First Post-Op appointment

Today was Hudson's first post-op ultrasound and appointment. We went to CMC this morning, and had the ultrasound first. He did really well despite taking the "wand" out of the technician's hand a few times. He wanted to play with it. We went down to meet with Dr. Donohoe next. He informed us that the kidney is still really dialated. This has always been the case since he was born with hydronephrosis (enlarged/dialated kidney).

We go back on October 15th to get his stint removed. This will be a much quicker surgery than the previous. They will just stick a camera through the stint, look around, and remove the stint. We then go back a week later for a repeat ultrasound. They want to make sure there's no obstruction due to the fact that his kidney is still really dialated. We pray that when the stint is removed that the reflux will be GONE and there will be no obstruction! Hudson has been on an antibiotic since the day he was born to prevent UTI's due to his urine reflux. The surgery was done, and the bladder, kidney and ureter were reconstructed to help prevent this.

Dr. Donohoe says that eveything looks healthy on the ultrasound, but we won't really know until the stint is removed. After the next ultrasound, they will do another VCUG test. This is not pleasent at all, so I dread it for Hudson.

You guys have been so wonderful about lifting Hudson up in prayer. I ask you again to pray for him. Please pray for his body to continue to heal properly, and for there to be NO obstruction and no refluxing.

Thank you so much for caring for and loving our little guy. It means so much to us as we have your support and prayers.

Here's a picture of him getting his vitals checked today, and waiting in the exam room while watching a DVD.

13 months!

Now that we've already celebrated the first birthday, I guess monthly birthdays are not as exciting. I mean, when exactly do you stop determining your child's age by months? 2 years old? Three? I don't know. It's funny that we count their age by weeks for the first months of life, then switch to months, and now years. I'm not ready to switch to years. He's 13 MONTHS today.

This month was really different due to surgery and recovery. It has brought us even closer as a family and just when I thought it would never be possible for me to love Hudson any more, I think it made me love him more. He was such a good boy through the whole thing. He still has a stint in his bladder which the Doc. said should be pretty uncomfortable, but he does not seem to be bothered by it. It comes out in about another month. He was down and out for about a week, but he bounced back really quickly, and took off running as soon as he could. He's talking ALL THE TIME now. He's such a little boy, and has even lost the baby look. I can't imagine my life before him. What did Dave and I do? He's so observant. It's so cute how he watches Claire and does the things she does. Those two are peas in a pod. They LOVE each other.

I was sad for Hudson to turn 1, but I am really enjoying this age and stage. He's SO much fun and is such a great blessing to our family. It's great to watch him learn new things every day. I know I have said this in the past, but so far this is my favorite age. I'm excited about taking him to the farm and pumpkin patch this year, and can't wait until Christmas!

"Lovely"

Recently I have been awarded this blog award by a fun blog mama! Thanks so much to Mom-A-Logues for choosing me to recieve this "lovely" award.

Rules

1. Post this award on your blog.

2. Thank the blogger who sent it to you.

3. Award other bloggers this Lovely Award.

4. Tell them all you think their blog is Lovely!

SO, here's my list of blogs that I'm awarding...

1. To Infertility And Beyond- Rebekah and I have boys that are weeks apart and she keeps it real on her blog. Check her out!

2. Double The Blessings- Who can resist precious twin boys? I can't. I love Carter and Barrett, and their mama is wonderful too! Check her blog out!

3. My Eleven Reasons- Lots of love here.

4. Rock n' Stroll- Time to show some love to the baby girls. Here's a cutie!

5. Adventures of a Wee Mason Man- You know I'm a sucker for the little boys! Here's another cutie.

Since we're talking about "Lovely" things, Hudson was chosen as the "Customer Cutie" winner for Izzy B. Designs and won 4 things off the website! I am super pumped about this. She makes the CUTEST outfits and appliqued shirts. Her website is down for a few weeks, but if you are looking for cute custom made clothes at reasonable prices, check her out! Here's one of the shirts I've ordered Hudson.

Remembering

One year ago today my Mema went to Heaven. Last year on September 18, it was rainy and gloomy. It was a sad day. This morning when I looked outside and saw how beautiful the weather was, I knew she was smiling down. I still miss her so much every single day. I am SO thankful that she got to meet Hudson a few days after he was born even though it was the only time she ever saw him. I know she would be so proud of him.

On a lighter note, we have had a busy week. It's nice to have the weekend to rest (just a little). We had a wedding shower today, and have birthday parties and showers for the 3 weekends. It's so great to celebrate fun life changes with friends.

Since this post is all over the place, I'll include some pictures from Hudson Studson's little advertising gig. He was asked to model some "Winter wear" for an advertisement, and here are a few of the shots. This was done in the middle of August, so it was H-O-T outside and that's why he's wearing cool clothes. I love the messy hair in the last two.

These are a few shots from our shopping trip to get new Fall shoes. We had to go get that chunky foot measured. He's wearing a 5 1/2 wide! He loves the fountain at Surrey Center and always stands there and tries to reach over to stick his hand in the water. He's finally tall enough to reach the water. I snapped these before we went in to get new shoes.

This boy has come a long way in the last two weeks. Two Saturdays ago, he was so sick from medications and recovering from surgery. Today, you would never know. He's recovered so well. Praise the Lord. We are so thankful. What a little trooper!

