What it means for me to have Factor II/Prothrombin

I've been looking at my blog stats lately and I'm noticing that one post gets a lot more hits than any other I've ever posted.  Its the one where I find out that I have Factor II/Prothrombin.  I remember when I wrote that post, I thought my life was going to be drastically changed.  I was overwhelmed with this new diagnosis, and was not given much information on it.  Pretty much I was told that my blood clots too much, that I should take an aspirin everyday to help with this, and that they would watch me closely during pregnancy.

It turns out that finding this hasn't done much except cause a lot of doctor appointments where I got to see my baby and bills.  After my history of pregnancy losses, I am thankful that they watched me more closely and checked on the baby more.  But they still will not say that the losses were due to the blood clotting issue, nor will they say that the baby aspirin will prevent another.  Its all very confusing.  I was told at one point that I would have to have a shot of blood thinner daily while trying to get and being pregnant.  Then my new doctors concluded (after new research) that I would not need the Lovenox because I have no 'history'.  I struggled with that information, because in my mind, I have had 3 miscarriages due to this, but I trusted them as they monitored me closely, and everything went well.  I have a healthy 5 month old to prove it.  Honestly, I'm pretty sure that my doctor has had very few, if any, patients before me with this diagnosis.  He had done some research prior to our first appointment in preparation for it.

Overall, I think the issue is that there is not enough research on it at all.  This is a genetic mutation that was only recently discovered in the scientific world (I believe 1998?).  It is one of the leading causes of women who are on birth control experiencing a clot.  I have found that nearly any female who has this has experienced multiple miscarriages, and that most doctors won't run any tests until there have been 3 losses.

But that is almost all I know.  Even after going through every internet search link I can find.  This is it.  Most people who have Factor II will go through their entire lives not knowing that they have it.  My parents are in their 50s and we still do not know which one is the carrier of the gene.  Mine was found due to extensive blood work to find the cause of multiple miscarriages; most are found due to blood clots that sometimes cause strokes while on birth control.

I guess, like most mothers who have experienced the loss, I wish that it was cut and dry.  Just tell me that this was the cause, and the aspirin would prevent it from happening again.  But they can't and won't.  Because really, they don't know.  In fact, we do know that at least one loss was due to 3 sets of chromosomes instead of 2, so the Factor II had nothing to do with that.

Anyhow, I just have been thinking a lot about how as women, we are given this diagnosis after a long, emotional road, and then we go searching for answers that the doctors couldn't or wouldn't give.  For me, I rest in the peace of knowing that my three babies are in heaven being rocked by my grandmother, playing with Jesus and the angels, and didn't have to know the pain or troubles of this world.  All the more reason to look forward to being there someday.

Maternity Photos

A friend of mine, Tiffany, of Anor Photography, offered to do maternity pictures at about 36 weeks.  We hadn't even thought about doing them, but they turned out beautifully, and I am so glad that we have them now!  Its a little late, but I wanted to share them with you.  This past weekend, we went over to her house and did newborn pictures with her and another photographer, Bekah Bowman, of Bekah Bowman Photography.  They both wanted to practice on a newborn, and I never pass up on pictures!  Anyhow, here is the video of the maternity shoot.  I can't decide which is my favorite, they are all so good!  

 

He's Here!

Bumblebee has arrived, for all of you out there wondering.  He is 9 days old today, actually.  We are still working on getting settled and into a routine, so I haven't been on the computer AT ALL.  Everything has been done from my phone (love that thing!).  SO... details!

Name:  Jacob Truett Dean Pittman

Born:  Friday, August 26, 2011 at 6:33 am

Weight:  8 pounds, 6.3 ounces

Length:  20 inches

I will tell the whole story soon, I promise!  I'm working on getting pictures off of the camera and posted to facebook currently.  For now, here's one to tease you with!

 

30-32 weeks

past 10 pm on 100 degree day!

Pregnancy Highlights:  We're getting closer.  Still a very active baby, especially between 10pm and 2 am.  We started and pretty much finished our baby registries at Target and Babies R Us in about 2 days (an advantage of doing one for the third child - you know what you want!)

How Far Along: 32 weeks

Size of Baby: Baby Bumblebee now weighs approximately 3.75 lbs (but peri estimated weight to be at 4 lbs 6 oz a week ago!), and is about 16.7 inches long (probably longer, he measured a week ahead).   

Total Weight Gain/Loss: So far, I think we're about 25 pound total gain.

Maternity Clothes: I am pretty round in the tummy, and my shorts are getting a bit more fitted than I'm used to.
 
Gender: It's a BOY! And I am pretty sure we have a name!  But don't bother asking, because we are not giving hints.  Nope, not even a little one.  Sorry MOM!  Well, okay, one...  He'll be named after someone in one of our families, keeping in tradition with the girls' names. 

