How CF Effects Motherhood Part 2

Before becoming a CF mom I was always nervous about how CF would play a role in motherhood. Would it be manageable, would it make me less of a mother, would it be no big deal? Well, motherhood is always changing because babies change dramatically in a very short period of time. Last time I wrote about CF effecting motherhood (Click here for Part 1 and here for part 3) Kaylee was only a month old. Things like the startle reflex no longer apply to an *almost* six month old. So I decided to update you on how CF effects motherhood with a slightly older baby.

Treatments:
When Kaylee was little I would wake an hour before her to get her treatments in. Now Kaylee wakes around 5:30-6:30 in the morning and waking up at 4:30 to do treatments just isn't happening! I now try to fit my treatments in our morning routine which goes something like this:

• Kaylee wakes which instantly wakes me. I sometimes let her crawl around me in bed (we have guard rails) to buy me a few minutes. I bath her and then shower. I then go to the living room where I sit her on her blanket with some toys and sit across the room (I don't want her breathing in my albuterol, but I can still see/get to her easily). She plays while I do my first nebs. She then sits in her high chair while I eat breakfast. After breakfast she is ready for a nap. Once she is in bed I do the rest of my treatments., put on makeup, etc. 

Evenings my husband used to watch Kaylee, but he now works until really late 5 nights a week so my evening routine is as follows:

• Again I have her sit and play until I finish my entire treatment! Usually, when I get to Hypertonic Saline I put her in my lap and she plays with toys in my lap instead of her blanket cause she gets lonely and a little salt water never hurt anyone. After my treatments we start her nighttime routine and she goes to bed.

This leads me to my next obstacle...

Guilt:

I feel guilty that the whole time between wake up and Kaylee's first nap I am doing treatments, bathing, eating. I feel like I am not able to enjoy her cause I have other stuff I need to do. It makes me feel bad for Kaylee and angry at CF. The upside is she spent a lot of time on her tummy during my treatments and so she got strong pretty quickly. Now she spends lots of time sitting and can transition from sitting to an *almost* crawl position. I guess while I am doing treatments she is busy building muscles to hit developmental milestones. Even as I say this, I still feel guilty!!

Exercise

This is a tough one, but it doesn't have to be. The weather has been pretty crummy so I am no longer jogging or even walking much despite having a nice jogging stroller. I need to go to the gym and just haven't. I don't have much of an excuse except I never want to leave my baby. I need a kick in the butt (feel free to post some "get your stuff together" comments, I need it!) because I know exercising means I will be away from her for an hour a day, but will be alive and well for significantly longer. 

Weight Gain

I lost a lot of weight in the last three months. I think nursing is playing into this. When I was at work I was really good about snacking because I had designated breaks and so I would remember to eat. Now that I am home all the time I completely forget to snack which greatly effects my caloric intake.

I am sure in a few months everything will change again. I have no idea how I will do treatments when Kaylee learns to crawl! I will be sure to give you an update.