1 year pictures

by Haley Lamb

"Normal" has never felt so good

We've been home from the hospital a week today. While I can't say that I was exactly excited about going back to work, I can say that being back into a normal routine feels really good. I've said it many times, but we are SO glad to have the surgery behind us.

Good news...Hudson is back to his happy, laughing self. He's running around again, and I even think he's gained a little weight back. He still does not have his regular appetite back, but he IS eating so that's what's important.

We are planning to watch the GA game this weekend with some friends and just spend time with our boy. This will be the first normal weekend we've had in a very long time.

GO DAWGS!!!!!

6 days

That's how long I've waited to see this beautiful smile and see him feeling good. Look at those bird legs! I know, I know...he really does not have bird legs, but he has lost almost 5 lbs and he's a lot lighter and looks so much skinner to us. We are so thankful that he's feeling better.

Good Day

Hudson is feeling better today. I am so very happy. He's been talking a little, and even gave us a few smiles. He's been eating good too. He's broken out in some sort of rash that is most likely from one of the meds. I'll be calling the Dr. to find out what to do about that. I think he still has pain because he's still really cautious and slow but that's to be expected. I'm just glad he on the up and up. Thanks again for all the prayers.

Day 1 at home

Our air conditioner quit running sometime in the middle of the night so we woke up pretty warm today. Thank goodness a family friend came to the rescue at about 8 am and got us cool again. Hudson slept pretty well, and I had to wake him up at 4 am for meds. He took his whole formula cup this morning and we were so excited because he hasn't been eating or drinking very well. The excitement ended shortly after when he started throwing up, then having diarrhea. He ate breakfast and the same thing happened. I was so discouraged, so I got on the phone to call his doctors. Basically they think that his pain medicine caused the vomiting, and one of his other medicines caused the diarrhea. We spent the day trying to pump him full of Pedialyte, and he ate a little yogurt. I took him off of the oral pain medicine, and switched him to one that's not as harsh on his system, and he's kept dinner down. He's still having diarrhea. He's lost 4 lbs since Tuesday morning.
I mentioned in an earlier post that we were going to have bumps in the road, and obviously this is just another bump. I really can't wait for him to be running around again, smiling, laughing, and talking. He's still pretty weak, but got down and played with his toys several times today.
Thank you for continuing to pray for complete healing of his body.

WE'RE HOME!

This afternoon, Hudson really turned around. He started eating and drinking (a little, but we'll take it), and wanted to get up and about more. Dr. Donohoe stopped by late this afternoon and said that we could go home if we were ready to take care of him at home. That was music to my ears. We discharged this evening and are SO happy to have our boy home. I gave him a really good bath. He was so cute when he got excited to see our cat, Chipper. He's resting so peacefully now in his bed and we couldn't be happier.

This surgery has been in the back of our minds since before Hudson was born. Putting it in our past is something I cannot explain. Now I don't have to worry or dread his appointments. He will continue to be monitored probably for the rest of his life, but that's just fine. We have to make sure that one and only kidney continues to remain healthy.

I know I have said it 100 times this week, but I must say it again. We have been SO blessed to have CMC, our wonderful doctors, and great friends that work at the hospital who really went out of their way to ensure that Hudson had only the best care.

We also thank all of our family and friends for the prayers, visits, calls, and encouragement that you have sent our way. We feel so loved, and it has helped us through the hardest week of our lives. There is nothing like the pain of seeing your child hurting and knowing what their body has been through. I'll quit rambling but thanks again for following along and helping us through this journey. We love you!

In pre-op feeling a little drunk from the meds they gave him to help him relax. (Yes, he has a black eye. He fell the night before surgery and hit it on a toy.)

After surgeryWith Dr. Donohoe. We love him so much!Mommy and HudsonCan't you tell that I'm starting to feel better. I can sit up now. This is one of my favorite nurses, Mrs. Rebecca. She really loved me and was so sweet to me.

Friday Update

Today has been pretty uneventful so far which is a good thing. Hudson slept pretty well last night, but continued to run fever through the night. He had fever this morning, but when it was checked about 30 minutes ago it was gone. It does not look like we will be going home today. He's still not eating/drinking enough. He's still dealing with some pain issues too, but he's so strong and brave. I can't even imagine how his little body feels after ALL he's been through.
The drainage tube is removed, so we are one step closer to having a wireless baby. (still on monitor and IV) We just took him down in the stroller for a walk outside and around the hospital. We went down to McDonalds and he drank some of a smoothie....good step in the right direction.
We were so encouraged last night when Dr. Nesbit came to visit. He's the best pediatrician. It's not even his case, and he came and visited with Hudson for quite a while. I know I continue to say it, but we are so blessed to have such wonderful doctors and such a great facility as the Children's Medical College.
Now we are waiting for Hudson to really get up and moving. He still acts like he's in a lot of pain when moved, and obviously is not himself. I am looking forward to seeing that beautiful smile and those dimples SOON. I can't wait to be chasing him around as he runs away from me laughing.
We continue to covet your prayers and well wishes. We're blown away by the generosity and love shown to our family. It's so wonderful to have such great family and friends. Your notes, messages, comments, texts, and visits have really helped pull us through this difficult time. THANK YOU for caring for our precious little miracle.