Baby Buchanan at 21 weeks

On the 16th December 2011 we made the trip over to Lower Hutt to have our 20 week scan. Although we were 21 weeks.

I love seeing Baby B on the scanners - it is truly amazing what you can see, this time I can actually feel the baby moving when we see it move on the screen.

This scan got right into the nitty gritties and we were able to arms, hands, legs and feet!

This scan also picked up that Baby B had a bad kidney so we were referred to Wellington Hospital to the Maternal Fetal Medicine unit for a further scan and an appointment with the specialist.

This scan photo shows the defect kidney - I can barely make out the cysts but it shows what it looks like.

The scan at Wellington Hospital showed that Baby B has a Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney.

Multicystic dysplastic kidney is a condition in which the kidney has been essentially replaced by multiple cysts. It is the result of abnormal fetal development of the kidney. There is little or no normal function to this kidney. The incidence is approximately 1 in 4,300 live births.

We have to go back at 28 and 38 weeks for extra scans to keep an eye on the cysts. If they get too big, if renal reflux occurs, or they are causing other issues then I will have to deliver Baby B in Wellington Hospital. Once baby is born they will scan him/her and if need be remove the defect kidney.

Either way Baby B will only have one functioning Kidney. Although there are worse diagnoses out there (no functioning kidneys, holes in the heart, undeveloped brains etc) this news still shocked me. I like to have everything planned out, I like everything to be perfect. This news was not according to my plan. I guess I went in there expecting everything to be perfect as it had been up until that moment. Baby B will be fine and I know that, I also know that plenty of people live very successful lives with just one functioning kidney, I just didn't want this for my baby and I dont like people telling me "oh well it could be worse" yes it could be, but for me this is bad. It is something that can not get better nor can it be treated. It is what it is - if anything it can get worse.

We have also been told that because we have one baby with this condition then the chances that our next baby will too. It is apparently a genetic issue - and we cant change our genetics!

So until our next appointment on the 2nd Febuary 2012 we wont know more. Its the waiting, the 'what-ifs' and 'could-bes' that is the worse and that makes things a lot harder.....

Watch this space...