Today was one of those days at school that have to be managed carefully. Our daughters, Ana and Antonia, are in the first grade together and today their class had their Easter party. On the menu…ice cream sundaes with all the fixings and lemonade. Needless to say, this was a non-routine day and I needed to be there to make sure Ana got insulin so she could enjoy ice cream along with the other kids.
It would have all gone off without a hitch had the party been later in the afternoon. But, as with all things, you cannot always time them right. That’s the beauty of wearing an insulin pump, you can roll with whatever life brings. So, Ana had to have ice cream with a starting blood sugar of over 250 mg/dl! Ok…yes, the reasonable side of me says, wait at least 15 minutes, but the thing is that she had just finished lunch not even one hour before. Which means her lunch insulin hadn’t even peaked yet. So, I figured with the peak of lunch insulin, and with the additional bolus for the party food, she should be ok. I actually worried that she might drop too low…well, not the case…two hours later she is hovering around 300…can you say correction bolus?
What can a parent do in this situation? I stand firmly behind the philosophy that our daughter is a child first and a diabetic second. I don’t want her to have memories of a childhood where she was so restricted and never got to enjoy what the other kids did. It’s also one of the reasons why we do not restrict her of any foods --within reason-- of course. I don’t want her to ever crave something so badly that she feels she must sneak it. Thankfully this has worked well for us…in the 2+ years since diagnosis she has never once tried to eat something without asking about it first. In fact, she keeps everyone on their toes…‘are you sure Mama said I can have that?’ It makes me proud as a mom that she has a healthy attitude towards eating and foods.
So, when one of the other moms asked Ana “…would you like a little ice cream with all those toppings?” I just smiled and told her to enjoy! We can always correct it later.
I’m curious how others out there handle class parties and all those holiday goodies?
Update: Several hours later and Ana was still running high…checked her temperature and she has a fever. Guess we were fighting more than just sugar…
Hi I am 28 years old and have been a diabetic since I was 7. As far as remembering those years of not being able to eat what all my friends ate…I honestly dont remember the years of that until I was 14. Then it bothered me. I know as a parent its hard ( I have a 4 year old and an 11 month old), I worry about my kids developing diabetes and I tend to restrict my daughter with her sweets and give her other options. Granted at parties and occasions I let her indulge, but with a limit. I know you want her to be a kid but the reality is that she does have Diabetes and as a parent you want the best for your child. I went through the teenage years when I didnt care and just let my b.s’s go all over the place and now at 28 I fear what the impact of those years will be on me for the future. The only upside to that is that my dr told me diabetes does not affect your kidneys until 18 and on.
There are times when I want a sweet so I will bolus about 1/2 before I eat and I am pretty good after eating. Things like chocolate have a slow absorption rate so if you eat it and an hour later youre good, watch out b/c another hour or two later you may be high. The real trick is figuring out the foods. If you need any advice Ive learned a few tricks or to and how the foods work, granted she is a kid and active but its amazing what foods will make you high and what not. take care, good luck
Thanks for your comments Priscilla…I think as Ana gets older and understands more and more about managing her own condition, we will be able to instill in her healthier and healthier eating habits. It’s just right now it is really hard at this age. We are very careful about what she eats and how much and with her new pump she really has been great…I guess for me it is very important to instill in her a healthy attitude about her diabetes so that she sees it as something she can live with and not as something she has resentment towards. Finding that balance is our daily challenge.
I read your thread and it was as if I had written it. My son Caleb is 6, dx’d before he turned 4. I too try to make things as normal as possible for him - I don’t want him looking back thinking D ran his childhood and thus have him rebel (sneak food).
Caleb also has a peanut allergy. At his spring party on Thursday, cookies “manufactured in a plant that processes peanuts” were sent in even though it’s a “peanut free” classroom. Well I had a backup cupcake in case this very thing happened. I asked Caleb if he wanted the cupcake and he refused. He is embarrassed to have things the other kids don’t. There was plenty of other stuff - he had 75 carbs of a snack, but it breaks my heart that he feels this way. When he is low in school, he has a box of various things to treat his lows. He ALWAYS chooses sugar tabs because they appear more like “medicine” and he doesn’t want the buddy that takes him to the nurse to feel left out. Again - heart breaking.
