OCTOBER?!?!?

Tomorrow? Really? ALREADY? This month has flown by. I'm not complaining. No way! I'm welcoming the cooler Fall weather with open arms. School has been back in session now for two full months. We are 1/4 of the way through the school year. Wow!

I didn't do a monthly post this month for Hudson's 25th month. I think I will just do little updates here and there, but not on a certain schedule. He's doing great, and had a good kidney check up last week. He cracks us up and amazes us at the same time each day with the things that he says. Yesterday I was in Target with him, and as I looked at a pair of boots there were a cute pair of baby girl shoes that someone had placed on the shelf beside the boots. I picked them up and said "Aww, these are so cute." He looked at me and in a matter of fact voice said..."Mommy, I'm a BOY!". Today as my mom was about to bring him home she told him that she needed to get her keys, and he said to her, "Nana, I'll drive."

He put his own shorts on by himself the other day. This was the first time that he has done that. I had taken him to the potty, and he only had on underwear. He went and got the shorts and said "I put my shorts on." He's so independant, and does not want help with anything. He tells you exactly what he wants you to know. I noticed in the tub last night when he was getting a bath that his hair is starting to look darker. It got so blonde over the summer, but we've known that it would probably turn a little darker. He loves honey mustard and won't eat chicken without it. He will quickly ask you for some "honeyme mutard to dip my chickin in". I wonder where he gets that from? (I plead the fifth!)

The only pictures I have from the past few weeks are all phone pictures from my mom, so they are a little grainy. I hope you all have a great weekend. Enjoy Fall, football, family, friends, and good food.

kidney appointment follow-up

Today was Hudson's follow up appt. with his kidney surgeon at Children's Medical College (Even though the name has changed to Georgia Health & Sciences University, it will always be MCG to me). We started the day off bright and early and were the first appt. scheduled for ultrasound. The wait in radiology was only long enough for us to check in and send our paper work back. It was great to see our favorite ultrasound tech, Brooke come out and get us. We met her at the beginning of this journey, and she even has a little boy who is only a few weeks younger than Hudson. She is so sweet to him and us. The ultrasound was typical. It took both Dave and I to hold him down with all of our strength. He screamed, and fought, but Brooke was so efficient and did her best to get the images and measurements quickly. This does not hurt him, but ever since his surgery, he gets VERY upset when he is laid down on his back for any reason at his doctors appointments.
Here's my little man after the ultrasound. You can see the sheet is in disarray, he's missing a shoe, and his face shows how he feels about the whole ordeal.We had some time to kill before our next appointment, so we met up with Mrs. Ann and she took us to this awesome playground on one of the floors of the hospital. It's floor is almost trampoline like, and all of the equipment is soft. It was a great place to cheer him up and get out some energy since we would be doing a lot of waiting. Here's my boy waiting to get his vitals taken. He wanted to sit in the chair "all by myself". I was glad to have that smile back, but it soon faded when it was time to take his temp under his arm. He let them take his blood pressure with no problem, but did NOT want his temp taken. Time for a weight check. Again, he had to do it all by himself....31 1/2 lbs. More waiting....this time watching a DVD and climbing in and out of his stroller. Most trips to CMCG result in a lot of wait time, but we totally understand that it is the best hospital for kids around and don't mind waiting because we are so blessed and fortunate to have them 25 minutes away from our house. Many of the patients you see there have traveled hours from all over the state. There are so many other sick children who also need these doctors. We count our blessings.Dr. Donohoe said that Hudson's kidney shows good growth. He obviously still has the grade 4 hydronephrosis, and always will. The part of the ureter that was tapered off during surgery looked great too. We were so relieved to receive another good check up. Nurse Reagan had to prick his finger to get a couple tubes of blood. (They were pretty small.) Hud didn't flinch when he got stuck, but got mad about having his finger squeezed. We now hope to NOT get a phone call this evening. No news is good news about his kreatinine levels.It was great to see Dr. Donohoe and his staff. He is so sweet to Hudson and always spends time talking to him. Everyone was glad to see him and could not believe how much he had grown in the 6 months since our last appointment. Nurse Reagan let him choose 2 stickers when he was finished, and he promptly told her that he wanted a "truck one and a Dora one". She granted his wish, and we were on our way.
Here he is trying to shake his band aid off his finger.The best news...Our next follow up appt and tests are in a year. A YEAR!!!! Our next appt. is Sept. 2012! I was foolish enough to believe that this boy wold fall asleep on the way home and have a long nap. As you can see he hasn't slowed down.

