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Moms - How did you do it?

xJillx

Your Story Forum Monitor
After giving birth, how did you manage your disease and caring for your newborn? I have read many have a difficult time with their CD after having a baby. Even my GI agreed it can be a difficult time due to all the hormone changes. Any advise, suggestions, and/or insight would be greatly appreciated!

PS- I am not preggos or actively trying just yet, but I am hoping to feel a little bit better and start trying within the year.
 
Whatever meds you took to get well, stay on them during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a good way to stabilize hormones after pregnancy, and may even have a protective affect against flaring the in first post partum year. Not to mention it can also lower the risk of IBD in the baby.

I was in remission when I got pregnant, and stayed in remission for about 20 months after I had her. I had a good post partum experience.

Further, breastfeeding was not associated with an increased risk of disease flare and may even provide a protective effect against disease flare in the postpartum year. Women should be encouraged to breastfeed but must review whether it is safe to do so with their doctors, in terms of whether the medications they use cross into breast milk.
http://www.ibdmanitoba.org/preg.htm
 
Jill this is a great thread to start as I think there is a lot of us out there that are yet to become parents but are considering it and I know I'm def scared of what the future holds! I'm worried bout how I will care for a baby when I'm sick, my hubby is worried bout he will deal with it all if he has to be the bread winner plus look after a baby plus the housework plus me. I have been going well for the last 3 months and my GI has even mentioned the R word but i also have arthritis which needs to be controlled, so hoping when that gets under control my crohns will still be good too.

I would love too hear how others went during pregnancy after it and also life in general with kids.
 

xJillx

Your Story Forum Monitor
Lydia - Thanks for the breastfeeding tip - does it really reduce the risk of IBD in the baby?! Also, I didn't know how it could help stabilize the hormones. Breastfeeding it is!

Tanya - I am soooo scared about pregnancy with having CD. I am worried if it will make my disease progress, and I am worried about my future children's risk. If you haven't already read it, I did start a thread when I first joined that addressed several questions about pregnancy and CD:http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=15189
 
Right now, I am 31 weeks pregnant. I worry about this every single day on whether or not I will be able to take care of my child. It is a scary situation.

The pregnancy itself has been okay. I've pretty much been sick the whole time, but I was actively flaring when I found out I was pregnant. I have stayed on all of my medications and haven't really gotten worse, just don't really feel good most of the time. The baby is completely healthy though and an active little girl. She's growing right on schedule :) (Thank God!)

So aside from me being ill while pregnant, baby is doing great.
 

xJillx

Your Story Forum Monitor
Manzyb - I have been tracking your progress on the forum, and I know you haven't had an easy pregnancy. I am so sorry. But on a positive note, at least your baby is doing well! And a little girl! You must be thrilled. I so want a little girl. I am afraid if I have a difficult pregnancy, I may not want to have a second, so I pray I have a little girl first. Granted, a healthy child is really all I want, of course!
What is your due date? Please keep us posted - after the arrival of your daughter, too!
 
Oh I definitely will! You know, it hasn't been easy as far as the being sick, but yes, all I care about is that she's okay and healthy! She weighs a little over 3 pounds now!!!!

I am completely thrilled about having her! At first, I kept saying there's no way i think I will do this again, but it's just so exciting that I can't help but to think about having another baby one day :)

Little Ms. Sadie is due on April 25th. However, looks like I will be having a c-section the week before, so I'm thinking she'll be here around the 18th or 19th of April if I last until 39 weeks :) It is very exciting and I will keep everyone posted :)
 
Oh, and I really thought that I was pregnant with a boy, I was so excited about having one... and when I found out I was having a girl, I thought I would be disappointed but all of the little girl clothes are so freaking adorable its crazy!!
 
I have had Crohns since I was 17 I had my first daughter in 98 and was on prednisilone for the first 3 months I had my second daughter in 01 and was on no medication at all i braestfed them both for 7 months as i was told if i did they were less likely to get it both my daughters are very healthy happy children, I got a fistula from giving birth to my first so was advised to have a c section with my second so if there is any chance you can opt for a c section i would as i am still having problems with it 12 years later.
 
Jill this is a great thread to start as I think there is a lot of us out there that are yet to become parents but are considering it and I know I'm def scared of what the future holds! I'm worried bout how I will care for a baby when I'm sick, my hubby is worried bout he will deal with it all if he has to be the bread winner plus look after a baby plus the housework plus me. I have been going well for the last 3 months and my GI has even mentioned the R word but i also have arthritis which needs to be controlled, so hoping when that gets under control my crohns will still be good too.

I would love too hear how others went during pregnancy after it and also life in general with kids.
I've been really lucky. I was dxed in Jan 2008 after being in a flare since November. I was taking Asacol and when we decided to try and get pregnant I stopped since I wasn't having any symptoms. I had a great pregnancy and have felt great since having DD almost 9 months ago. About 3 weeks ago I noticed more gas, and 2 weeks ago I noticed I was getting cramps in waves. I suspect I'm starting a flare but trying to be REALLY careful with what I eat as I'm not quite ready to give my nursing yet and the Dr. I saw at the clinic doesn't want me nursing and on meds.

