Jill's sons

I married my husband Ben in September 2004, and immediately started trying for a baby. Within a matter of ten months, we had gone through four miscarriages, but my doctor had attributed that to just being young (I was only 22). A week before our first anniversary, we found out we were pregnant for the fifth time. It was an uneventful pregnancy, and after fourteen hours of labor and two and a half hours of pushing, Christopher Scott was born after assistance with a vacuum extractor. He was born on Mother's Day, and my birthday.

Life went on as normal, and about the time Christopher turned one, we decided to start trying for another baby, thinking that with our luck, the past was doomed to repeat itself. I was right. We experienced three more miscarriages before I was referred to an OB/GYN as opposed to my family doctor (who was the doctor that served as my doctor, OB/GYN, my son's delivering doctor as well as pediatrician) only because my doctor was moving to another city. I found out I was pregnant for the ninth time shortly after the referral, and six hours after meeting my OB for my inital pregnancy appointment, I was in the hospital miscarrying for the eighth time. My OB immediately ordered blood work, and made the order to check for everything under the sun.

Seventeen tubes of blood and two weeks later, I was called into his office. He explained to me that I had homozygous Factor V Leiden, homozygous MTHFR, as well as heterozygous Lupus Anticoagulating Antibodies. He looked me in the eye and told me he was shocked that 1) I was able to carry my son full term and deliver a healthy child, 2) I didn't die giving birth and 3) I hadn't had a stroke. I went home with this information and told my mother later that night that she needed to get tested, as she was due to go in for a hysterectomy three weeks later. She discovered she has it too, and she is on baby aspirin. I was put on coumadin, until I became pregnant for the tenth and final time, and then I was switched to Lovenox twice a day for the entire pregnancy and for a week after delivery.

After going into premature labor the day after Thanksgiving, and six weeks of bedrest, I was admitted in the hospital at 9 p.m. on December 30, 2008. I was off the blood thinners so I would have an option for painkillers if I so chose. 10 p.m. my husband went home to take care of Christopher. My induction time was set for 6 a.m. New Year's Eve. They administered Prostaglandin gel to soften my cervix, and my labor took off on its own. At 4 a.m. I asked to use the whirlpool, and I was checked at 4 cm, so I could get into the tub. An hour and a half later, I woke up in the tub and felt funny, so I pulled the cord to summon a nurse. I told her I felt like pushing, but she told me to hold on, as a woman across the hall was delivering. Fifteen minutes later, I was pulled from the tub as I felt my water break and felt the baby's head pushing down. I was pushing all the way down the hall. The only thing I remember vividly was a nurse screaming at me to stop pushing (which I ignored), and hearing a nurse say she would call the doctor, to which I replied that I couldn't care less about the doctor, and I wanted them to call my husband first. Thanks to HypnoBirthing, I was able to birth my son in an inner peace and tranquility. After only six hours of labor, and ten minutes of pushing, The baby was born into my waiting hands (it was just me and two nurses who were dragging in equipment and didn't have their gloves on), and I delivered him essentially by myself. Timothy Leo was born three and a half weeks early at 6:09 a.m. New Year's Eve, weighing 6 lbs. 2 oz.

Since the delivery I am still on coumadin, and was advised I'll be on the coumadin for the rest of my life. But it's a small price to pay in order to be an active participant in my two little boys' lives. They are the light of our world, and we feel lucky everyday that we were able to have them and everyone is healthy in the end. In the meantime, I am preparing to get a tubal, as we were told we could have another one, but due to my medical history, the chances of me or the baby dying is really high, so we decided not to push our luck. We have the two babies we dreamed about.

Jill
homozygous Factor V Leiden
homozygous MTHFR
heterozygous Lupus Anticoagulating Antibodies