Making The Low Go...

Part of Diabetes Blog Week!

Sugar and spice and everything nice, that is what my little girl is made of!

If it was up to me, I would treat lows with Milky Way Midnight Chocolate Bars.  Yep, I have a sweet tooth that LOVES everything dark chocolate. I would keep all sorts of candy bars, and the like in the house.  I also love candy and Skittles and Starburst are among my favorites.  It's really not a good "habit" to have.

Seriously, I really try not to keep candy in the house so usually we just use the old "standbys" for treating a low.  Audrey's favorites seem to be glucose tablets. I believe she has called them giant smarties.  They make me smart, right mom?  Sure kiddo, whatever you say!

Another favorite of Audrey's is fruit snacks. Oh how this child loves her fruit snacks.  This one is a hard one for me though, because fruit snacks aren't the most healthy thing on plant earth.  There is so much artificial stuff in them, but fruit snacks sound more healthy then Starbursts or Skittles. (not that I don't occasionally use Starbursts or Skittles to treat a low.)

There is also juice.  Audrey LOVES juice.  She would live on it if she could.  I have definitely had to come up with creative ways to let her have her juice.  I don't mind "light" juice but I try not to give her foods with artificial sweetener in them too often.  I think it's very hard to avoid it. Audrey will have to have more of that stuff when she is older, might as well keep food at natural as we can until then.  I pretty much stick with 100% natural juice, and add filtered water too it to keep the carbs down.  I also try to make sure she just has it at meal times.  It's a good thing that she also loves milk so I can usually steer her away from the juice (unless she is low) at meal times. 

That really is all we use to treat lows.  I have a hard time with this because I really don't want her to have candy all the time but I don't want to deny her the candy either. I want to keep it a special treat, like it was before Diabetes took over our lives.  

So, that's what we do to make our lows go, what do you do?





 

A Day in the life of....Diabetes (featuring Love Bug)

Part of  Diabetes Blog Week!

Creeeeeek.  There's my wake up call, my noisy door. Mom's coming in to get my big sister up for school.  I have to get up with her because I hate missing out on anything.  I sit up looking very disheveled.  Mom calls me "crazy hair kiddo" when I wake up. I guess my hair must look pretty bad in the mornings.  I give her hugs and kisses then head downstairs for breakfast.  This morning mom has my favorite; pop tart and banana with glass of milk.  Mom gives my my favorite cup, the pink one.  Time to check my sugar. I'm 241 this morning and breakfast is 57 carbs this morning.  Mom says I'm a  little high.  I'm still learning what that means.

After breakfast Mom gets me into my normal routine.  I go to the bathroom, brush teeth, then get dressed.  Mom always has my clothes picked out for me. I tell her that I would like to wear my butterfly shirt, not my pink shirt. I like to get myself dressed, but I still need some help.  I like to try very hard not to ask Mommy for help, to the point of throwing a fit about it sometimes. I like to be independent!  Mom laughs at me struggling, being stubborn (just like Daddy, she says) not wanting to ask for help. I don't find it very amusing (that's a fancy word for funny. Did I mention that I LOVE Fancy Nancy!)

This morning I am going to bible study with Mommy.  I LOVE going to bible study.  Most of all I love playing in the Gym.  I love it that I get to play and have fun while Mommy learns about Jesus and how to be a better Mommy.  (at least that is what she tells me) My teachers, Miss Janet and Miss Veronica, are great.  They help me take care of my Diabetes too. They like to hear about how my sugar is.  They make sure I don't eat too much and watch out for low and high blood sugars. They also are really good at sneaking me my exercise snack before we go to the gym to play.

Mommy checks my sugar when we get there and lets Miss Janet know how I have been and if she needs to watch out for anything.  Mommy checks my sugar again when she picks me up.  I am a little high today. I was 241 when I got up and still 228 now.  Mommy gives me a dose of insulin with my meter and  sends me off.  This morning I had to tell Miss Janet that my tummy hurt.  I started screaming because it hurt so bad. I felt funny too. Miss Janet went and got Mommy.  Mommy checked my sugar and I was low, 56, I hear her say.  Mommy gives me some glucose tablets (watermelon ones are my favorite!) and a juice box. I felt much better after that.  I heard Mommy tell Miss Janet that lows scare her.  I don't like it when my Mommy is scared. 

