A visit to Children's Hospital

So it's my last full week before my maternity leave ends, and it's been a busy one. I posted on Tuesday following the Lancaster playgroup, but it's been busy even since then!

Emerson turned 11 weeks this Wednesday, and looks like he's 11 months! He weighed in today at 15 lbs. 14 oz. No joke. Is this why my back aches at the end of the day? He's also rolling over (stomach to back only) nearly every time he's on his stomach. I had him laughing the other night with silly faces...and it was by far the most wonderful sound I've EVER heard!

The reason I have the updated weight is because we spent the entire morning at Children's Hospital. Emerson had a scheduled visit with urology there, since his belly button hadn't healed and was producing some drainage. He had a small granuloma sticking out of it...Jason and I describe it to people as a pimiento. There was a possibility that there was an open tract from his belly button to his bladder and that was causing the drainage and preventing it from healing. After an ultrasound a few weeks ago, they asked for more testing. We started at radiology this morning at 8, and our brave little man had a catheter inserted so that they could fill his bladder with dye to be able to view any open tracts. He was wonderful during this procedure, and barely made a fuss. When he did, a little bit of their "sweet soothe" (read: sugar water) on his pacifier settled him right down. Following radiology, we headed to urology to meet with Dr. Jayantha. He was incredible. He had the best bedside manner, and was very kind to our little boy. Because they were unable to see any open tracts (good news!) he felt they could just snip it up, and with a few stitches, be done with it! This was great news...and meant we would not have to come back. The toughest part for me and Jason, is that we were unable to go into the procedure with him. Our nurse was great, and took excellent care of him. I knew he had been crying though, b/c his face was sticky from sugar water and he was exhausted when he landed back in my arms (tears on the keyboard).

A little infant Tylenol and neosporin over the next few days, and Emerson will be good as new, with a normal belly button! We are so thankful that a minor procedure was all he needed. Visiting Children's Hospital is a great way to realize how lucky we are that Emerson is healthy, happy, and has only the occasional sniffle or funky belly button to deal with. It broke our hearts to see all those mothers, fathers, and children working their way through the hallways like it was their own home. Thank heaven for health.

Before we went back to radiology