Thank you for the prayers. There are no words to thank all of you for caring about Hudson.

Fabulous Fall Weekend

The temperatures this weekend have been AMAZING! At times, it's even been a little chilly outside. We headed to Harrison's soccer game on Saturday morning. 4 yr. old soccer is hilarious, but there are some serious kiddos out there. It was pretty impossible to keep my little guy off the field. He wanted to get out there and play "soccer ball" with them so bad. He did run out several times to which Dave and I had to dart out and grab him quickly. I'm going to try to find a program that will take 3 yr. olds next year. Harrison (in the middle) warming up at half time.

Hudson had fun playing on the sidelines, but he really wanted to get in on all the action on the field.

I LOVE that we got to wear hoodies this weekend!

I'm not real sure what he was doing, but the center of the field had a big "G"' for Georgia. Clearly the staff that prepared this field were smart. GO DAWGS!!!

It was the perfect weather for chili and hot dogs, and these two cleaned their plates. It was delicious! Aren't they adorable in their GA garb? At 2 years old they already bleed red and black and "love those bulldogs". You should hear them doing the GA chant! SMART KIDS!

I love this series of photos. They are so fun.

This morning Hudson went with my parents to take my bro to the airport. He saw the planes and loved it. We are proud of Lee as he is off to start his career.

Hopefully the Fall weather is here to stay for awhile. We look forward to trips to the pumpkin patch and dairy farm, trick-or-treating, football weekends, and more time outside without melting. I hope that you guys have had a great weekend too! I wish they were longer.

2 yr. stats

I took Hudson to his 2 yr. well visit this morning, and everything checked out well. Dr. Nesbit was impressed with how well H talks and that he's potty trained. He weighed in at 32 lbs (upper end of the 75th percentile) and was 37 1/2 inches tall-(above 95th percentile). He gets it honest, he's got a 6'5 daddy. We are glad to have a healthy boy!

GOOOOOO DAWGS!!!- He told his nurse this, and told Dr. Nesbit..."I love the bulldogs."

Happy Labor Day

Whoever decided that we needed a holiday called "Labor Day" is my kind of person. It was SO nice to have today off. Even though I've only been back to work for 5 weeks, this was a MUCH needed day off. This weekend was the first one in a long time that we didn't have 432 things to do, and it was wonderful to not have to be anywhere or do anything on a schedule. We spent lots of time playing outside, and visited our friends who just had a baby. Hudson was excited about meeting Baby West, but when we got there, he just wanted to play. He did do a double take when he noticed me holding West. It was a great visit and even gave me a touch of "the fever".
Dave and I thought about taking Hudson to the zoo today, but decided against it last night. We have been watching the weather, and it was a 90% chance of rain here and in Columbia, S.C. where the zoo is located. We decided not to chance it and of course it didn't rain until about 5:30 this evening and only rained for about 5 mins. It would have been a perfect day for the zoo. It was breezy and coolER. Oh well, we will just have to go another day. Hudson loves to go to the zoo.
Here's a few pictures from this weekend. Several of them are totally out of focus, but they still capture the cuteness. I hope that all of you guys had a relaxing and enjoyable weekend and day off.

One Year Post Surgery

At my 19 week appointment with my MFM specialist, I found out that Hudson had only one kidney. I went to either my OB or the MFM specialist every week, and the appointments became so routine that I told Dave not to worry about taking off to go to this particular appointment with me. I would be in and out and would bring some 3D images home just like every other week. Little did I know that it would be a scary appointment and the one that I would need him at the most. I knew something was wrong when Jodi kept measuring, measuring, and remeasuring in the same spot during my ultrasound. I told her that she had to tell me what was going on, and she did. When Dr. Ware came in, Jodi showed her everything on the ultrasound, then she explained, drew diagrams, and went over research with me. I was so overwhelmed. Hudson had hydronephrosis is his solitary kidney and a mega ureter. They could also tell that he was refluxing urine. We would have to wait until after he was born to find out the severity of the issue. As I was leaving my appointment, Dr. Ware followed me out into the hallway to wait for the elevator just to make sure that I was alright. She was so great.

