For years, I didn’t think I’d ever tell my kids that their mom has Crohn’s disease. I had worked so hard for so long to achieve remission... so I was tired of dealing with Crohn's when my first was born. As a result, I never shared what was going on and often focused on how much I wanted to be a "normal" mom. But over the past year, my 5-year-old started to notice that there are some things about me that are different -- I’ve missed out on some family activities, sometimes

In order to get well enough to take on the role of motherhood in the way that I wanted, I would need to take Cimzia (throughout my first pregnancy) and then Humira (started after a rough flare and shortly before my second pregnancy). I was nervous at first, but, armed with evidence-based research, I was able to make my own informed decision to exclusively breastfeed both of my children while effectively treating my Crohn's disease. I'm not one to engage in a mommy-battle of

From a young age, I knew that I wanted to be a mother. But, when I began experiencing symptoms of Crohn’s disease at age 21, I became worried about how my future may look. Knowing instinctively that I wanted to be well to have a child, I set out on a mission to heal the angry disease that was taking over my intestines. After struggling on lower-tiered medications, a hospitalization for an obstruction led me to realize that the deep healing that I desired would only come us

When I’m not feeling well, it can be hard to take care of me AND all of the responsibilities that I take on, including parenting two young boys. Because chronic illness requires a life-long dedication, I don’t always have the option to ask for help when things get a little tough. If I did, I wouldn’t always have someone available when things are REALLY bad. It’s a judgement call. So, I have to get creative in my planning and parenting, to make sure that I can still keep th