Movement: Bumblebee is very active, especially at night.  He is moving around a lot between 10 and 2 at night.  The doctor was surprised at how active he was during the biophysical profile we had a few weeks ago, when he was actually awake for it. 

Sleep: Sleep, oh how I miss sleep!  I have been super tired, but can't seem to sleep.  I wake up every hour feeling like I need to visit the bathroom, but then I don't really need to, its just that he is on my bladder like a trampoline!  I also have to have a snack around 2 or 3, if I'm going to sleep anymore the rest of the night.  
 
What I miss:  Umm, sleep!

Cravings: Not much lately.

Symptoms: I am tired and irritable lately.  I'm feeling the weight of the pregnancy in my back and hips.  And I really want to start organizing things to get ready, but I have no where to put anything at this point!

Best Moment This Week: Bianca is very interested suddenly in how we will care for the baby.  I have shown her many times how to properly hold her baby doll, how to feed (nurse) her, and how to wrap her up in a blanket.  She also says that the baby's name is Bumblebee, and that's what she will be calling him when he is born.  I tried to explain to her that we would give him a new name, but she said she would continue to call him Bumblebee because she doesn't know what his new name will be! 

Medically:  We are seeing the perinatologist weekly, and the ob every other week (though I think this is our last week for that, then weekly).  The perinatologist appointment is for a biophysical profile, and they recently did a growth scan at 31 weeks, 4 days, where baby Bumblebee measured 32 weeks 3 days.  The biophysical profile is basically an ultrasound where they are looking for breathing practice movements and a few good wiggles.  They also measure the amniotic fluid level. 
Refer to week 17 post for the perinatologist appointment about the Prothrombin/Factor II Mutation.

Bianca's sleep

I am ready for a newborn.  My three year old has made sure of that!  She has always been the one who was ready for sleep at an early time.  Usually around 7 or 7:30, she would start ASKING to go to bed as a toddler.  We started a really long bedtime routine for her sister, unknowingly, so we were relieved a bit when she would just ask you to tuck her in, say a prayer, sing a song, and tell you to leave.  However, things have changed, and I think it has a lot to do with all of the transition our lives have been in over the past 1.5-2 years.  

In that time, we moved from IN to PA, lived with a family for a month, moved to our own home, I started working for a semester, I was home for the summer, we moved to KS, and now we are getting ready for another move.  Wow, I know its been a lot for us, but I don't realize how much exactly until I write it all down!

So, Bianca does not want us to leave her in her room.  Actually, she does not want to go to bed.  Period.  We have been so frustrated by her behavior, and have used every method we know of to get her to sleep, or even just stay in her room so that WE can sleep.  Even if we stayed in there, albeit, falling asleep, she would move and talk and play as long as she could keep her eyelids partway open.  I gave up.  I finally admitted I had no idea of what to do next, so I did what every intelligent mother does - consult your friends.  Since my friends are all over the United States these days, I went to Facebook.  And I got some really good suggestions.  

Thus far, we've had 2 nights of pretty good sleep.  The first night, Scott tried getting her in bed, doing her song and prayer, cuddling a bit, and then letting her know that he would be back in one minute to check on her.  That was good, except that she was up playing with the nightlight.  So he put her back in bed and told her he would be back in 3 minutes.  She was good with that, and she stayed in bed after this, finally going to sleep at the 5 minute interval.

So last night was my night alone, as Scott was doing real estate work to get a house to closing on time.  These are the hardest, because we cannot divide and conquer at the same time.  This means that at some point, I have to leave Bianca to get Bella to bed before 10 pm.  And she knows it.  Bianca knows that when I put her to bed, that Bella is still up, and that is obviously not fair in a 3 year old's mind.  She also knows that if I leave her, I am giving attention to her sister.   CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!  So, first, Bianca and I had to have a conversation about why Bella gets to keep her light on longer than her.  That led to her asking why Memaw gets to stay up later! ha!  Well, she was happy when I told her that Baby Bumblebee will be younger than her, and she will get to stay up later than him.  (I'm praying that he is a good sleeper!)

Bianca has started asking for us to make up stories for her at bedtime.  Its one of her ploys to keep herself awake and prolong the routine.  Last night, I got my MP3 player set up for her to listen to stories while she went to sleep (with a speaker, not headphones!).  That seemed to work pretty well once it was in a place where she could see the picture on the screen (even though it never changed), and she was asleep quickly with no tears, and no fight.  It was marvelous.  Except when she woke up at 2:30.  Yeah, I got her back in bed, tucked in, was almost back to sleep, when she was up asking of her stories.  I got up, started her story again, and went back to bed.  She slept until 9 am, which is pretty good, considering all things.  I would love for her to sleep through the night, but she doesn't do that when things are changing, and I also think that it has to do with her age.  Her sister, who slept through the night at 5 weeks old, started getting up every night from about age 2 to 4 (the transition of a new sister was also taking place then).

