The second appointment would follow the first and involve us seeing the surgeon, as a follow up on the x-ray and ultrasound she ordered at the previous visit concerning the strange lump on Tahnee's left hand side.
Chris took the day off work, and we arrived early enough at the hospital to make a quick stop past Wad 6B. We had a few photos and other things to drop off. Tahnee also got a few cuddles with some of her nurses. They still remember her and cant believe how good she looks, how big she is getting, how many smiles she gives and how settled and happy a baby she is!
Afterwards we headed down to the Out-Patient department to wait for our appointment. As we were sitting there we saw another mum with her baby walk in. Chris and I both turned to each other and said we thought we knew the lady...after thinking for a minute or two we realised her baby was in 6B at the same time as Tahnee. She recognised us too and came over for a chat. A few minutes later we saw another couple walk in who had been on the ward, and later again we saw another mum and baby we recognised!! Lots of familiar faces today :) However, we mainly know faces and not names...but we have shared many tired, stressed smiles with many parents!
Part of our appointments involve a visit to the nurses station to have Tahnee weighed and measured for length and head circumference. She is still tracking around the 50th percentile for weight, according to the chart in her purple baby book. However, she is tracking on a different percentile according to the scale the hospital uses. The main thing though, is that she is consistent, and hasn't plateaued or lost weight.
Our next stop was the doctors' office. Like the nurses on 6B he was rapt with Tahnee's development and progress. He checked her over, tested her hips and listened to her lungs and heart. We also got a chance to discuss our questions.
Yesterday on face book I posted that Tahnee had been unsettled (highly unusual) and I couldn't work out why. She was difficult to settle down to sleep, but was happy otherwise. Then last night she had a massive #3 {poo explosion}. I thought it might of been the reason for her being unsettled. We brought it up with the doctor who said he had no answer! Most babies become unsettled at one point or another!!
Next we inquired about the lump on her left hand side. To recap, the ultrasound Tahnee had when she was an in-patient indicated that the lump was her kidney. The second ultrasound she had last month indicated that it was now part of bowel. The lump has always been palpable, and fairly prominent, especially when naked and/or crying. The surgeon believed that it could be prominent due to poor muscle tone. The doctor rang the surgeon and they discussed the results over the phone. Both agreed that the x-ray and U/S show that Tahnee has another hernia (!) - but don't worry! This type of abdominal hernia is quite common and many people have experience with these (or versions of, such as umbilical hernias). {when we began to tell people about Tahnee's condition before she was born, many people said that it wasn't that bad, as they had had a hernia in the past - those hernia's are relatively harmless and often go away on their own - whereas Tahnee's diaphragmatic hernia was life threatening, affecting many organs etc}. So, this hernia should go away on its own, without the need for medical intervention. She will still have it monitored at future appointments next year.
Meanwhile, the x-ray also gave us the opportunity to see how Tahnee's lungs were developing. Unfortunately, the x-ray was crooked, so the picture was blurry and a bit hard to read/interpret. What we/the doctor could figure out was that her left lung was still smaller than the right one, but it most likely always will be.
Since the doctor and the surgeon agreed on the diagnosis, it was deemed unnecessary to see the surgeon, so we were free to leave. After a quick stop to feed ourselves and Tahnee, we headed home :)
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| kissing Tahnee's owies (scar) all better |
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