Enzymes are No Challenge for this CF Toddler

I have to share this video of Radek, the star of the Radek Loves To Breathe blog, just owning the enzymes that were put down on his tray. If you'd like advice on how to get your toddler to take their enzymes you may want to reach out to Shane or Jamie (the Rockstar's parents) and see what tips they may have!!

You want me to do WHAT??

**Do not eat before or during reading - you have been warned!!

This weekend was yet another CF-related first for me...bathroom scouting. Huh? You're thinking. Let me back up and start from the beginning.

Ronnie and I woke up a little late for church yesterday, and knowing that we were meeting some friends for lunch after, didn't eat breakfast, but did house a few cups of coffee. When we got to church, there were bagels, so we both happily devoured half a bagel to tide us over, but because we were eating on the fly, Ronnie ate his half sans pills. This combo (and who knows what else, maybe the pizza from Saturday night) resulted in Ronnie having a really upset stomach. As we were leaving church he was debating if he should go back and use the bathroom before trying to make the drive to meet our friends, and on top of that, his stomach was so upset he thought maybe he was going to have to call off lunch. Being the trooper that he is, however, he decided that he could hold it and that he could still hang out.

BAD IDEA!

By the time we arrived at the restaurant to meet our friends Ronnie had worked up a sweat clenching through the many waves of death. I know you know exactly what I'm talking about, so I won't say more! Another wave was hitting him as we pulled in the parking lot. He looked at me, sweat on his brow and looking a little tense and said, "Do you think this place has an ok bathroom?" Now let me explain, Ronnie's not usually bashful, but the restaurant is SUPER quaint and tiny, and if he can stink up 4/5 of our house on a good morning, he can certainly ruin most patrons' meals in a small restaurant. "I don't know" I responded. "Will you go look?" he asked, "If it's not, I'll drive somewhere else". I began wondering how this was going to go down. Our friends were inside. I knew if I went in, they'd see me, and I've have to say hi, but dart to the bathroom, which would require me outing Ronnie. "What do you want me to say??" "That I have to go to the bathroom and you have to scout the bathroom." DUH MANDI - obviously the man that still makes fart noises when he watches someone bend over wouldn't have a problem letting people know he was about to totally ruin this unsuspecting toilet!!

This wasn't a covert opp AT ALL. I ran in, gave the obligatory hugs, threw my purse down and said, "Ronnie's in the car and wants me to scout the bathroom to make sure it'll be a suitable environment..." AWKWARD! Luckily we were meeting with another CFer and her husband...so they get it.

Anywhooooo, just thought I'd sure that first. Needless to say, this is yet another lesson in never eating without enzymes!

Attack of the Bubbly Guts: The Importance of Digestive Enzymes

Saturday night Ronnie and I babysat for his cousin's kids. I simply adore his cousin's kids, but that's another story for another time. The important part of this story is that while we were babysitting, after we put the kids to bed, Ronnie grabbed a slice of pizza. Seeing the pizza in his hand I yelled from the couch, "do you need your enzymes?" in my most loving, nagging voice. "Naa, it's ok," he replied. Wellll it turned out to NOT be ok. For the next several hours, he was rubbing his bloated, turning, rumbling belly.

He had sharp pains in his sides, was extremely gassy (yes, not taking pills can negatively impact EVERYONE around you) and appeared to be several months pregnant. He (and the toilet) continued to pay for his pizza sans pills after arriving back home last night and this morning. Needless to say, it was a good reminder of why we tote around enzymes with us everywhere we go.

We've started to get strategic with our enzyme placement so that we can avoid incidents like Saturday night's pizza bloat. We keep them everywhere. We have a bottle in my car and 1-2 bottles in his. We have a few bottles at my house and a small arsenal at his. But he has a new favorite location: a change purse that is kept in my 'mom bag' (a purse so large that you can fit anything and everything in but can never locate something once its in there). We've found the change purse method to be the most handy because I rarely go anywhere without my purse.

Before keeping them in my purse, we'd often have to run back to the car or realize after it was too late that the car stash was out. We just always make sure that the change purse is full and we're good to go. Also, it's nice when they're in a change purse because you can avoid pulling out a huge bottle of pills while at a restaurant or with company (if you're shy about your pills). I'm not sure what Ronnie likes better about this solution, the fact that he is more likely to have pills when he needs them, or that it's become my responsibility to always be fully loaded. Regardless, it has worked for us.

Just thought I'd share our enzyme strategy. I've found that working out simple little systems like this makes it all a lot easier. Also, in that change purse, I always carry a few tylenol so that if he gets achy or a headache out of no where, we have them on hand.

How do you remember your enzymes and where do you stash them? We're always looking for new tricks!