Nephrology

Judith had her first appointment with the nephrologist today to check out the kidney stone they saw on her ultrasound when we were checking her liver.  The good news is it actually isn't kidney stones, but is actually calcification on the tissue of the kidney.  Her doctor said that they see it a lot in preemies, and that she should eventually outgrow the problem!  He did order labs to rule out some other things (I can't remember the names of the conditions, but he said that they're really rare in pediatric patients), and did a urine catch to check the levels.

Her appointment was in the same suite in the doctor's office building as the CF clinic, so I was glad that there was a little bit of familiarity for Judith.  She did freak out when she saw a different nurse for her vitals, but bubbles helped to distract her, as did her doll.  I was impressed that she did relatively well with the doctor since he was obviously a new face.  I was really expecting a full meltdown like we saw in the past, but I am so glad that we didn't have that!  I think she's finally turning a corner, and while she's still upset, she's starting to cooperate with the exams.  At the same time, it makes me a little sad that she's learning this lesson so young, because she has not had a respite from the constant poking, prodding, and exams.

Her weight gain is still really slow.  She's 23lbs 14oz, and 33" long.  I was hoping that she would weigh a little more, and with luck she'll break the 24lb mark by the time her next clinic visit rolls around in a few weeks.  I'm not surprised at her height, because she's been outgrowing her 18m outfits lengthwise.  It's becoming a challenge, because 24m and especially 2T pants are too big in the waist and don't stay up properly.  They're still a little long lengthwise as well, but at least they're getting some use this winter in the off chance that she won't be able to wear them again by fall (which, I'm kind of hoping, she will be able to wear them again since she's not growing as quickly).