My Life as a Mama with CF

Hi all! Sorry I haven't posted in weeks, things have been a little crazy in the Hodsdon/Librande household these past couple of weeks. First off Grandpa had surgery on his heel to remove a bone spur, so he's been home for about 2 weeks now! Alida's gotten to know her Grandpa better than ever and I've got to admit, it's been pretty nice having some company around the house. Adam and I worked at the Oktoberfest one Saturday for the Salem Right to Life booth (St. Michael the Archangel's). Our shift just flew by! Person after person came by hoping to get one of Adam's GIANT ice cream cones, or one of the world famous cinnamon rolls that St. Michael's sells year after year. I was thankful that the time went by so quickly because that was the longest that I have been away from our little girl, and I was definitely starting to miss her. Alida had her 4 month appointment, and she did so great! She is up to 14 lbs. 11 oz and 24.5 inches; it's amazing how ...

Hello all! So as some of you know, part of my having Cystic Fibrosis (CF) means that I need to do different nebulizers at least twice a day (3 times currently) for a minimum of 30 minutes each session. Sitting down and breathing for about an hour each day might sound relaxing, however with a 4 month old it can be anything but. The mornings usually go quite well, I'm able to lay Alida down on her giggle garden play mat and she usually stays content playing with her rings and smiling at mama. The evenings, however, are a completely  different story. You would think that having three extra people around in the evenings to hold Alida if need be would make doing evening nebulizers even easier, but for what ever reason Alida turns into a mama's girl at night as soon as I start my nebs and no amount of holding, swinging, or singing seems to be able to calm her down (except for grandma every now and again). Well, last night grandma and grandpa went to bed early, so Adam was left with t...

Well, it looks like the rainy season is finally upon us here in Oregon. We had our first rain storm yesterday, which was accompanied by booming thunder and flashing lightning! Alida and I had walked to Mass from the park earlier that day, and we got back to the car just minutes before the first rain drops started falling (phew!). It was actually pretty refreshing to have a good rain come down and we don't usually get thunder and lightning so that was kind of an extra bonus! Alida slept through the exciting parts of the storm (no surprise there!) while the dogs tried jumping in my lap and huddled at my feet, sticking to me like glue. After Adam arrived home from work he had to run down our loooooong driveway to pick up a package that the mailman had left. When he stepped back inside it looked like he had just jumped into the shower with all of his clothes on; he was soaked to the bone! Needless to say, we all had a lot of fun with the big storm, but we are certainly hoping that the ...

Hello all! Sorry it has taken me forever and a day to put up a new post, I'm still trying to figure out how to juggle my time with a newborn. Between feeding, playtime, and changing diapers I'm lucky to find the time to eat, sleep, and do my nebulizers, let alone write! This last weekend was quite an eventful Labor Day weekend. On Saturday we (Adam, Alida, and I) met up with some of my old high school friends and headed east to a wedding of another high school friend (Kelly) in Estacada. We stopped for pizza at a local pizza place in Estacada (Hitchin' Post Pizza, I think it was called...), which had surprisingly delicious pizza, and were able to spend some time catching up with each other before the wedding. Kelly's wedding was beautiful and, as always, it was a great reminder of the marriage vows that Adam and I made on our wedding day. Alida behaved wonderfully at the wedding! She didn't fuss at all (which is quite unusual for her in the evenings, given that ...