You know your the mother of a diabetic child when...

I've wanted to write this post for quite some time!

•  even if you aren't checking blood sugar, you still wake up at midnight and 3am.
• your child is really crabby and your 1st response is "go check your blood sugar!"
• you look at your dishwasher, which says it has 63 minutes left of the cycle and your 1st thought is.."Oh, that's a low blood sugar."
• your vacuuming your van and find used glucose test strips, alcohol swabs and a stray syringe under your back seat.
• when your non-diabetic child is really thirsty your red flag goes up and says, "do you think they have it too?"
• You can rattle off the total carbohydrate count in just about any food of any proportion.
• You find yourself "educating" restaurants on why your child is asking for sugar free drink options and why you really would like to see the nutrition facts for their menu items. (they are often surprised)
• when you have an entire cabinet, pantry shelf and compartment in the fridge stocked with supplies that last you a month or so.

• When you look in your child's book bag and read a poem assignment that the teacher gave the students that starts with "So much depends upon..." and you find this.

And this is why I will raise money, research and learn everything I can about this disease. In hopes that my daughter will see THE CURE, or that she will at least have the best medical device that makes this disease more manageable.

New Year's Resolutions...

I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas and wonderful New Years.  We certainly did, as we got to spend time with all of our family in MN.  But, our trip had to be cut a few days short as we needed to get back to OH for a dr. appt for Abby.  Yep, diabetes got in the way again!  However, this was one interruption we were happy to have.  This was the 1st appt in a series of 3 to get Abby on an insulin pump.  The 1st step is a class to learn about how life will change, yet again, when you switch from injections to a pump.  Lots of info, but we are ready!! 

Actually the pump journey began back in November when we went to our "Pump Options" class.  This is a class where you are supposed to get an unbiased look at what type of pumps are available and all their bells and wistles, taught by one of the Nurse Educators and not by sales reps.  Well as it turns out it was quite biased.  However, we had done our research and had a vague idea of the 3 major pumps and what they could do or not do so the class was not very informative for us.  Abby had already made her decision to go with the Omnipod, a tubeless pump.  She said "It's the omnipod or nothing."  Well o.k.then.  We were very irritated when the Nurse Educator, glazed over the details of the omnipod and then threw the booklets aside saying, "no one's interested?"  She just told us Abby was too skinny for that pump (which is not true as other's her size wear the omnipod).  I found out later that this lady has a daughter who is using a Medtronic pump (the pump she raved about in the class).  Makes me suspicious????

So, now we have jumped the hoops of paperwork, 3rd pary suppliers and our 1st education class.  We have the pump and most of the necessary supplies.  But you see, that's not all....at the 2nd class (which was taught by a very nice almost unbiased lady) she just kind of threw out this, "Oh, and I'm sure you know that there is an issue with getting FDA approval for the blood glucose test strips with the Omnipod so you will just have to carry an extra meter."  What???  After doing some research, she is right, however I also learned that people are using the "unapproved" strip in their Omnipod and getting great results.  I have however obtained via ebay several hundred of the "old" not produced anymore test strips.

You see, this is the way diabetes is....NEVER EASY!  It seems that everything is difficult, counting carbs, trying to get the right insulin to carb ratio, adjusting basal rates, worrying about low blood sugar, waking at 3am to check blood sugars, obtaining supplies and of course making sure the child has as much emotional stability from you as you can muster!  

Which leads me to the title of my post...NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS.  Anyone who is a mother or has cared for a child knows how much work it is and how we sometimes forget about ourselves.  Having a child with diabetes multiplies that ten-fold.  So this year I've decided that I must take the time to take care of myself.  I got a haircut, changed my diet and added exercise.  I already feel more in control and able to get things done.  I spent the last 9 months trying to deal with this whole diabetes thing and ignoring my own needs.  Well, diabetes is not going away, ever, so I better prepare myself for the long haul. 

So here's a cheer's to all my fellow diabetes moms who wish for a full nights sleep, who worry endlessly about low blood sugars, who are the best mathmatician's around and who spend countless hours learning and researching about the best possible care for their diabetic child.  Take time for yourself, just 10 or 15 minutes, to read, to pray or just sit and enjoy a cup of coffee while thinking about what you can do for you!