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Parenting with Arthritis
Advice Please
Advice Please
One of the questions on our Parenting
Survey was: Do you have any questions you'd like to ask other parents
with arthritis?
We're putting all those questions here
so we can help each other out! Please email
your responses to us by Thursday so we can finish out the week with the
answers.
I see a direct relation between my
level of patience with the kids and how I am feeling. I don't like being
cranky with my kids when I am not feeling good. How do other parents
avoid being cranky?
My arthritis came back much worse after
I had her.
Has anyone else experienced the worse symptoms after delivery and then
experienced a remission? I'm hopeful for the remission one day (which I
was in before her birth).
How have you handled a time when you
just couldn't take your child somewhere that they really wanted and
there was nobody around to help?
How do you handle the guilt about not
being able to have the energy to do things that the children want you
to?
How do you reassure your children, when
you're not sure yourself?
GEZ! How do you guys do it? (from a
very new Mom!)
If they have any hints on dealing with
babies and toddlers when having arthritis.
I honestly don't know how I would have
coped if my children had been small when I developed RA. Those of you
with toddlers and infants, how do you do it? I have a lot of admiration
for you.
How do you maintain a sense of
normality?
The responses:
From Swimmer:
Regarding arthritis flare after pregnancy. I went into remission during pregnancy. What a treat! For most people pregnancy can be a trial....for me it was a picnic because my RA never felt better. LOL Afterwards, however, the RA did come back and hit me hard. It took about 3 months until it seemed to level off again. After my 2nd child I went back on the meds immediately and that seemed to help. I think that it just takes a while for all the hormones in your body to return to normal and that seemed to also affect the RA. Keep hoping for that remission.
How to handle the guilt about not being able to have the energy to do the things your children want? First, I rarely feel guilty. I do the best job as a mother that I can. Maybe I can't run around outside with them, but we can do art projects together instead. Or, read books. I know I am giving my children my attention and most of the energy I have each day. So far they remain happy and contented with their lives.
How do you maintain a sense of normality? Well..I have RA. So what is "normal" for our household is to live and cope with that RA on a daily basis. It is normal for me to sometimes use the wheelchair around the house, it is normal for me to take meds, it is normal for me to take naps. I don't try to hide it from my kids - it is just a normal part of our lives, not a separate part.
And from Jo:
One of the most important things I have learned from my RA is to relax and smell the roses. Being a single mom of a very active 5 year old as well as a full time college student, I didn't take any time for myself or my son. Now, I welcome the opportunity to just sit with my son and play trucks as well as taking a deep breath and enjoying my life.
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