After I delivered my DD the Dr. wanted me right back on my meds but I wasn't willing to go on them since I was feeling so great and honestly I'm glad I didn't.

Good luck to those pregnant or thinking of trying to get pregnant with Crohn's!
 
Here is my story:

I have two boys 3 and 5 months and i had a c-section with the first and a vbac with the 2nd. I ended up having a 3rd degree tear and the stitches/skin degraded and pulled apart. My obgyn said that it most likely happened because of my crohns and that he recommended a c-section for any other births because of fistulas. It was so painful i couldn't pick up the baby or bend over and i could feel the huge tear everytime i moved at all. I'm find now but i still have these phantom pains. I gave birth to my son in december and in feburary i got a blockage and went the er in horrible pain the worst i ever felt. Thats why i got diagnosed with crohns disease (ive had symptoms for 5-6 years no one ever could figure it out). Its been really hard taking care of my kids just from the roller coaster of emotions from being sick and being told i have a disease and then just not feeling well. But I get through it thanks to the help of my loving supportive husband. If i didn't have him I couldn't do it. But believe me i have many days were i just break down and cry because im tired and i don't have any family around to help me. But the nice thing was that i would have tons of cramps and pain but as soon as i got pregnant it would go away. Pregnancy put me into remission both times.
 
Having a newborn is a lot of work, I won't lie, but many mothers manage to prevail under adverse conditions and in extreame circumstances. Motherhood will strain all of your physical emmotional and mental resources which depending on your situation, may not always be a good option for those with severe ilness. That being said, if you choose to have a baby despite the odds being stacked against you, the love you feel for the tiny life you hold in your arms will provide you with the strength you need to acomplish what is necessary to ensure your baby is healthy and happy.

I have posted some advice on stratagies that worked for me on how to minimize the stress of new parenthood.

Breast feed, this requires no prep or extra clean up whatsoever and is always right there when you need it. When my daughter came home from the hospital, if I had a hard day and was feeling ill, we would hole up in the bed with a book/TV/laptop and doze in and out between feedings. I would keep diapers etc. beside the bed and get up only to eat/go to the bathroom. breastfeeding is also great for the health of mom and baby and makes life easier since breastfeed babies have less colic and better immune systems which means fewer illnesses and infections

Consider co-sleeping, baby and mom get much more sleep this way, I barely have to wake up to feed and my daughter never cries at night because she is secure beside mom.

Give yourself permission to ignore the house work. Yup, thats right, it will still be there when you're feeling more up to it.

If you can afford it consider a doula or a mothers helper and dont be afraid to ask for help from family and friends when it comes to meals, grocries and chores. Also insist that if family want to visit baby, that they come prepared to help, you should not have to "entertain" and be expected to do all the extra work involved in having guests at your home.

Give hubby certian responsabilities that you can both agree on. ie. hubby does an hour of child care in the morning before work so mom can have an extra hour to sleep or attend to personal grooming/chores etc. or maybe he picks up grocries on the way home from work. I find men are like children when it comes to chores, rather than ask my husband to do a specific chore, which in my case is always met with hostility, i will instead give him a few options i.e. he can choose between doing the dishes or cleaning the bathroom. Rather than being angry that I asked him to help with the house, he is happy to choose the chore he thinks is easiest of the two, lol.

I think it would also be helpfull to have an emerg. plan for extreame situations. discuss with your partner and family about who will care for baby in the event mom has to be hospitalized. This may include family members working in shifts, dad using vacation time to stay home or putting aside income to hire a nanny if need be.This may provide you with some peace of mind, knowing your little one will always be looked after, no matter what.

Lots of woman without Crohns become ill after pregnancy for many reasons, they do not have the forwarning that someone with a diagnosed illness has to prepare, it's not always easy, but one way or another we all manage to make it work.

I had an awful preg. severe diearreha, excruciating abdominal pain and so weak I could hardly get out of bed, my hair was falling out in clumps I had rashes all over and I measured two full months larger than my date (i dropped forty pounds of what i'm guessing was fluid within two days of delivery). I was pre diagnosis when I had my daughter, but she was born at 27 weeks gestation, my guess is from crohns related issues, but they never really could tell me what was wrong. I also developed an infection in my uterus from the c-section.

Dispite being quite ill with what I now know was a flare and also a uterine infection and recovering from my c-section I managed to make meals for my self and husband and clean the house, pump breast milk every three hours night and day and drive myself to the hospital to sit next to my daughter in the NICU for ten hours every day. We moms are capable of increadable feats!

Good luck to all the future moms out there!
 

xJillx

Your Story Forum Monitor
Thank you to all the moms for getting back to me! I appreciate your words of wisdom.

Though I am fearful of what may happen during/after pregnancy, it will not stop me from having a child. I am just trying to fully prepare myself beforehand. Once, again, thank you ladies!
 
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