On her kidney situation:
I know a lot of you have been asking about Caroline, and her kidney/s. On day 3 of her life we took her for an ultrasound at our local hospital. We were there for 1.5 hours. The tech was very nice and friendly and treated us very nicely. On Caroline's left kidney there are atleast 4 cysts on the upper portion of her kidney. And, on her right kidney - no cysts. But, her kidney appears to be enlarged and maybe the ureter too. My Doctor feels that the results of the ultrasound are good! Her kidneys are FUNCTIONING!! So, next we wait for the films to be forwarded to the specialist at the Children's Hospital. He will fill us in on what is next. It looks like Caroline has MCDK or Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney. In easy to understand terms: Caroline has multiple cysts on her kidney. This in NON life threating. She is pooping and peeing and eating like a healthy baby girl.
As for Caroline right now, yesterday our 5th baby was 2 weeks old already. She is changing and growing. She is opening up her eyes more often, when she is hungry she wakes up immediately and cries out for food. She doesn't like being in a dirty diaper so we change her quickly and I feed her quickly! Then she is a happy girl who loves to be held and loved.
Her face and body are filling out quickly and she looks less like a "newborn" and more like a baby. Her legs remind me of Cameron as a baby. When I look at her I see a bit of Cameron, a lot of Claire and Catie. Not Carly at all yet.
She is eating every 2-3 hours, and the breastfeeding is going amazing. Last night she slept in her crib for a few hours by herself, otherwise she is in the bed between Cliff and I. Last night Cliff and I went to bed at 1:30 am. And Caroline awoke at about 3:15 a.m. for a feed, and again at about 6 ish. I am feeding on demand.
It is so nice to have her in our family! She was meant to be here with us, and so many people say that she already looks like us! She sure does belong with us! She makes my heart sing.
How her siblings are reacting to Caroline:
Cameron misses her during the day when he is at school. He loves to touch her, and love her. He hugs her gently at night and kisses her before bed. He is so loving and caring towards her. He loves to look at her, and he puts his protective hand at her head when the others get too close to her. He is going to be a good husband one day!!
Claire is like a little Mommy. She loves to help get her diaper, change mat, and cloth ready. She also likes to pick out outfits for her. She has grown up so much since Caroline has been born. We notice how big she is! Especially her hands compared to Caroline's. She is the BIG Sis of all her little Sisters. She loves to help me and help Caroline. So sweet.
Carly loves to kiss Caroline on the head, and wants to carry her around already. In fact, I went to the washroom yesterday, and I come back to the living room and she we holding Caroline! YIKES. Thankfully she was holding her very carefully! She went to a time out, and she apologized to Caroline.
Catie has had the hardest adjustment to becoming a "BIG SISTER" In the first day that Caroline was home, Catie was on the bed too where I was changing Caroline and she stomped down on her face...and she has swatted at her face and scratched her poor little wee head. That was the first few days. And now, she says baby, and kisses her head and places her hands gently on her sister. She is teething and working her way into the 2's. Uhgggh. The Terrible Two's! She is feeling out her ways. She is crying more, and acts like Caroline. All in All, she is doing very well for such a huge adjustment in her short 20 months of life. I am very proud of how she is doing. She is a great big sister so far.