Today, I await the arrival of a book for more help.  I know, I know.  I don't read parenting books.  I just never have.  I don't know why, but every time Scott would suggest that we should read a book, I would kind of turn up my nose at that.  Yeah, I'm stubborn.  These are my kids.  Surely I can figure out what to do with them without consulting some so-called expert!  I've slowly come around.  And I was so frustrated the other night that I had almost ordered the book before Scott came home from work that evening.  I'll let you know if I learn anything new from it.  And when we start sleeping again.  Of course, she'll probably sleep through the night on the first night that Baby Bumblebee comes home!  

ETA:  I posted an update on this here.  Things are going so much better!

A little bit of this, A little bit of that

Some random thoughts I've got going on right now.....

• I have been working on increasing my readership in hopes of becoming a place of reviews, giveaways, and fun stuff, as well as a small income from affiliate programs.  SO, I've been doing bloghops, commenting like crazy, following, and it just doesn't seem to be working.  I'm just curious what has worked for you?  I've been doing lots of research as well, and working on lists for topic ideas.

• I would like to get my own domain name.  The problem is, I'm not sure where to host it.  Nor do I feel qualified to do the research on this, as every time I find a host sight, I feel as though I am reading a foreign language.  Maybe I should start majoring in that! I'm also thinking of switching from blogger to wordpress, or somewhere I can do advertisements that I choose.  Any suggestions in this area are VERY  welcomed!

• On a totally different topic, I am SO grateful to my inlaws who are allowing us to stay with them until Scott gets this real estate thing off the ground.  (He's doing AWESOME, by the way!)  However, I am SO wanting to have my own home again, to decorate with my things, and just feel really settled. It's very comforting to me to have my things around me, and not feel that we are living out of boxes.  I know that some of this is impatience, and some is nesting, but mostly, we haven't fully unpacked our boxes in over 2 years.  Its frustrating, but I know that it is what is best right now.  Pray that I have patience.  I have faith that God will provide for us.  He gave us the nursery decor I have wanted for years (really random story I'll share another time), so I'm trusting He will provide the room!

• I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself this summer.  I am not the outgoing type, I like to hang back and see what's happening, but I'm also new in town.  Though I've met a lot of people, and made some friends, I don't exactly feel established.  Playdates are few and far between, and with the house on the market, I need to get creative (I can't have a house full of friends and get an hour's notice that we have a showing scheduled!).  I've been thinking of starting a women's Bible study, or a book club, or something of the like.  Well, really, ANYTHING that would be regular and help me get to know some other moms better.  I also think Bella and Bianca would greatly benefit from having some good friends.  They love to play together, but Bella gets tired of Bianca always being right there, and Bianca doesn't really know what to do with herself without Bella most of the time.  Bianca will be attending part time preschool in the fall, and I'm sure Bella will enjoy that!

• We are starting homeschool again, after taking about 3 weeks off for home improvement/cleaning projects.  (Scott's parents decided to put their house up for sale about a month ago, and we've been working hard at getting it ready.  Its finally listed!)  I plan to continue through the summer.  Currently, we are focusing on letter sounds and numbers.  I want to get Bella reading, and Bianca familiar with her numbers and letters.  I'll pick up science and history in the fall again.  We briefly discussed sending Bella to public schools this fall.  It was during a time of high frustration for me.  Since then, I have been connected with a homeschool group in the area on facebook.  I haven't actually done anything with them, but its nice to know that they are there, and I'm starting to establish a support group that I didn't have before.  I also met a new friend who is also in her first year of homeschooling, and having the same frustrations as I, so I think we'll be a good encouragement for one another.  Prior to these, I felt like I was the only one here who was homeschooling.  Its going to take stepping out of my comfort zone to get the support and encouragement I need, but I know that it will be worth it!

Gratituesday: My Mother's Day

This Mother's day seems to have been most memorable.  Honestly, I can't remember many Mother's Days.  I know we celebrated, that there were cards, pictures, dinners, etc., but they just weren't all that memorable.  This year was memorable.  We spent it together.  As a family.  We worked together, and we played together.  And I thoroughly enjoyed it! 

