Guest guest Posted March 20, 2003 Report Share Posted March 20, 2003 Hi Kari, My daughter is four with CF and we have no other children but I wanted to let you know that sometimes saying " I'm sick " when they are not is age appropriate. My daughter does this too. So did my niece at this age (her bro has asthma/allergies) Are you able to give her a special time just you and her once in a while. Like a girls day out? I know this is probably next to impossible but it may help. Siblings w/o CF Hello every one- I just have some questions on how you all deal w/ situations involving your other children in the home w/ out cf. Well I have a 4yr. old daughter who is not only dealing w/ not being the only child anymore but dealing w/ a sick new baby @ the same time. Our baby is 10mo. old now but has been sick since he was 2mo. old. My problem is my 4 yr.old is begging for breathing treatments, antibiotics,steroids you name it! She is so sure shes sick too- (listen " I catched a cold mommy " , or I have a fever, Oh Im breathing to hard ect...) I feel bad because I spend alot of attention to my baby that should be shared between the two, on top of it all I breast fed him for 8mo. which took up even more of my time. How do I get her to see that being sick isint a good thing? I dont want her to grow up being Hypo-whatever you call it- when she gets older! any helpful advice out there? Kari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2003 Report Share Posted March 20, 2003 When Patti was diagnosed at 2 months my other kids were 5, 4, and 2. Several months later we went through what you are describing. What worked for us was to let them be active in caring for Patti's health. It made cf a family thing instead of a Patti thing. My oldest would mark on a chart how many ounces of formula she ate or how long she nursed. Patti was good at taking medicines so my four year old was able to give her the zantac and reglan. I got a second percussor cup and let my two year old do cpt on her doll's while I did Patti. As they have grown older their roles have changed. They encourage her to do her breathing, to run, to jump, to cough. If she has any really particularly nasty medicine to take she will take it from them before she will take it from me. When we take Patti to church nursery, it is the older kids who remind the care givers to give Patti her enzymes. Hope this helps, Dawn mom of 4, 7 and under, the youngest wcf To: cfparents Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 12:02 AM Subject: Siblings w/o CF Hello every one- I just have some questions on how you all deal w/ situations involving your other children in the home w/ out cf. Well I have a 4yr. old daughter who is not only dealing w/ not being the only child anymore but dealing w/ a sick new baby @ the same time. Our baby is 10mo. old now but has been sick since he was 2mo. old. My problem is my 4 yr.old is begging for breathing treatments, antibiotics,steroids you name it! She is so sure shes sick too- (listen " I catched a cold mommy " , or I have a fever, Oh Im breathing to hard ect...) I feel bad because I spend alot of attention to my baby that should be shared between the two, on top of it all I breast fed him for 8mo. which took up even more of my time. How do I get her to see that being sick isint a good thing? I dont want her to grow up being Hypo-whatever you call it- when she gets older! any helpful advice out there? Kari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2003 Report Share Posted March 20, 2003 I have a 3yo wocf and she sounds the same as your daughter. I give her physio whenever she asks. I figure it can't hurt her LOL. Wendi Mom to Keira (3 wocf) and (18mos wcf) > Hello every one- I just have some questions on how you all deal w/ > situations involving your other children in the home w/ out cf. Well > I have a 4yr. old daughter who is not only dealing w/ not being the > only child anymore but dealing w/ a sick new baby @ the same time. > Our baby is 10mo. old now but has been sick since he was 2mo. old. My > problem is my 4 yr.old is begging for breathing treatments, > antibiotics,steroids you name it! She is so sure shes sick too- > (listen " I catched a cold mommy " , or I have a fever, Oh Im breathing > to hard ect...) I feel bad because I spend alot of attention to my > baby that should be shared between the two, on top of it all I > breast fed him for 8mo. which took up even more of my time. How do I > get her to see that being sick isint a good thing? I dont want her to > grow up being Hypo-whatever you call it- when she gets older! any > helpful advice out there? Kari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2003 Report Share Posted March 21, 2003 Make time to spend alone with your older child for special things, even if it is a trip to the corner store for an ice cream. Make her feel as special as possible. As she grows, she will understand better on her own. Amber Nick's mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2003 Report Share Posted March 21, 2003 Hi Kari Its important to give your little girl her own special time of course but also involve her as much as you can in the babies care. Nothing makes a 4 year old feel more important than helping out mom. Get her a little doctors kit so instead of wanting to be sick she will want to make everyone better. > Hello every one- I just have some questions on how you all deal w/ > situations involving your other children in the home w/ out cf. Well > I have a 4yr. old daughter who is not only dealing w/ not being the > only child anymore but dealing w/ a sick new baby @ the same time. > Our baby is 10mo. old now but has been sick since he was 2mo. old. My > problem is my 4 yr.old is begging for breathing treatments, > antibiotics,steroids you name it! She is so sure shes sick too- > (listen " I catched a cold mommy " , or I have a fever, Oh Im breathing > to hard ect...) I feel bad because I spend alot of attention to my > baby that should be shared between the two, on top of it all I > breast fed him for 8mo. which took up even more of my time. How do I > get her to see that being sick isint a good thing? I dont want her to > grow up being Hypo-whatever you call it- when she gets older! any > helpful advice out there? Kari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2003 Report Share Posted March 21, 2003 When my youngest (with cf) was born, we had the same situation with my middle child (a three-year old at the time.) While the breathing treatments were out of the question, I did do many sessions of p.t. with her when she asked. I have even let the older kids use the vest. It's not an every day thing, but they got a taste of what it was like and quickly got past wanting it. I also let them " help " do p.t. and aerosols for my son (do you want to do some of the pats? could you hold this nebulizer on him while I go in the other room for a minute? can you count out two enzymes for him?) As long as the " healthy " child isn't excluded, I think they will get past wanting the medical attention. Most older siblings feel some pangs of jealousy. Spending special alone time with no younger sibling around is helpful, too. ~ mommy of 3, 1 with cf How do I > get her to see that being sick isint a good thing? I dont want her to > grow up being Hypo-whatever you call it- when she gets older! any > helpful advice out there? Kari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.