So you want to go on a date night. Ever since your child’s diagnosis, you’ve been stressed, exhausted, and you feel your relationship with your partner being taken over by finger pokes, carb counting, and insulin injections. You deserve a night out. You need a night out. But it was difficult enough leaving your child with a babysitter before diabetes. How can you have a care-free experience with your partner if you’re constantly worried about how the babysitter is handling your child’s complex medical condition?
[Read more…]
I wish I knew the Right things to Say
“My child can do what any other child can do” and “Kids First, Diabetes Second” are very common sentiments in the D-parent community. While we go out of our way to make our kids’ childhood normal, there will always be affects that T1D has on their life. Sometimes, we find ourselves in tough situations, trying to console a child who is dealing with more than most of their peers. [Read more…]
8 Truths about T1D Parenting
Parenting isn’t an easy job. There’s no “right” way to parent, no pamphlet or manual with all the answers, and yet, everyone has opinions about what you’re doing wrong. Similarly, doing the job of an organ isn’t an easy job. There’s no manual teaching you how to be a pancreas. Doctors don’t have all the answers. Other people with T1D don’t have all the answers. And yet, everyone has opinions about what you should be doing differently with your T1D child.
[Read more…]8 Reasons I Inserted my son’s Dexcom – Even though it Intimidated Me
“Mom, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” he asked me as I was about to start the Dexcom insertion. I rolled my eyes at him and replied, “Come on, sure I do.” The eye roll was more for me than for him. Because, well, I didn’t really know what I was doing. But I had to give it a try.
[Read more…]
4 Tips for Connecting with Your T1D Teen
The teen years. Those 3 little words are enough to scare any parent. Throw T1D in the mix and, well, you have the ingredients for a very rough ride. When your child has a life-threatening disease like T1D, you instinctively want to protect them. But everything you do seems to push you further apart. You want to help, but they usually don’t want the help you’re trying to give.
My Happy Place is in the Word “Before”
“Welcome to your new normal.” This is what we tell parents of newly diagnosed children. What a bizarre thing to say. It’s a cloaked way of saying that we know a bad thing has happened to you, but don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. Eventually, your memories of before T1D will fade. This is your new life. But your memories of before never fully go away. Especially in the beginning, it can be extremely hard to let go of “before”. [Read more…]
Dear Sleep: I’ve Missed You
Want to hear a joke? Sleep. Yeah, I didn’t get it either, until recently. Years ago, my relationship with Sleep got put on the back burner. I had my reasons, but I missed sleep a lot. I didn’t realize how much until we got to spend the whole night together again.
[Read more…]
That Time we ran out of Pods
BEEP BEEP. That familiar sound means it’s been 3 days. Time to change the insulin pod. A slight inconvenience, maybe a bit of an irritating reminder that diabetes doesn’t care what you’re in the middle of. But it’s not really a big deal I guess. Until he went to grab a new pod from the cupboard and I heard, “Mom, the box of pods is empty.” [Read more…]
100+ Things that Won’t Cure T1D
There’s a saying in the diabetes community. “Your diabetes may vary” (YDMV). It means what works for one person, may not work for another. You see, almost every aspect of T1D will vary from person to person. But there’s one thing that everyone dealing with T1 will experience at some point. Well-meaning friends, family, and even strangers will tell you all about various “cures” for T1.
What is a Bolus? The What, Why, and How of Insulin Dosing
Bolus. It’s a simple term. I had never heard the word bolus before my son was diagnosed with T1D. It wasn’t long after that I learned what it meant. But for such a simple term, it can be a very complex action. It’s been over 6 years since my son was diagnosed and, to tell you the truth, I have come across yet another way to bolus (that I had never heard of before) just a few days ago. [Read more…]