We began by attending church together.  This week was family worship, and I love having all the children sitting with their families.  It's just fun.  Usually, I make sure I have my 'survival bag', armed with snacks and activities, but we didn't bring it this week, and the girls were so well behaved.  The church gave out carnations to all of the mothers.  I mention this because of what happened at this time.  The pastor was asking for the kids the children's pastor had asked to help pass out the flowers to come down, but apparently my girls misunderstood what he was asking, and they joined the others.  So they helped pass out flowers also.  I think at first, Bella thought she was bringing 3 or 4 flowers to me, and was very proud of herself, but I had to explain that she needed to go give them to all the other mothers as well.  So both girls passed out flowers.

Also, our pastor's wife spoke at the service.  She used a scripture that really spoke to me, Jeremiah 17:5-8.  I think it impacted me more because of the liberty she took to replace man with woman, etc.  She read it as follows:

This is what the LORD says: 

      "Cursed is the woman who trusts in man, 

        who depends on flesh for her strength

        and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

     She will be like a bush in the wastelands;

        she will not see prosperity when it comes.  

     She will dwell in the parched places of the desert, 

        in a salt land where no one lives. 

     But blessed is the woman who trusts in the LORD, 

       whose confidence is in him.

     She will be like a tree planted by the water

       that sends out its roots by the stream.

     She does not fear when heat comes; 

       its leaves are always green.

     It has no worries in a year of drought

       and never fails to bear fruit."

Scott decided he was going to do lunch for everyone.  The menu included:

Blue Cheese topped Rib eye Steak,

grilled veggies with feta cheese, baked potatoes,

and strawberry feta salad with homemade dressing. We all pitched in to get dinner made.  It was fun!

The girls got the spinach torn for the salad, Scott did the steaks, and I chopped whatever needed to be chopped.  The dinner was de. lic. ious.  I could have sat and ate ALL DAY.  In fact, I had the same meal for lunch on Monday. 

Also, in between cooking, we attempted a family picture.  (I was going to show you all of the attempts, or at least the best of the worst, but nothing is cooperating with me, so I'll just show you the best one.)  We have trouble getting a good picture, usually because Bianca has an interesting 'pirate' face that she makes when she's trying to smile.  She's getting better, but its still an interesting face (as you can see in the above photo!).  This time, it was because Bella thought it was too bright outside to actually open her eyes.  Its not the best, but I'll take what I can get!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

For all the Mothers out there.....

Have a laugh today :)  I couldn't resist!

Hoo Are You? Bloghop

Joining in on another blog hop!  I love these things, I always find another inspiring blog to enjoy!   

1. Are you a mom and if so how many kids do you have?  Yes!  And that's just about all I blog about!  I am Mommy to two little girls, Bella and Bianca, and soon to be baby boy, currently referred to as Baby Bumblebee.

2. List 3 qualities that you love about your mom!   She's become so much more than my Mom, she's my friend; She showed me how to be a loving, caring, involved mother, and she inspires me.

3. What is your favorite thing your mother cooks?  Italian Beef.

4. What do you love about being a mom?  Seeing the laughter and smiles, the imagination of a child, and everything they teach me about God.

5. What are your plans for Mother's day?  I'm hoping to be surprised with some!  (HINT, HINT!)

Take <3, Mommy!

Have you ever felt alone as a mom? Lost in your chosen field of mothering?

There is an organization that was created to encourage, educate and equip women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home helps thousands of moms love their lives through their many resources including conferences, website, and books.

Recently, I mentioned this organization briefly when I attended their conference. (I still plan to blog that!) While I was there, I learned of a new thing they were starting up, and partnered up with this organization as a blogger. Over time I hope to share with you the many resources this ministry has to offer (old ones and new). To learn more about the Hearts at Home Blogging team, click here.

In the meantime, I would like to encourage you to explore their website and blog for an immediate dose of mothering encouragement!

Something I needed to hear...

As I was surfing the numerous blogs that I like to check in on once in a while, I came across a post by Two Zany Zebras of a few statements that I need to be reminded of every once in a while. I thought maybe you'd enjoy them also.

The information below was taken from Parents Magazine September 2008 issue by Mary Mohler:

Memo to Mommy


You have a lot of lessons to teach your little one, but he has a few words of wisdom for you too.
*Stop freaking out about the mess! There's always time to clean-but how often do we get to make mud pies?
*Be patient, I do everything for a reason, but I don't know enough words yet to give you an explanation.
*Let me do it. I know you can do it faster and better, but sometimes experience is the best teacher.
*Don't expect too much of me. I want to do what you ask and make you happy, but I'm still little.
*Don't try to reason with me when I'm having a tantrum. Trust me-I can't hear you over my own screaming.
*Keep your promises. It's all about trust. When I'm a teenager, you'll understand why it's so important.
*Don't keep asking me if I've been good. I'm not even sure what that means, but if I was bad I'd never admit it.
*Don't let me think that you're perfect. I feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes.
*Set limits. I can't actually eat a whole box of cookies-I just want to see if I'd get away with it.