One Year Later... Almost!

I've been a very busy mommy so I have not updated my blog in a while. It's so crazy to believe how fast this year has gone! Jackson will be a year old a week from this Wednesday!

Since my last post:

I am actually on prednisone again right now, but I am down to 2mg and almost done with it. You're probably thinking, "wow, she's been on that for a long time!"

Actually, I was able to start taking my injection medication, Enbrel, shortly after having Jackson. A few months after being on it, I had some sort of reaction to it that affected my hands. I stopped taking the Enbrel and I was able to heal. My Rheumatology doctor had me start a new injection called Humaria. Again, I was fine for a while and it came back. After being off the medication for a while and seeing a dermatologist,whatever it was finally went away.

I went without taking any medication for a few months when we decided to put me back on the prednisone to prevent a flare. Right now, I only have a few options of new medication and I'm currently trying to decide what to do.

My options:

1. Take another injection which is similar to Enbrel and Humaria and could potentially cause the same reaction to the medication I had with the other two. (Enbrel was a shot once a week, Humaria was a shot every other week, and this new one would be once a month.)
2. Start infusions, such as remicade, where I'd have to go sit at a hospital for a few hours every 6-8 weeks. (My sister who has Crohn's does this and it works really well for her.)

I'm not really sure what I want to do yet.

The million dollar question:

"Is Jackson going to be your only child because of what all you went through?" / "Are you going to have any more kids?"

To tell you the truth, I've thought about this a lot! Granted I went through so much pain for a few months, but I wouldn't change where I am at now. Jackson has been such a blessing and I cannot even imagine my life without him now.

Now that I know what I am capable of, I'd hate to let a disease control my life and not let me live the life I want to live. But
 I think I could only go through a pregnancy one more time.

What would I do differently?

1. I'd definitely try to be more proactive. I think when I started having my flare things didn't happen fast enough. I couldn't get into the doctor right away. I didn't get medicine right away. I didn't get my flare taken care of right away so it got really bad, really fast.
2. I know every pregnant woman has their cravings, but I think I would watch what I eat a little better. The more weight I gained the worse I felt after having my flare. I gained 50lbs. If I would have watched what I ate better I probably wouldn't have gained as much weight.
3. I think being more physically active would help. This would also help keep my weight down. But I would like to do yoga or water aerobics. Yoga would help keep my back from tightening up and water aerobics would help lift up some of the weight to relieve pressure on my back.

My Rheumatology doctor made a good point: Every pregnancy is different so if I were going to have another baby it may not be as hard for me. But it's hard to tell. Like I said before, I am not going to let a disease hold me back. I've found ways around all the problems I've had and I will continue to do so.   

If you're wondering about Jackson, he is doing great. He's walking everywhere. I think he might even master running soon. He's even tried giving me heart attacks by starting to climb on things. Our families spoil him so he's a little rotten sometimes. He is healthy, smart, and growing like crazy!