Happy Mother’s Day! This year, we are raising a glass to the strong mothers parenting children with IBD–we know just how difficult this disease is, and we are here for you. Here’s a couple of suggestions to help you breathe and hold space for yourselves, even as you support your child:
Mindful Breathing
The key word here is mindful. As you stare at food lists, pediatric GI doctor’s appointments littering your calendar, and wade through a virtual sea of medications, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Focus on feeling your lungs pull in and push out air, and how the muscles move to support your body function. Be in the moment for yourself; it will help you be there for your child when you are ready for it.
Your Child Is Not Their Disease
This seems counterintuitive, but it is so important to remind yourself and your child that they are not their illness. Your child is experiencing IBD; they may play an occasional role as an IBD patient, but they are so much more than that. Separating one’s identity from the disease is an essential realization for mental health, and creating emotional space to exist outside of the context of pills and hospitals. After all, a kid should get to be a kid–disease be damned.
Give Yourself the Gift of Time
On a psychological level, humans are wired to remember the bad rather than the good–this served an important purpose when we were hunting and gathering, but in the modern age, this learning mechanism is not fit for every situation. Case in point: you are more likely to remember the hospital visits rather than all of the days your child felt good.
Create memories with your child, and make sure to take pictures for the both of you, smiling and have a good time. Besides important bonding time, the pictures can even help on the bad days, reminding you that even though the storm is raging, sunshine will come again, just like it did before.
Make it fun!
Who says IBD has to limit happiness? Instead of thinking about all the things your child cannot have, find recipes to make together that are good for their gut! This is great, because through this process you can show your child the power of resilience, teach them about nutrition, and empower them to take care of themselves and their gut.
Gut Health Kit
We can’t protect children from everything, especially when it is happening to their own bodies. Therefore, one way to put IBD in context for your child is helping them prepare for it. Expert gastroenterologists recommend creating a ‘kit’, or a pack of IBD care items for children to take with them, in case of an accident. Why not make it together?
In creating this IBD kit together, you are teaching your child about how to take care of their own illness, but helping them feel a sense of control and preparedness–which might roll over to yourself. In this kit, we suggest wipes, an urgency card explaining the nature of your child’s illness, and spare underwear. Even if they never use it (and we hope they will never have to), the experience of putting it together with an adult they trust can help them feel more secure, while also giving them the vocabulary to speak positively about their IBD.
Evinature’s Tips and Recommendations
IBD is no joke, and can be especially distressing for children. On the other side of that coin, however, are the brave moms that put on a good face for their children, becoming health care advocates and medical liaisons to make sure their little one gets the best care. We see you, mom, and you’re doing great!
In case you weren’t aware, a clinical study on CurQD® use in mild-to-moderate active pediatric ulcerative colitis was effective in reducing bowel urgency in young patients. If your child hasn’t tried CurQD®, we highly recommend taking our online gut health assessment here (it’s free) to get a personalized protocol for your child, designed to improve their gut health and maintain long-term remission.
Additionally, our Exhale supplement is a targeted, plant-based product that reduces the effect of stress on the body and improves sleep quality. Taking care of yourself is the keystone to your child’s recovery, and making sure that you are supporting your body’s needs is important too!
You’re our heroines, moms, and from all of us at Evinature: Happy Mother’s Day!
Summer Pitocchelli-Schwartzman