Mommy picks me up and checks my sugar again, 181. That is right in range.  "Hooray!", says my Mommy.  "You are right on target".  Home again we go.  On Tuesday's we get a special treat for lunch, Lunchable's!
I'm so excited! Mom checks me again before I eat, I'm at 179.  My lunchable with milk is 35 carbs for lunch.

After lunch I lay down for nap time.  When I get up from nap I'm really whinny.  Mommy says I didn't take a long enough nap.  She checks my sugar and I am 281.  Mom sighs, a little high. I don't like it when she sighs. It makes me wonder if I did something wrong. I start to cry.  She sees how sad I am and tells me not to worry, it's not my fault.  I didn't do anything wrong.  Mommy is just upset with my diabetes.  I want fruit snack for a snack, but Mommy says no, my sugar is too high.  I throw a fit.  I want fruit snacks!!!  She makes up for it by giving me the next best thing, cucumber slices and a cheese stick.  The yellow cheese sticks (Colby jack my mom calls them) are my favorite.

It's a nice day out so Mom says we can go outside and play.  HOORAY!  I get my shoes on and head outside.  Today I want to play with sidewalk chalk.  I really like to draw.  I also get my bike out and ride bikes with my little sister until my big sister gets home from school.

At dinner time Mommy checks my sugar before I eat.   It is 278.  Mommy can't believe it's that high after running around outside. Dinner is 67 carbs, it's taco night!  The soft shells are my favorite but Mommy wishes I liked the hard ones, she says there are less carbs in those ones. 

After dinner I get my books out while Mommy cleans up the kitchen and helps big sister with her homework.  I love to "read:" books. Especially Fancy Nancy books!  I memorize them so I can read them to Mommy sometimes.  She really likes that and I like it too.

Tonight, I get to do something special. It's my turn to go for a walk with Daddy.  Mommy checks my sugar before I go, 221.  Not too bad, it is only an hour after dinner.  Off I go with my Daddy.  He takes me to the park by the river.  It is really close to our house and one of my favorite parks.  I like to ride my bike on the bike path and stand on the bridge and look for fish.

When we get back from our walk me and my sisters wrestle with my Daddy for a while.  At bedtime Mommy check my sugar, 301.  She give me a correction dose and tucks me and my sisters into bed.  I snuggle in for the night with my pink puppy and my bug bug blankie. 

At 11pm Mommy comes up to check my sugar.  It is higher, 392.  I don't even wake up, but Mommy says that I put my finger out for her in my sleep now.  I guess I am getting used to my Diabetes.  Mommy gets back up again at 2:30 am.  I am still high, but a little better at 298. Mommy tries to give me another correction dose but my insulin pump won't let her.  She doesn't want to wake me up to grab my pump out of my pouch so she lets me sleep.  She says that I get woke up enough at night lately that I don't need to get woke up anymore.

Mommy goes back to bed until her alarm goes off at 6am.  It's a short night for her and me. We are both really tired in the morning.  It is a new day though and maybe, just maybe, my sugar will cooperate today. (cooperate is a fancy word for being good).

Just A Little Sleep Deprived

Ever have one of those days when your mind keeps going but your body wants to stop?  Well, today, that's me. Very little sleep the past couple nights will do that to me.  Oh, the life of a sleep deprived mom!

 My stinking Giant sure has been rearing it's ugly head around here lately. I would like to pull a David and just get it in the eyes with a sling shot.  Too bad I can't!  Love Bug's blood sugar levels have been running consistently higher then normal.  I would guess around the last week or so.(I need to download her pump info) I wasn't too worried about it at first, but now that it has been a while, I am wondering if we are going to have to change her basal rate again. Not to mention the last few days she has had that "glassy" look in her eyes that she only gets when her blood sugar is really high.


