Hi y'all

I'm gonna be 10 weeks tomorrow!

Damn Pigs!

Well as many of y'all have been watching, the Swine Flu has hit Texas and has hit pretty close to home!

So with that said I am putting my family and my house under quarantine. It's so hard being a teacher because we are exposed to so many things! I'd quit if I could but I can't, so I must go to school and hope it doesn't get to us! But outside of school Brody and I will be doing very little. We aren't going to go in public places and I'm going to limit his exposure to visitors.

Call me what you want but I just can't take any chances. Could you imagine what would happen to a 10 week old if they were to come down with this? We already have a plan of action if Brandon or I come down with it. I'm praying that is not the case.

We are also going to take every precaution and change our clothes right after work and lysol ourselves down before we pick up Brody. Viruses can live up to 2 hours on surfaces before dying.

So, we will be having a lot of movie nights here at our casa. I'm sad because we had so many plans and parties to attend this weekend, but I just can't put this little guy at risk. I hope everyone understands. At least until this stupid thing passes we will be staying at home.

Love,
L

Alpha Thalassemia Trait

Say that 5 times fast! As it turns out on top of Factor 5 I also have Alpha Thalassemia Trait.

Rewind 6 weeks ago when Brody got his Newborn screening back it showed some off levels in his iron that pointed to Alpha Thalassemia. I didn't think much about it because the doctor said it probably won't affect him during his lifetime except for the fact that he will show that he's aneimic if he has any blood work done. So at my 6 week check up with the OB I mentioned it to Dr. B who in turn wanted me tested for it.

She called last night to let me know that I have 2 gene deletions resulting in Alpha Thal trait.

A little info on Alpha Thal:
Alpha Thalassemia is a genetic disorder that affects your red blood cells. Hemoglobin is within your red blood cells and the hemoglobin is what carries oxygen throughout your body and to your organs. People who have Alpha Thalassemia produce less amounts of red blood cells, therefore less amount of hemoglobin. There are 4 types of Alpa Thallassemia:
If you have one missing gene then you are considered Alpha Thal silent and it doesn't affect your health or lifestyle.
If you have 2 missing genes then you are considered to have the Alpha Thal trait and you are simply a carrier that causes you to be slightly anemic throughout your life. This is not an iron deficient anemic so there is no need to take iron supplements.
If you have 3 missing genes then you are considered to have Hemoglobin H disease. This can be a little more serious and cause a greater anemia and reguire blood transfusions if the anemia cannot be controlled or in times of physical stress such as fever and illness.
If you have 4 missing genes you have Alpha Thalassemia Major which means your body cannot produce any hemoglobin. This results in death in the womb or shortly after birth. There are great advances however and if caught in the womb the baby can receive a blood transfusion before birth which can save their life if they can survive the tranfusion in utero. But even then, they have to have monthly blood transfusion and life long care. They usually don't live past age 10.

A little knowledge of genetics:
When you are conceived you receive 2 genes from your mother and 2 genes from your father. So in order to have Hemoglobin H or Alpha Thal major both parents must have Alpha Thalassemia. Even then you have a 25% chance of inheriting each type of Alpha Thalassemia based on if you get one or two affected genes from mother or father.

So the next step is to get Brandon tested. If he doesn't have Alpha Thalassemia then we know that Brody will be either a silent carrier or be like me and have Alpha Thalassemia Trait. But if Brandon does have it then we have to get Brody tested to rule out Hemoglobin H disease. Obviously, he doesn't have the Alpha Thal Major or he wouldn't be here. Also if Brandon has it then we have to go to genetic counseling to see what the future would hold for us and future children.

So that's it in a nutshell. I'm still researching and dissecting my thoughts regarding this. I just got comfortable with the fact that I have Factor 5 and getting off all the blood thinners and trying not to worry about clotting but now I was thrown this...Urgh

It definitely makes me appreciate God's gift even more and shows what a miracle this little guy really is. He's had so many cards stacked against him already because of mommy's messed up blood! I just pray he doesn't have Factor 5 or any other weird thing that I might have passed along to him :(

Love,
LeAnn

Found: Babysitter

My cousin's wife, Angie, is going to watch Brody on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. They have 4 girls so Brody will be in heaven :) And my cousin Sherri who is great with kiddos and absolutely loves everything baby is going to watch him Wednesday. They are such a blessing. Thank you to everyone who offered to watch Brody. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such great family and friends that would do us this favor until school is out! 6 more weeks!!!!!!!!

