About Cristina Edmunds

portait

Cristina (Perez) Edmunds is a woman of many hats who calls both New Orleans and Miami home. She currently resides in New Orleans raising her first son with her husband, a recent Tulane Law Graduate. A musician, singer, songwriter, actress, and writer, Cristina keeps quite busy in the birthplace of Jazz, but her role of “mommy" always comes first.

She launched her blog, “It’s (not too) Complicated” in early 2017 documenting her life as a new mom to a medically complex son with a very rare genetic syndrome. She is thrilled and honored to share her perspective and hopes to provide some insight and inspiration to those who may be in similar situations.

Visit website: It's (not too) Complicated


Recent Blog Posts

Prenatal Genetic Testing

As a mom of a child with a rare diagnosis, the topic of prenatal genetic testing has come up more times than I can remember. When I was pregnant, I felt that knowing information about my child’s future ahead of time would set him up for the best care possible after birth. While there are many views on prenatal genetic testing, I would like to share mine in an effort to offer an opinion of a mom who actually does have a son with a genetic condition.

Imperfect Action

One thing I hear a lot - and I’m sure many other special needs moms hear a lot — is “I don’t know how you do it all.” What has become so common and normal for us, seems insurmountable to the non-special needs parents. The truth is, if you were in our shoes, you’d just figure it out, like we do.

Follow the Leader

My child is the one having the surgery, and while I am allowed to be anxious and nervous, I really should be following his lead. If I act and look scared around him, he’ll pick up on that energy and feel like he’s supposed to be scared.  If I treat him like he’s “sick” all the time, he’s going to act “sick” all the time. 

The Definition of Motherhood

My family and I recently relocated to Birmingham, Al. One of the many things on my to do list was to find a counselor in this new city. In one of our first sessions together, she asked me this seemingly simple question. “What does it mean to you to be a mother?”  I started to answer by listing off things that I do as a mother, tasks that I assume as my son’s mother, but that’s not what she asked me. I had to stop, take a breath, and answer as honestly as I could.

Caring for Rare

In honor of Rare Disease Day 2018, I’m sharing with you my experience so far in raising a child with a rare diagnosis. So rare, in fact, he shares the diagnosis with approximately 50 other people worldwide. For us, this means many things physically, and emotionally. It requires patience, the ability to acquire and hold on to new knowledge, the openness to learn how to care for your child in a way that does not come naturally, and making peace with unknowns. Let’s dive in.

Holidays in the Hospital

’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring because we were stuck in the Special Care Unit at our local children’s hospital fighting a terrible trifecta of pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and gastrointestinal issues. What a vacation, right? Five days of respiratory support, holding feeds, and sleeping on a couch did not really meet our expectations for a Christmas holiday this past year, but it’s where we ended up.

"Priorities"

Having a kid with multiple chronic health conditions has given me a whole new outlook on prioritizing. And I don’t mean the more obvious “putting your children’s needs before your own” kind of priority, I’m talking about the minuscule tasks and goals that need to be prioritized each and every day. 

“But, He doesn’t Look Disabled…”

It’s the reason why I cringe as people walk past me after I’ve parked in the handicapped spot, the reason why I chose a bright blue hearing aid instead of one to match his hair, and the reason why I’d almost rather be using an adaptive stroller rather than an average one (though the cost of adaptive equipment will make you re-think that real quick). To the untrained eye, no, my son doesn’t look disabled/ handicapped/ abnormal, and I guess I am glad for that - although to say that is rather guilt-inducing because I don’t think that anyone with more obvious disabilities should be ashamed of that, either. 

First Time Medical Mom

My first experience as a parent was consenting to surgery, the first of quite a few that would take place in Oscar’s first year of life.  The decision was clear — of course, I would consent. The alternative to surgery was quite grim. The medical interventions that Oscar would endure in the first few days of life were life-saving and absolutely necessary, but that doesn’t take away from how scary and difficult they were to endure. 

Play Dates. It's Complicated.

Going on one’s first playdate almost feels like a right of passage. You dream of your child meeting their new best friend, and imagine them growing up together side by side. You’re hopeful to find a new best friend yourself, a new mom who understands what you’re going through, and start planning future dates for lunch, coffee, shopping, mommy and me classes, and maybe even double dates with your spouses before you’ve even really met. It will be perfect! But what if it’s nothing like that? What if you have absolutely nothing in common except the fact that you’ve birthed a child recently? What if you have completely different approaches in parenting? What if your child is developmentally delayed and their kid is running in circles around yours?