IBD
Parenting and IBD
I'm the mom of a beautiful 2.5 year old girl. I'm in remission right now, but I've started having thoughts of how I'll handle parenthood if I do ever have a flare. I was one of those lucky people who didn't have a big flare during pregnancy or postpartum, so I've never actually had to go through trying to parent while flaring. Likewise, I don't have that many "sick" days, so I haven't really had to explain Crohn's to my daughter yet. For those of you who are parents, how do you manage parenting when you're flaring? How do you explain your disease and your treatments to your children at various stages of their life? My daughter knows that Mommy goes to see the doctor every 4 weeks for a special medicine to keep her healthy and that Mommy is tired afterwards, but she doesn't really know much more than that. What advice do you have for if that situation ever does arise?
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I haven't had to personally go through this one yet either. My daughter is 2 years old and 4 months. I get Remicade infusions at home every 8 weeks. She pops in the room and observes what's going on and looks with curious eyes and wants to sit in my lap sometimes. Occasionally I let her for a few minutes then she gets sent out but as far as she is concerned its a normal routine. I don't get much bathroom privacy as it is so if I did have a flare the issue would probably be more so of give mommy some space and occupy yourself please lol. But idk yet Ill be explaining more about the disease as she gets older and Im sure her comprehension will grasp more and more as she develops more cognitively.
Care Partner of Adult
I definitely have thoughts on this, not from the parental perspective but from the child's. My mother lost her colon 6 weeks after I was born. I grew up seeiing her ostomy bag (non-desposable) hanging to dry over her shower rail and I only knew it was Mommy's bag. But I never understood what it did. I only knew it smelled odd as it dried out.
Eventually my mom explained things, but not in much detail. I did not really learn what it was all about until my own 13-year-old son lost his colon, and we had to help him maintain his ostomy bag during the 3 months he waited for his internal pouch to heal so he could have the pull-through surgery.
My point is this: If my mom had found it in her to really expain things to me, I believe it would have helped prepare me better for what was not necessarily inevitable but certainly a strong possibility to have to deal with in my future.
Thank you for sharing! I can completely see that. I know that I want to make sure that my daughter understands the disease. Even if she never has it (and if her potential children never have it), I think it would be a good thing for her to understand why I do certain things. As she gets older, I'm sure I'll explain more to her.