Emma headed back to Johns Hopkins Hospital this morning for her first DMSA scan to test for kidney damage from her VUR/kidney infection and she did really well! It was a long day for her but considering she wasn't able to really have a good nap or eat anything after dinner last night, we couldn't have asked for more. We left bright and early at 7:30AM which was good since we weren't allowed to give her anything but clear liquids until the test, so by 7:30AM she was already getting a little cranky. After checking in, having Emma get checked out, they started the IV which really was the worst part of the entire process. At that time, maybe about 9:00AM or so, they started to inject the radioactive material that attaches itself to Emma's kidneys to allow for the scan. We then had to wait just about an hour (for the medicine to be able to get to her kidneys) so we walked around the amazing hospital and grabbed something to drink. Things started a little bit later than expected but we headed back into the room about 10:30AM to start the sedation. Just like in the VCUG test, the little stinker was making those poor nurses work for their paychecks and she just kept fighting the sedation. After about 20 minutes she finally gave in and they could start the test.

Of course, Emma wasn't going to go down that easy though, so exactly half way into the test, those baby blue eyes popped right open to everyone's surprise!! The nurses were pretty surprised that she woke up with the amount of sedation that she was given, so they gave her pretty much the rest of the dose that they could, and given another 15 minutes she was back out and they were able to finish the last part of the test. She then woke up the minute that she was being brought out of the machine! The nurses were kind of chuckling about how she was able to fight off that much sedation and they said that it can actually be linked to alcohol tolerance, so it looks like our little baby is ready for college already haha!


Emma was incredibly hungry after the test so we went downstairs to the cafeteria for some lunch (which was taken care of for us since we joined the study) and Emma was hilarious. She was "talking" to every person around her and looked like a little bobble head doll! She drank 8 ounces of water, 6 ounces of formula, blueberries, strawberries, cheerios, some bites of mommy's bread and some of the nurse's pizza. :) So much for the eating strike! I think she was yelling the entire walk from lunch to the car, including the two elevator rides!

It was pretty funny actually when she got home because of how crazy she was (which was a side affect of the sedation). It very much helped me get through the day though because I had pretty much hit my breaking point from having to hold her down screaming for these tests. I couldn't help but shed a few tears for my poor peanut during the IV, so her being crazy and hilarious when we got home was actually a big relief!

We should get the results from the test tomorrow, so hopefully we will have good news (no kidney damage) to share!

For now, here is a little taste of what life was like with our little drunken sailor this afternoon. Keep in mind that this was abotu 5 hours after coming out of sedation, after two big meals and a two hour nap. So you can imagine how funny lunch was. :)

Emma & Mr. Bear

As I mentioned below, Emma's favorite toy has got to be her Mr. Bear. Almost every night, she falls asleep in some crazy position with Mr. Bear, so I started to take a few pictures (shocker I know) and here are a sample of the pictures that I took. It's an every night occurance, and I think this was 7 days straight and right towards the crazy weather changes and Emma coming down with her UTI (fevers) which is why you see such a wide variety of PJs.

11 Months & Some Change...

Emma turned 11 months old a little over a week ago and I am still getting used to it. Exactly three weeks from today, she will turn ONE! It has been amazing to watch her over the past couple of weeks because she is just growing and learning so much, that everyday is different. Just this past weekend, she has taken much more of an interest in walking! She actually stood unassisted for a few seconds this weekend and I pretty much immediately burst into tears. :)

Emma must also be going through a growth spurt because she is pretty much an endless pit now when it comes to food and she is drinking more formula than ever (of course right before we end up giving it up haha). She will not almost consistently polish off her 6 ounce bottle, which she usually has 3 or so a day. At about 10 weeks old, we ended up dropping a bottle mostly just from taking queues from Emma. She is still a little picky about eating, but pretty much wants nothing to do with baby food anymore. She wants the good stuff! I find that I am struggling a bit though trying to think of things that she can eat now. Really the only restrictions at this point are milk (for another month), peanut butter (not until 18 months), honey and shellfish. Those are still the big no-goes but other than that, we are more limited to what Emma can and can't chew. My goal for the next couple of weeks (since she wants big people food anyway), is to try to get her onto what we are having for dinner, at least when possible.

At 11 months old, Emma...

• Has 6 teeth (with another one just about to pop through).
• Is now walking up and down furniture and is constantly on the go!
• She says a couple of words like mama, dada, nana, baba (for bottle), duck, bye bye and can almost say ball.
• She loves to "play" with Shamus more and more everyday!
• Has a couple of favorite toys, like her colored rings (just like her Uncle Brian), her stand up piano/table, her toy cell phone from Aunt Mary, her lion toy from her Gigi and Papa, her pink soccer ball at Mimi's house, her little toy puppy "Oscar" and by far the favorite is her pink bear.
• LOVES the Build-a-Bear that Mommy got from Emma's Aunt Mary a LONG time ago. She loves to listen to the recorded message!
• Is very weary of strangers and anyone she doesn't know.
• Points at everything!!!
• Can now dance!
• Still loves her Tigger & Pooh cartoon!

Our next step with Emma's VUR is coming up shortly as well. On Tuesday, we are heading back to Johns Hopkins Hospital for the DMSA renal scan, so fingers crossed that the test shows no kidney scarring from her previous UTI/Kidney infection!

Black & White Weans