No one ever wants to hear that there is something "wrong" with their baby. We quickly realized that there wasn't anything "wrong" with our baby. This was how God made Hudson and he was "fearfully and wonderfully made". These unexpected kidney issues were not the plans we chose, but they were perfect plans none the less. We found comfort in knowing that we were doing everything in our power and that we had the best medical care possible.

I visited Dr. Donohoe (ped. urologist) before Hudson was even born so that we would have a plan of action immediately after birth. There were several tests that he needed the first day of life, and several more the following days. When we were discharged from the hospital, we didn't get to go straight home. We had to take Hudson to CMCG for Dr. Donohoe to examine. It was determined that he was refluxing urine at a grade 4 out of 5 and that he had a blockage near his bladder in his ureter. He needed surgery, but the good news was that we could wait about a year. His bladder needed time to grow so that they could do one permanent operation instead of a temporary one and then have to go back and do more later. Now that I had him in my arms, I appreciated his life more because of his diagnosis. It also made me treasure every single moment with him.

This was at his first birthday party a few days before surgery.This one is from his one year photo session.

The night before surgery. Even though we began preparing ourselves for the surgery as soon as he was born, it was still difficult when we finally knew the date that it would happen. There was no way to truly prepare for it. All we could do was try to get used to the idea.

Waiting in the pre-op area. This was taken after he was given his "happy juice" that made him really relaxed. It's so strange for me to see that pacifier in his mouth. That was the last week that he ever had it.

August 31, 2010 came and I really do not know how I made it through that day. The Lord sure was with me, because as I think back, I cannot understand how I was so calm. We have a wonderful friend that works in the OR who made things much easier for us. Scrubbing in, carrying my baby to the operating table, and leaving him there was the hardest thing I have ever done. As I turned to leave him in the room, I noticed how bright, cold, and sterile it was. This was no place for my baby. It was time to trust the medical team. I knew he was in good hands. I knew that God was guiding their every move and thought, and giving them the focus and concentration that was needed to fix my baby. The surgery was supposed to last 4 hours. Those 4 hours came and went. I received calls from the nurse in the O.R. every 45 mins. with updates. We soon found ourselves the only family left in the waiting area. It turned out that Doc had to do more than expected, and the whole thing took almost 7 hours. Here is the first update that I posted after surgery with all the details.

It was so hard to see Hudson in so much pain after surgery. He was given a spinal but it didn't take. The first night was critical. We stayed awake waiting on his kidney to produce urine for the first time post surgery. It took longer that it was supposed to and we were a nervous wreck. The kidney had been through so much that it was explained to us that it was in shock and had to "wake up". He also started running fevers and got croup from being intubated for so long. He hung in there and was such a little trooper. We were (and still are) so thankful for all of the love, support, and most of all prayers that brought Hudson (and us) through these very rough days.

I'm starting to feel a little better. I can sit up in my bed now.God was (is) so good and Hud bounced back in about a week. He had complications with his medication, and had a few allergic reactions, but we worked closely with his Doc. to stay on top of these issues. He had to go back 6 weeks later to get his stint removed, which meant he had to be put to sleep again and intubated. This procedure was much quicker, and you can read about it here.

These 2 pictures were taken about a week after surgery. It was the first day that he got down and played, smiled and seemed to be getting back to his usual self.One thing is for sure. We are so blessed and thankful to have our precious boy happy and healthy. It was tough to see him go through surgery. It was tough to see his scar, and see him hurting and in pain. It made me hurt. Luckily he will never remember it, and his 3 inch incision has faded and is much less noticeable. He is doing wonderful. We go back to see Dr. Donohoe at the end of September. We continue to pray for a good report and for Hud to be calm as they do another ultrasound on him, and what ever else needs to be done this time. It's amazing that it has been a whole year and we are SO glad to have it in our past.

eating a cracker with his favorite cat Macie

Chef Hudson at his cousin's birthday party

Spread the Red!

The countdown is almost over! Football season begins this weekend for the DAWGS! We can't wait. Don't forget to "spread the red".

I'm adding this one to the post too because I love these two so much. They are 2 peas in a pod.