Ellie's Kidney Update

Last Thursday we went to our 3rd and final anatomy scan to monitor Ellie's kidneys. If you didn't catch part 1 of this story, you can find it here. Some of you may remember, but both kidneys have been measuring a little big, although technically still in the "normal range" for a baby. Regardless, we decided it was best to continue to monitor them.

Her right kidney no longer has any extra fluid - great news!

 

The left one got a tiny bit bigger again. On average, a baby's kidneys are around 4.5mm. Ellie's left kidney is measuring 6.9mm. While the last thing we wanted to hear was that it got a little bigger, the doctor isn't at all worried. In fact, since she's gotten so much bigger in the last 6 weeks, he said that he's not surprised. He also said the extra fluid is in the main part of her kidney, which is actually a good thing. I forget the technical term, but this means that there isn't any blockage! HALLELUJAH! Her kidney is simply on the larger end of normal. He doesn't become concerned until they reach 10mm. Although I know our OB, Dr. Reuss, prefers they stay under 8mm. We have an appointment with him on Thursday. I look forward to hearing what he has to say.

 

 The fact that it's now only one kidney is also great news. He said it's a good idea to let our pediatrician know about the kidney, but that's about it. We had already ruled out Down Syndrome, but we can rule it out even further since it's only the one kidney. 

 

There won't be any issues at birth. This was by far my biggest fear! I was SO worried that she'd need some sort of surgery in her first few days of life, which absolutely terrified me. However, that's certainly not the case. She'll be perfectly fine. He said that we'll most likely never have an issue with her kidney. Absolute worst case scenario is she could be prone to UTI's in the first year or two, however, he said even this is highly unlikely.

 

While we would have preferred both kidneys to have cleared up, this is the next best thing.

Thank you for keeping her in your prayers and please continue to do so.

 

We can't wait to meet this sweet, adorable, and healthy little girl! :)