My poor sweet little Ainsley.. I haven't shared much about what we have been dealing with over the past couple months, but Ainsley was born with some unfortunate "issues". Fortunately, the issues are relatively minor and mostly harmless. The road to learning about the problems was a bit of a rough one, but we are happy to have the facts now and the resources to help her work through them (a HUGE insurance deductible later..)
Ainsley has always been so sweet and easy going. She is such a happy little girl, even as she deals with discomfort. It was almost by accident that we learned that Ainsley was suffering from a UTI around 2 months of age. It is pretty uncommon for a child so young to get a UTI, apparently, so she was summoned to undergo some testing. One of the tests was a bit scary and extremely uncomfortable for her.. It was one of something I surely could have lived without experiencing. Unfortunately, we will be repeating the test after a year-- which will surely be more unpleasant as a toddler.
The tests confirmed that she has Urinary Reflux. It is a genetic condition that she very well may outgrow in the next year or two and if not can be corrected by a small procedure. We are glad to know that it is nothing that will effect her, long term. It still breaks my heart to see her dealing with the repercussions of it now. She is much stronger than I am. Mean-while, she must take antibiotics daily, until the problem is corrected, to protect her kidneys from infection.
Today we went in for her 4 month check-up. I had suspicions, but I was completely in denial. I voiced some concerns to her doctor and was immediately told that she has reflux...aka..GERD.
Why must all the fluids inside my baby insist on traveling upward?
Lucky for all parties involved it is a relatively mild case..she was prescribed yet another (thrice) daily medication to help ease the discomfort. This too, she will outgrow. We are thankful that her problems are of the mild nature. We know that things could be a whole lot worse. I am just not use to dealing with these types of things, since Addy was/is the one we refer to as "The Tank". She seems to be able to ward off pretty much everything. Until this year, she had never once even suffered from even a common cold. Of course, we got a rude awakening this year when she suffered from a few little things back to back, at the same time we were dealing with Ainsley's dilemma. We have come to know the people at our pediatrician's office quite well.
Anywho-- I didn't intend to elaborate quite so much.. I just wanted to say what a wonderful and brave little girl I have..and how I wish she didn't have to deal with these things, however minute they may be, I hate seeing her in any kind of pain or discomfort. She is so lovely and so happy-- I'm not sure how she does it, but I admire her. The reflux makes for extremely awkward, uncomfortable and stressful "mealtimes" for her and I both..but it's a small price to pay, I suppose.. since she wears a smile most of the time.
...
On a completely separate note.. we visited Santa this week. For what it cost me, the he should be one rich man! So much for him bringing the gifts! I was disappointed that they didn't take more time to achieve a picture worth $40!! Even though we were the ONLY PEOPLE IN LINE! It did my sweet little baby no justice, the way she sat, slumped into Santa's arm.. but we managed to get a smile out of the very skeptical miss Addy, so I guess we take what we can get.
