Resolve to Take a Nap!

Hello!

Thanks for sharing your story. You certainly have your hands full and deserve a nap and more!

In my book, Reflux 101: A Parent's Guide to Gastroesophageal Reflux, I talk about how caregiving is the unplanned career. None of us start our adult lives thinking we will do anything but go to a job in an office, store, etc. But caring for a sick child, spouse or parent is very common. We end up having more than our share of "work". Just like a runner in a marathon, you have to run as fast as you can but you have to save some energy for the last mile. I think taking a nap was my way of coping with the exhaustion and stress of caretaking.

Hang in there and take a power nap today. You deserve it!

Jan Gambino

The Reflux Mom

P.S. I am one of 3 sister and I have 3 daughters. I think the relationship sisters have is very special. I bet the girls are very close and they will always remember their time together.

Hi Jan!

Yes, the girls are very close.  They fight between themselves over toys, etc., but if something happens at school, the first person either of them wants to talk to is her sister.  I hope they will be as close their whole lives.   :)  I always wished I would have had a sister, but I had one little brother (he's ok, we don't see him often, though)!

I was reading some of your posts and thought I would share my experiences with reflux when my children were babies.  My oldest son (now 16) was born prematurely at 30 weeks, and he had Reflux.  I used to weight his bottles down with a little cereal, that helped, and sitting him straight up in the pumpkin seat and not moving him for about an hour after he ate (otherwise he would projectile vomit, I have never seen someone throw up like that, all the way across the room!!!).  He is huge now, 6 feet tall and only 16, you sure cannot tell he was a preemie, and he eats just fine, he grew out of most all of the problems he had.  Katelyn (age 8) had reflux also, but to a somewhat lesser degree.  We sat her up in the pumpkin seat after she ate also (for about an hour, like we did Tim), but it had the odd side effect in her case that it flattened the back of her head, and she had to get fitted and wear this special helmet, to shape her head to be more round.  She wore that helmet for a year.  She is fine now, she eats everything in sight, her nickname is "Hungry Baby" LOL

I remember Katelyn's first Christmas Eve, she was only 3 months old, already had reflux.  We were at my brother-in-law's house and my sis-in-law (naturally) wanted to hold the new baby and carry her around.  I had fed Katelyn and put her in the pumpkin seat and warned people not to pick her up for a while....  My sis in law just could not resist, and picked her up and was carrying her and passing her back/forth to my neice and Katelyn threw up (projectile vomiting) all over them both, and they were both dressed up.  I don't blame them for wanting to hold her, she was a cute lil thing, but they can't say I didn't warn them!!!!

Caregiving has definitely been an unplanned career for me.  I always knew though, that if my parents got sick that it would be me that would take care of them.  My brother and his family don't come around much (their choice, not ours, we have tried...).  I took care of my Mom when she was sick, too, she recovered, then retired, and is doing well now.  She lives about 10 minutes away and she helps me a lot.  I do worry about her there by herself, though, the neighborhood she lives in has gone downhill in the past 10 or so years. 

Thanks for your reply and for sharing!

:)

Theirmom99

Hello!

Well, you are a Reflux Mom too!!! YOu used many effective home treatments that take time and effort (ie caretaking) but really make a difference. There is some evidence that the home care is just as effective as the new medications we now use freqently for babies with reflux.

You might want to join the Family Caregiver Association. I think the director blogs on HealthCentral. they have a wonderful newsletter and many resources for families.

Keep in touch-

Jan Gambino

The Reflux Mom