"Normally" she has always been a little higher before bed, which I actually like.  It gives me a little "security blanket" knowing that it is pretty unlikely that she will go low during the night.  The last couple nights though, she has been really high, so I have been giving her a correction dose then checking her again before I go to bed.  When I go to bed though, she as still high. Her blood sugar has even gone up, not down.  Frustrating, to say the least.  So, I have been giving her another correction dose and then get up at 2 am and check her again.  So far she has been right in range at her 2 am check.  I sure wish I knew what is going on between the hours of 7:30 p.m. and 2 a.m.!

Now to start the checklist of things that might need to change. Possibly change basal rate, temp basal, or I:C ratio at dinner, who knows.  Well, I'll know within the next week or so but until then I am going to have to keep getting up a couple times a night so I know whether or not we have a pattern going here. 

Of course, all this gets me to start questioning if I am doing things right. Maybe I should start actually measuring all her food out.  Right now, I just eye it.  I know about what a cup, half cup, quarter cup and so on look like.  What gets me is when I have to figure out serving sizes in ounces.  I don't have a food scale, maybe I should buy one.  I'm not sure I want to be that regimented with things though.  I don't mind if there is a little fluctuation to her blood sugars, the Doctor said it's normal at this age anyway.  I figure there will be plenty of time as she gets older that we will have to be more regimented about it. I want to let her enjoy her childhood as much as she can. (within reason of course)  Still, that little voice in me says, most everyone else does it and you want the best for your daughter, right?  Ugh, I hate that voice.  Of course I want whats best for her!!!  I'm her mother!

I don't let her have junk food only once and a while.  I tend not to even keep too many sweets in the house anymore, unless it's something that's used to raise a low blood sugar.  I try to keep everything home-made and as healthy as I can.  I would LOVE to buy everything organic but my budget just doesn't allow for that.
I feel like I do the best I can, but then why do I still question it when her blood sugar goes to high or low?  Or when her A1C numbers come back, not exactly where I want them, but still in good range?

I know it's the perfectionist in me.  I want to "fix" it and make it all better, quickly.  Unfortunately, you just can't do that with Diabetes. I manage it for her, as best as I can.  I am always looking for improvement, new ideas or even new foods to try. Anything to help me control her Diabetes.

Well, that's me "sounding off".  Not frustrated but wondering and questioning.  All the time it seems like. Maybe someday I'll get my body to catch up to my mind.  In the meantime, I guess I will just be one sleep deprived mom!

How God Chooses the Parents of Children with Type 1 Diabetes

I found this a while ago on a group I am a part of and just had to share. It made me cry but it's so precious. It's taken from the poem "The Special Mother" by Erma Bombeck

Did you ever wonder how parents of children with diabetes are chosen?
Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs his Angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

“Brands, Tim and Heather, a daughter. Patron Saint Audrey”
“Bickleys, Sid and Ellen, a daughter. Patron Saint Caroline”
“Kitchens, David and Laura, a daughter. Patron Saint Lauren”

Finally, He passes a name to an Angel and smiles. “Give them a child with diabetes.” The Angel is curious. “Why this one, God? They are so happy.” “Exactly”, smiles God. “Could I give a child with diabetes to a mother and father who do not know laughter? That would be cruel.”

The Angel asks, “But have they the patience?” “I don’t want them to have too much patience, or they will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair”, God replied. “Once the shock and resentment wears off, they’ll handle it. I watched them today. They have that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a parent.

You see, the child I am going to give them has her own world. They have to make it their world and that’s not going to be easy.” God smiles. “This family is perfect. They have just enough selfishness”. The Angel gasps. “Selfishness? Is that a virtue?” God nods. “If they cannot separate themselves from the child occasionally, they will never survive. Yes, this is the family I will bless with less than perfect. They do not realize it yet, but they are to be envied.

I will permit them to see clearly the things I see…ignorance, cruelty, prejudice…and allow them to rise above them. They will never be alone. I will be at their side every minute of every day of their life because they are doing my work as surely as if they are here by my side.” “And what of their Patron Saint?” asks the Angel, his pen poised in mid-air. God smiles. “A mirror will suffice.”