Home!

It feels so great to finally be home!  We were discharged a few days ago and have pretty quickly settled into a normal routine.  We mostly are just enjoying our time with Leah outside the hospital, where we can pick her up and walk around with her anytime we want.  And I don't have to be so far away from her at night, she's on the other side of our wall instead of the other side of the hospital floor.  Leah seems to be enjoying her vibrating chair and wearing clothes and snuggling on the couch with mommy and daddy. 

Before we left, Leah had a few tests to check out her kidneys to see if they are working properly.  She had an ultrasound and that showed that they are normal.  She also had a VCUG, which shows whether her urine backs up into her kidneys when her bladder is full.  That showed that everything is normal, so her bladder empties properly.  We were concerned that we would have to use catheters on her to help empty her bladder, but since she's going to the bathroom on her own, we don't have to do that right now.

She also has had several head ultrasounds to check for fluid in her brain ventricles.  At some point we're pretty sure she will have to have a shunt, but it's great that she doesn't need one right away.  Every day we can wait increases the chances that the shunt will work and decreases chances of infection.  Nearly every infant who has a shunt will have it malfunction at some point before they turn 1.  Babies have a high level of protein in their spinal fluid, which can clog a shunt and lead to a malfunction.  The longer we can wait, the better.  Her ultrasounds, including the one this afternoon, show that her ventricles remain stable.  For now, we're thankful for everyday that she remains shunt-free.