Happy Birthday Asher!!

My baby boy is one. I can't believe it. Here are some great pictures of the birthday boy. The middle picture is of him in the dog crate. He like to go in and open and close the door.

Long time over due

On February 8th our family had a big day. We started off the day with Avery singing at Magnolia Avenue Baptist Church which is where he goes on Wednesday nights to missions and music. He was picked to do a solo out of all the 1st and 2nd graders. He did a great job (perhaps the best). We were really proud of him.

Then we sent to Sandals which is where we attend to take part in Asher's Baby Dedication. This is a time where we as a family commit to raising our child to know who God is and also with the love that He gives. The church also commits to come along side us and help us in this task. As a parent the greatest struggle is wanting to raise your children up to be good citizens, but also to be lovers of the Almighty. My prayer for all my boys is that they love God in the gifts they were given whatever that may look like.

I've created an addict

Need I say more?

Pictures to occupy the time

Asher loves to play in the dishwasher. He hears it opens and "runs" toward it. His favorite thing is to grab utensils and chew on them.

Waiting

Update on Asher: We went to the specialist today and discovered that we are going to wait two months and have another ultra sound. If anything has changed for the bad we will do surgery. If nothing has changed we will wait another 3 months and do another ultra sound. If it gets better I don't know what we will do. So hurray for no surgery yet, but we are not out of the clear.

Tests - not the school kind

Isn't the gown cute? I didn't know they made them so small.
Asher means happy, joyful and he is just that.
This is how they kept him still while they took pictures.

If you have read the blog you then know that Asher has an enlarged right kidney. Because of this, we have been doing other tests to get a better look at his "plumbing". The first test we did was an x-ray. They had to put a catheter in and fill his bladder to take the pictures. Not a pleasant thing to happen, but he is a trooper. The next test was a nuclear medicine study. We had no idea what it all entailed. So here is the story. We checked into the hospital for same day admission. He had to have an iv put in to give him fluids and to give him the isotopes that show what is going on inside. It was amazing. As the isotopes went in you could see the image right away. It was very obvious that his right kidney is bigger than his left. For one hour they took pictures of these isotopes working. The left kidney was working perfectly. You could see it start moving through the tube to the bladder. The right kidney on the other hand changed it shape from a kidney bean to a heart. Toward the end of the process they give a diuretic so it will get all the stuff out of his little body. Once they gave him that his right kidney began to work and release the urine. The good thing is that it worked, but it does mean that there is a blockage. I am almost positive they will do surgery, but we will find out for sure on August 6th when we go to the specialist. Asher is such a blessing though. Through out it all he has maintained a pleasant personality. Check out the smiles.

My precious one

Some of you may or may not have known about our little ones kidney issues before he was born. At my 20 week sonogram they informed me that Asher' s right kidney was bigger than his left which meant that there was some form of blockage. The couldn't do anything about it then, but they would monitor it. So at 30 weeks I went back in. At that point they said it was still larger, but of not a great concern. Again they would see what would happen at the birth. Well, his birth was quite eventful due to meconium (poo as he comes out) and then the respiratory distress which meant he was in NICU for 3 days. The doctor in the NICU was not ready to do the ultrasound of the kidneys at that time because he was peeing and pooing fine. He did want one about the time he was 6 weeks. Today we had that follow up ultrasound. I should have known that when they sent me to the doctor right after that there was trouble, but I just assumed he was telling me good results. Unfortunately, the right kidney is bigger and now it is more blocked up. They call it hydronephrosis. Basically, it means that there is a kink in the tubing from the kidney to the bladder which is causing urine to back up into the kidney. This is not good. Left alone it would mean kidney failure. So we are being sent to a specialist that deals with this and kids all day long day after day. What it most likely will mean is surgery to correct what is wrong. It has been really hard to imagine someone so little and so precious to have to go through surgery. As a mom it has been very hard to accept. I want the best though for him and I know that God is going to take care of him. From the time of birth we have given our children over to Him knowing that we are just borrowing them for a bit until they become fully His. Please pray that God will give us courage as we deal with this. Please pray for his brothers as they have to deal with preoccupied parents. Please pray that it will some how be miraculously fixed.

Here is he is. 11 lbs and 14 oz. 23.25 in long This biggest of all the Atchison children.

Isn't he cute?

Growing

I am always amazed at how quickly babies grow. Asher is not even 7 weeks yet I feel that he has been here for such a long time. He has already made his way into our hearts and captured them completely. He rarely fusses and goes with the flow that his brothers set the pace to. He has had many a nap in the car seat due to our get up and go life style. The best part about him is his happy spirit. He smiles and talks to us now. I love it.