I will leave you with these darling images (taken this morning as we were leaving Nana's)

Brody and Daddy

Brody at 9 weeks
Love ya,
LeAnn

Needed: Babysitter

So we had Aunt Judy lined up to watch B next week but forgot it was TAKS week so we reschedule her for the following week thinking B wouldn't get any jobs. Of course a job comes up for next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday...

Marcy...Deniese...want to miss work next week :)~

So...anyone want to watch Brody? I'm totally not pimping out my kid or anything, we just hate to turn down the easy money of a hall monitor!!!!!

Love ya
LeAnn

2 months

Today Brody went in for his 2 month check-up and we got a great report. Here's the stats:

Weight: 10 lbs 13 oz
Height: 22 1/4 inches
Head: 15 and something
Shots: 6(3 in each leg) We both cried :(

I asked that he be tested for Factor V and the doc said we have to wait until 1 year because of the amount of blood they have to draw for this test. Remembering back I think they had to take 6 vials for my test and he said it was just too much for his little body.

He has a touch of exzema(spelling?) which could mean a touch of allergy to something, probably milk that I'm passing to him. He said he would really like me to breast feed for a full year because of this...he'd probably be allergic to formula. So my goal is 1 year. I was going to breast feed for 6 months(once the booger gets teeth I'd rather him be off) but as long as my schedule for next year allows me to pump then I will try and go for the whole year since it's what is best for him.

He's going to keep those beautiful blue eyes!!!!!! He said most eyes will turn by 6 months but that if they are going to turn darker they have a darker rim around the colored part. Brody's is blue so he said they will stay blue!

So what's Brody doing at 2 months:
- He's laughing up a storm
- He's the happiest little boy and wakes up smiling every morning. He even was laughing at me while I changed his diaper at 3 am
- He's focusing more and loves his swing. He will laugh at the little animals going around and around. He loves watching the fan too.
- Starting to coo

I will update tonight with pics
Love,
L

PS: I'm also excited to announce the birth of Laiken Neff! She entered this world Thursday and is the cutest little butter ball. She looks just like her momma. Please keep her parents in your prayers. They are having to go through the hardest thing right now by leaving little Laiken at the hospital so she can get over her jaundice and gain some weight. I know it must be so hard! Pray that she can come home quickly.

Just not enough time

I've been meaning to update my blog but I'm so busy and so tired. Truth be told I miss Brody so much during the day that all I want to do is spend every second with him in the evening and not waste our precious time together that we have.

Going back to work has been hard. Luckily I'm so busy during the day that I hardly have time to think. I love coming home to Brody and its even better when he smiles at me or his daddy when he sees us.

I'm really resenting my bed rest, it took time away from the time I could have stayed home with him. I know it was for the best and for his health but it still is erking me right now. 6 weeks just wasn't long enough.

So that's where I'm at...I'll try and update when I can but just remember my absence is spent loving on my baby when I'm at home!

Love,
LeAnn

I'm at work

It sucks!

6 weeks

My baby is growing up! I cannot believe Brody is 6 weeks old and let me tell you, he is getting so big!

I find myself during the day sitting and looking at him for hours...he is just so darn cute.

I go back to work on Monday....don't care to discuss it or think about it which isn't good for my lesson planning...I will get there...one day at a time though

We have taken 2 steps forward and one step back with the sleeping. For example, last night we slept from 8:45 pm - 1:45am--great! but we were then up from 1:45 to 5:45 fussing if I even thought about putting him down. He finally fell asleep in my arms and slept next to me until 9:45 which was another great stretch. Bad thing is that I will have to be up at 5:45 next week to get ready for work instead of going back to bed with him and sleeping for another 4 hours. Anyone know how to break a baby from sleeping with you or waking up when you put them down without them screaming their head off and chocking because they've gotten themselves so upset?

It amazes me that I can hear B cry in another room and know exactly what he wants. He has a hungry cry, a dirty diaper cry, a gassy cry and a tired cry, all very different in sound. He even has a pissed off cry

What you are doing this week:
- Brody loves his prayer bear that Mandy got him. I have it on his changer and everytime we change him I push it to distract him. This week he grabbed at it and he always turns towards it and smiles...its so sweet.

- You have moved up to 1 diapers...you can still fit into newborns but 1's aren't as tight on your legs.
- You are getting very long! I think you've grown another couple inches just in the past 2 weeks.
- You still fit in newborns and 0-3 and this week I've put you in a few 3-6 months and they actually fit a little! I think you will be out of the newborns in another week :(

I was trying to catch his smile and he put his arm up..darn!


Til next time,
LeAnn