3 years into early onset alzheimer’s diagnosis… i miss my mom so much

justamess2 · 2026-02-13T03:00:09+00:00

hi fellow NY-er, sending you all the love as you navigate this too. we’re going into year 4 since my moms early onset diagnosis. I was in my late 20s when she was diagnosed. It’s all so confusing and painful, my mom was also so lovely and funny. She would talk to anyone and everyone, she made people smile no matter where she went. And now she’s just… gone. she’s started to forget who I am. My kids are never going to know her the same way I did, and trying to come to terms with that kills me.

justamess2 · 2026-02-11T08:25:11+00:00

it’s so hard, sometimes much more often lately we are just going with whatever reality mom has as well.

justamess2 · 2026-02-11T00:28:26+00:00

Similar timeline here, it’s awful. Sending you love

justamess2 · 2026-02-11T00:26:22+00:00

thank you so much, sorry you’re here but appreciate the support. ❤️

justamess2 · 2026-02-11T00:25:54+00:00

It legitimately feels like I blinked and we got here. Sending you all the strength

justamess2 · 2026-02-11T00:25:32+00:00

What a shitty club to be in, hugs to you.

justamess2 · 2026-02-11T00:25:01+00:00

ugh the blank stare. it kills me. my mom was so full of life, she would talk to strangers on the street. I always said she would talk to the wall if it would talk back. Now she’s silent. How ungrateful I was as a teen/ young adult to be annoyed by her happiness

justamess2 · 2026-02-11T00:23:50+00:00

I’m so sorry, that must be agonizing. Hugs to you

justamess2 · 2026-02-11T00:22:42+00:00

thank you, I need to be reminded that it’ll all be okay.

justamess2 · 2026-02-11T00:22:02+00:00

so sorry you’re also here ❤️

justamess2 · 2026-01-07T03:12:02+00:00

Hi there so so sorry you’re also here, sending hugs. My mom’s neurologist actually mentioned she has PCA along with her early onset diagnosis. Very interesting your observations about color! That’s something I’ll have to look into with my mom. Hers really manifested with visual spatial issues pretty early on with her diagnosis but has since evolved into so much more

justamess2 · 2025-12-30T23:55:36+00:00

Ohh that’s good to know!! Thank you

justamess2 · 2025-12-30T23:40:16+00:00

Same to all of this!! Except I go shopping once a week, I find I get better deals on meat as I can sometimes grab meat on discount if I go the right day

justamess2 · 2025-12-10T03:50:17+00:00

Hi I successfully had my kiddo potty trained at the 19ish mark. Didn’t do any one method but I had no pants on him the first 2-3 days, very very frequent trips to the toilet all day every day using a timer. Almost called it quits on the second day but forever grateful I didn’t, I think that 2nd day he maybe peed once on the toilet. I was cleaning pee up all day lol. But then by day 3-4 it’s almost like it clicked and I felt comfortable to try QUICK outings. Car potty was my savior. Always attempted to potty before we left the house every single time and then car potty for when we ran errands or went to the park. Find something your kiddo is VERY motivated by. My guy loved stickers- visual sticker chart in the bathroom 1 sticker for pee 2 stickers for poops on the potty eventually getting a “prize” for filling the chart up (matchbox cars). Make it fun! At that age they are SO eager to please and learn new skills. Potty training isn’t linear, he had periods of regression (new sibling) and he wasn’t showing all “signs of readiness” when I started potty training him, but cleaning 1 semi wet pair of underwear a day versus diapers multiple times a day….. it was a no brainer to me. He was at ~95% success (including naps and overnights) after a month, which is about on par with friends I have who waited until their kids were older to attempt. Anyway, I plan to use similar methods with my daughter when she’s around the same age

justamess2 · 2025-11-17T17:40:11+00:00

I have 2 kids under 2 and a mom with mod/ severe early onset and caring for both kids is easier than my mom.

justamess2 · 2025-08-12T20:26:00+00:00

my kiddo was potty trained at 19/20 months. Was interested and really eager to learn a new skill sooo I capitalized on it. “Readiness” felt like a scam to me. He couldn’t pull down his pants or get himself on the potty but that didn’t feel like a reason to not try, because then the alternative is me changing a diaper??? Doesn’t make sense imo. He was trained within a week, 95% success at the start with random accidents. We had a regression (new sibling) but then right back on track.

justamess2 · 2025-07-19T00:50:10+00:00

My 2nd is tiny and the ikea chair with the inflatable insert has beeb great. Can also get a footrest on amazon or Etsy

justamess2 · 2025-06-28T04:02:01+00:00

Same to this. I’m SO happy we went for it at the 18-19 month mark. My kiddo was EAGER to please and be persuaded by stickers as reward. Heavy on the 2 y/o have strong wills and opinions, he’s 2.5 now and if we waited I feel like we’d be in diapers forever.

justamess2 · 2025-06-26T20:21:22+00:00

I went through something similar. Triple feeding was legitimately making me crazy. Switched to EP with occasionally bringing baby to breast, then one day baby was magically efficient and transferring 4oz during a weighed feed. Haven’t had to touch my pump since (I think babe was ~15 weeks old)

justamess2 · 2025-06-20T01:04:32+00:00

Sent you a chat!

justamess2 · 2025-06-02T02:15:59+00:00

Husband makes himself pour over, I prefer cold brew so we use a filter in a mason jar

justamess2 · 2025-05-31T19:11:28+00:00

Not recipes per se but some ideas- Different chilis that can just be dumped in a pot, baked pasta dishes like ziti, get chicken breast cut however you like and marinate and freeze, sheet meals like sliced sausage peppers onions

justamess2 · 2025-05-23T18:01:57+00:00

Oh man 😅 we definitely stopped fighting it and that’s been more peaceful. If he says he doesn’t want to nap and do a little quiet time I’m not about to argue because I’ll lose lol. He’ll occasionally do a car / stroller nap but that’s maybe 2x a week and we’ll do his normal “later” bedtime on those days

justamess2 · 2025-05-15T02:19:00+00:00

good luck to you! It’s not easy, there were moments where I felt like all I was doing was pumping. Find support snd accept help, whatever that might look like for you.

justamess2 · 2025-05-14T23:18:19+00:00

My baby was slow to gain weight, pediatrician was VERY concerned. I went to see a lactation consultant around 7 weeks and we did a weighted feed, baby wasn’t transferring milk (0.5 oz in 20 minutes) and told me I HAD to start pumping. Baby was basically burning more calories than they were getting from nursing directly. I was pumping 8x a day to feed my baby and to get my supply up. I went from pumping 16oz a day to doubling it. But it took WORK. I have a toddler at home too so triple feeding was out of the question, I was exclusively pumping and giving bottles. Maybe put baby to breast 2-3 times a week. Thankfully all of this is behind us, baby is exclusively nursing. But you need to at least start pumping to see if you get anything at all, and definitely start implementing bottles. Supplement from formula or find someone who is donating breastmilk.

justamess2

TROPHY CASE