Though we understand the importance of making sure Kylie does not have vesicoureteral (VU) reflux, as if she does the next infection could result in her needing to be in the hospital for a few days, we are not sure we want to perform the above procedure. After talking between ourselves and obtaining information and recommendations from others along with some independant research on my own, Tiffany and I have decided to forgo the VCUG and only have the ultrasound at this time. We have discussed this with Kylie’s doctor and he fully understands our hesitation for the VCUG and is fine with our decision to skip it at this time. However, we are all in agreement that should she develop another infection while still so young, it will be necessary to have the VCUG to rule out any type of reflux. The reason for this is because the treatment for VU reflux would require Kylie to be on medication for 12 to 15 months. I guess we will wait and see what the ultrasound reveals and if she develops another infection or not. Kylie is scheduled to have her ultrasound on the 23 at U. M. Mott’s, which coincidentally is where Tiffany was rushed when she was born.

We had to bring Kylie back to the doctor today, it turns out she has a urinary track infection. Because this is so rare in young children the doctor wants to perform a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) to check for any abnormalities. Though Tiffany and I want to have the procedure done to rule out any internal issues, we are hesitant for a number of reasons. First the procedure involves using a catheter to fill her bladder, and how exactly do you explain that very unpleasant procedure to a two year old? Also, the procedure requires the use of a contrast material which could be a radioactive substance.

These two factors alone make us hesitate to perform this procedure. However, seeing as this is her first infection there are other options to consider. One of which is the use of an ultrasound to take images of her kidneys, bladder, and urethra to rule out any issues such as extra urethra. We are going to talk it over and I will do some more research into the procedures and Tiffany and I will decide on what we feel is the best path for our daughter. Until then Kylie will be on some medication to help deal with the current unpleasantness of the urinary track infection. With any luck she will be feeling better in a few days time.

The doctor’s office called and confirmed that the over night culture also came back negative, so Kylie definitely does not have strep. Even though this was the general consensus yesterday, it is still nice to have an even more definitive answer.

We took Kylie to the Doctor today, as she has had a cough for the past couple of days, and yesterday developed a low grade fever. Normal, that would not necessarily bother us, but she did not want to let Mommy take her temperature in either ear, and said that it hurt. This is what made us decide to take in to see the doctor, as she is developing a track record for ear infections. Her ears checked out and everything looked fine, however the doctor did say that it look like she may have a slight case of strep. The nurse took a culture and Kylie handled it very well, opening her mouth wide and sticking out her tongue, she didn’t even flinch when the nurse took the swab of her throat. They performed a rapid culture test at the office, which only took about five minutes and that came back negative. They are going to do an over night culture just to make sure, and will confirm the results tomorrow. So as of now, Kylie has a clean bill of health and no explanation as to why she was not feeling well.

Ten minutes ago I changed Kylie’s diaper and put her in her pajamas, and as usual she dirties her diaper 5 minutes later. I only knew because she told me she had to go potty, but when she said it she was touching her bottom like she does when it’s dirty and so I asked her if she needed to go or if she had already gone. She answered and said “I peed in my diaper”, and I said “ok, do you still want to sit on the toilet?” and she said “yes.” So into the bathroom we go and I get her ready and sat her on the toilet, I then went into my room to get a new diaper, because her old one was in fact wet. Pretty normal routine, we have done this hundreds of times before, except for one difference. This time when I came back with her new diaper I heard an unusual sound just as I entered the bathroom it was a “plop” sound. I immediately asked her what that was and she said “I go poopy” and I made a huge deal out of it, congratulating her and smiling, telling her how proud I was and how amazing it is that she went poopy on the toilet. She laughed and smiled and got all excited about it too, even giving me high fives. Hopefully this is the first of many more to come, and we can really see this potty training thing take off. I never knew going poop could be so exciting! I know it is odd, but I am so happy I was able to be there for this “first,” as I have missed a lot of them due to being away for work. I am so proud of you Kylie!

Today after Kylie and Tiffany got home from my house, Kylie and Mommy were in the living room when she turned to Mommy and said “I have a purple shirt on.” Mommy said “Yes, you do, and purple pants. Daddy and you picked out that outfit this morning.” Kylie replied “I have to check,” and ran into the kitchen and climbed into a chair, then grabbed a bowl that had some fruity cheerios and pulled out a purple one. She then held it up to her shirt and looked at it, then looked at Mommy and said “Yes, it’s purple.”

Mommy said it was very cute to see her make the cognitive connection between the color of her shirt and the color of her cheerios.

This morning, after Kylie woke up and went into Mommy’s room and was playing for a few minutes she said “Mommy, why does it snow?” Mommy replied “Well, when there is moisture in the clouds and the cloud gets full, the water drops out of the clouds. If it is cold enough the water freezes and turns to snow.” Kylie listened and when Mommy was finished she said “Oh” and then went to look out the window. Mommy hadn’t looked out the window yet so she asked Kylie if it was snowing, and Kylie said “Yeah, oh, no – it’s raining.”

Earlier today when we took Kylie to the doctor, he wanted to see if her complaining about her back affected her running. To get her to run we went out in the hall and she stood at one end of the hall with Mommy and I stood at the other end of the hall with the doctor. The doctor then told Kylie to run to him and she could have a sucker.

Tonight after dinner Kylie decided she was going to play doctor, she put on her stethoscope and picked up a glove. She then held the glove out and said “Mommy, run.” Tiffany said “what do I get if I run?” and Kylie said “a glove,” so Tiffany ran over to Kylie and grab the glove and then ran back. Kylie thought this was very funny and laughed for a while. It is really great to see that she remembers what the doctor did earlier today and was able to reenacted it later on.

For the past week or so Kylie has been randomly complaining that her back is hurting and holding her lower back. She will do this and then continue top play without issue. The first time she did this I thought she might have done it because she had just heard me say that my back was bothering me, so I just acknowledged her and then watched her to see if she showed any further indication that her back was bothering her. I mentioned it to Tiffany so she could keep an eye on Kylie as well, and while Tiffany didn’t hear Kylie complain she did receive word from Kylie’s day care that she complained once at school. We decided to take her to the doctor just to make sure. While we were there Kylie got on the scale all by herself for the first time, and today she weighed 32lbs. The doctor took a urine sample and ran some tests to check for kidney issues and he also checked her for bruises and her back in general. All of the tests came back normal and the doctor said that she may have in fact heard me mention that my back was bothering me, as Kylie has no problem running, walking, climbing, or playing in general. We will just need to keep an eye on here and if she continues to complain we may need to go back.