Things are a'changin!

Jax started his first day of Kinder Prep today. I have seen him grow and change so much since a year ago when he began preschool. I will never forget having to say goodbye and walk away from him while his teacher literally held him back as he screamed and cried. It was all I could do to not look back at him, and the second I rounded the corner I burst into tears myself. Flashforward to Kinder Prep, where he bolted into the classroom before I could say goodbye. I actually had to call him back for a hug! He's growing so fast...

Speaking of fast growing things... let me introduce you to the twelve week belly of a third time mom.

Twelve weeks. Not six months, TWELVE WEEKS. What the what?! I mean come on, my belly button is already sticking out! All kidding aside, this kid is putting me through the ringer. Until this pregnancy I had never experience morning sickness, extreme tiredness, crazy mood swings, or any of the other lovely unmentionable first trimester side effects. I must say, I don't appreciate the way I have been feeling these last three months, and I'm pretty sure no one else appreciates the fallout from my general misery. If I'm being totally honest, one of my biggest fears at this moment is that just as the first trimester side effects fade away, I will potentially gain a whole new set of side effects from the grueling treatments headed my way in about four weeks.

For any of you that may not know Nolan and I's history, we are genetically mismatched (to put it very simply). Our children suffer from a condition called Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (NAIT). From the time of conception until several months after their birth, our babies are at war with my body, which spends nine months forming antibodies against their platelets. A healthy human being has a blood platelet count of between 150,000-300,000. Jax was born with 62,000 (because there is no screening for NAIT we did not know he was suffering until after his birth), Maddox was born with 107,000 (after six months of weekly IVIG infusions, mass daily doses of prednisone, and an early c-section). To hopefully get baby #3 out safely, I will be beginning twice weekly IVIG infusions at 16 weeks pregnant (because this condition worsens with each pregnancy I will be receiving twice the dosage prescribed while pregnant with Maddox). Each IV infusion takes between 4-8 hours depending on how well my body handles the medication. This is going to be a long bumpy road, but it's a road I have traveled once before... and the reward at the end is so worth bruises.

Because this is something I am passionate about, I tend to ramble quite a bit when it comes to NAIT. Believe it or not, what I have explained above is the much abbreviated version of this cruel disorder. If you happen to be fascinated (and wish to learn more... *wink wink Annie), check out this amazing website my friends and fellow NAIT mamma's have set up- http://naitbabies.org/
Our family's (as well as many others) story is posted here, along with an amazing video made by our support group, and lots of fantastic info. I'm proud to say that our NAIT group is now on the sounding board for a major pharmaceutical company that is developing a potential "cure" for NAIT. Once upon a time RH disorder was just as unknown and lethal as NAIT, and after the persistence of people effected by it's outcome there is now a simple shot to cure it. My hope is that by the time my children are having my grandbabies the cure for NAIT will be as simple.