So, the only thing I might have done differently is maybe given Caleb a super-bolus at the 250 mark even though the food insulin wasn’t through him yet because inevitably situations like that compound themselves. I would then check at an hour or an hour and a half to try and catch a low (which ended up not being your problem anyway). But that’s what I might have done. Ice cream always sends Caleb high for hours, so I would have had to give an extended bolus too.
I appreciate Priscilla’s comments. As a parent we lack the first hand perspective and I am always so appreciative to hear from those who have it.
I still wonder how all these limits and restrictions will impact him. Like you, I want to teach him that anything is ok within reason. That is one of the great benefits of pumping after all isn’t it? For Caleb, the parties are few enough that I like to let him have what he can within reason and just be super diligent in testing (or maybe I should say hyper-diligent since I’m regularly super diligent :)). For me, he is isolated enough - I want to minimize it when I can.
We are headed to NYC for a few days and that means restaurants and unknowns and crazy blood sugars. I am not looking forward to it. Wish us luck!
Lo, thanks for your comments. Ana was diagnosed just prior to her 5th birthday and it looks like (based on your other comments) in the same month as Caleb. As if type 1 wasn’t enough, I can’t believe you also have to worry about a peanut allergy. That is really tough.
I too appreciated Priscilla’s comments…it is so interesting to read what might be the perspective of the child. I follow another blog, not sure if you are aware of it, but it’s called sixuntilme.com and the writer has had type 1 since the age of six. Her writing is amazing and has moved me to tears on more than one occassion. She is so descriptive in detailing her daily life with type 1.
I hope all goes well with your trip to NYC…would love to hear about it. Thanks for stopping by, it’s nice to connect with another mom.
Yes I follow Keri too :). 1HappyDiabetic is a favorite also - we both have YouTube videos that we follow of each other. Catch you when we get back. The last vaca we took was a couple months after diagnosis and he was on shots - dreadful. Hopefully this will be better…Lo
Lo…cannot agree with you more that your trip should be better now that he is on the pump. None of us can imagine ever going back to shots again…things never seemed to be stable then. We did Disneyland last year while Ana was still on shots and I would love to go back now that she is on the pump, the experience would be so much better…
Renee…you are so right that T1 and T2 are so different. could not agree with you more. I was gestationally diabetic and on a restricted diet (not insulin dependent) and that experience was enough for me to really do everything I can to avoid becoming T2 now.
Diana, I feel the same way about Disney. My husband and I are going to Disney World this May and I have not been since I was a teenager on injections (13 years ago). He suggested leaving the CGM and pump at home and doing shots “so we wouldn’t have to mess with everything” and I was crushed. I had to explain that I was looking forward to seeing how the devices help make my trip EASIER. Besides, it has been 9 years since I took injections and have never been on the modern long-acting insulins like Lantus or Levemir, so it would be a whole new ballgame for me anyway!
It seems like fevers go hand in hand with high blood sugars. I was hovering at about 300 all day yesterday (while doing corrections, boluses, ect.) and I got a splitting headache and fever at around 5pm. It went away and the insulin caught up with me, dropping down to 80mg.
It’ll get easier for Ana as she gets older- she’ll be able to become more independent and figure out the bolus for the ice cream, and maybe even skip over it. The pump is a great thing to have when growing up (it’s a great thing in general, but best when you’re growing).
Thank you for your comments…I agree the pump is an incredible thing! So much better than shots. Ana really feels more like a normal kid again since being on the pump.
hooray for you! we take the same ‘kid first’ approach with Abbie (6). Sure, there are some hair raising moments you say yes to something and then scramble to make sure it all gets covered! Abbie also has a great attitude toward food…we’ve found that saying yes to the hot chocolate usually means she’ll drink a little, eat the whip cream and give it up on her own. She has a twin and (without diabetes) and we’ve pretty much put them on the same food program with an emphasis on healthy eating, not diabetes.
Hey…Ana has a non-D twin too! They are fraternal, not that that matters…I’ve heard of identical twins where one has type 1 and the other not. I’m glad to hear that others take the same approach. I just want more than anything for her to feel as normal as possible with this. Life is definitely not ‘normal’ for her, but by giving her some freedoms it really makes a huge difference for her.
