.