Any parents out there who have a Type 1 child and knew it, and then got pregnant after???
My 4 yr old daughter was diagnosed this past Feb… I just found out yesterday… I’m pregnant…kind of very unexpected, lol. I would have preferred to wait a while to really get adjusted to this new life, but here I sit, preggers. Here is the thing… I am panicking over 2 things:
That I won’t have enough time to care for my daughter like I have been able to without the distraction of a baby, and also that the new baby will eventually be a diabetic. My 5 yr old son is not a diabetic, not now anyway…we have no history of it in our family, either side, so this was a shocker.
I just think I feel a lot of guilt for my daughter and like this is wrong to do to her because she needs me so much.
Anyone else have these feelings???
How was life AFTER the new baby came???
An stories shared would be GREATLY appreciated. I want to be able to enjoy this pregnancy, not feel bad about it.
CONGRATS! Dont stress ! God gives you nothing you can’t handle 
My daughter and son are only 14 months apart. It has presented some unique challenges, but we are making it. Granted our son was a HUGE surprise and our daughter had not been dx’d when I found out I was pg, nor when I gave birth to him. He was 3 months old, and our daughter was 17months old when we learned she was diabetic. Sure sometimes I worry that he will be diabetic, or even that my older son (who is 5 now) will be diabetic, but with 3 kids that are now 5, 2, & 1, I don’t have the time or the energy to worry about it. At least that is what I tell myself. Plus why sweat that when if it does happen there is nothing I can do to stop it. Some days I have to repeat this over and over, but most days I get it. You will have time to care for you daughter. Just as you have recently probably settled into caring for her in this new dramatically different way, your family will adjust again. My husband calls it the new “normal”.
Your daughter needs you now, just as she needed you before she was diabetic. Just as your older son needed you before you had your daughter. It is all an adjustment. I really believe you will adjust all the right things and will find a happy balance for them all. I won’t lie and say that there aren’t days when your daughter will get more attention than the other 2 children, or that you won’t make some decisions based on her diabetes (like we don’t go get pizza as often as we used to). Please enjoy your pregnancy. It is such a joy and happy thing! Just know you will suck it up and get it all done because that is what us moms do. Hope this helps!
Ellen
Thanks for the pep talk! So you have 3! As will we and I have a 5 yr old son too. I worry for him too, but you are so right. Whats gonna happen will and there is nothing I can do, but enjoy this life and these kids.
I have to say this… My son was diagnosed when his was 18mths my daughter was 6. I tested her bs every 6 mths because I was so worried… every Feb and July in her sleep… In Jan 2009… i saw the signs and tested her ( took 2 hours for her to let me test her ) the meter read HI… it did not matter that I worried all those years… and no matter how much I prepared myself … I was in shock… BUT i have to say this and it may not sound right … its almost easier with both diabetic… i mean yes meal times are long but they are long anyway and treats still come but one does nto feel the blame for the no’s to this or that… I mean that is how I have to look at it… They have a strong bond… they can help each other out when ’ MOMMY is driving me nuts etc ".or even when I’m not around, they look out for each other and follow the same rules… so enjoy what you have and dont stress it will be ok either way … I am a worry wart and I survived !!
I was actually pregnant when my daughter, then 5 yrs old was diagnosed with T1. I felt so bad because I could not focus on the pregnancy at all. My youngest was born two weeks after my daughter started pumping. What a whirlwind of a year that was! But I sit here, a little over a year later and somehow we managed. I have a 7 year old daughter, pumping, and we are still doing our best to keep her as healthy as possible. Also have a beautiful, easy going 11 month old!! Good luck…as busy as you will be, you will do what you have to do and everything will be great!
She pumped at 5 … god bless her, none of my kids will pump at all… dont want to even talk about it… sorry off the topic
thanks they are 7 and 12 :)… Im new to this site is there a section for kids here ?
ok thanks god bless
18 months??? So young 
I remember taking Ava to her heart dr. ( because she has a murmer… and goes for yearly check ups) This most recent one, telling the Dr, who has known her for 4 yrs now was hard because I had to tell her about the big D, and I’ll never forget her saying “Gosh, it couldn’t have come later or when she was a little older?”. And to be honest I thought to myself driving home…yea, what the heck diabetes, couldn’t have at least let her live her adolesents without shots galore and fingerpricks??? I was so mad, but I think we all go through that with this disease, it’s like our kids are robbed of being 100% free. Sorry I got off topic but even the first follow up we had at the endo office I saw a couple with an infant…I can’t imagine how hard this is with a real little one, since they can’t exactly tell you how they feel. You are a super mom for sure to have 2 with diabetes and still be positive.
Congrats to you! I am definitely going to take your advice, thankfully she already does check herself once in a blue and is very on top of her diabetes, and she is only 4! I realized when reading your reply, when this baby is born…due in late march… I will have a 6 yr old n/d son and 5 year old d daughter. I will kinda have the same situation as you do, lol, minus the dog! My due date is actually a day after my daughter’s b-day…which kinda freaks me out. I’m gonna try to look at it like the baby will be a gift for her since she LOVES babies and has been begging us for one for so long. Thanks for your calming words, it helps
Thanks for the positive energy! Wow she started pumping at 5? I’m nervous to put Ava on the pump, she’s 4. I’m afraid it will malfunction or leak too much into her, idk, prob crazy. She doesn’t mind the shots at all, but I do worry about when she goes to kindergarten in a year, would the pump be more practical?
I agree 100%! God will never give you a problem that you can’t handle. Deal with the now, don’t worry about things that probably won’t happen and that you can’t prevent anyway. Also keep in mind that although it probably seems like the few months since your daughter was diagnosed has been an eternity, it really hasn’t been that long. Managing her diabetes will continue to get easier for you as time goes on.
Hey, Misty! I sent you a private message. Take care!
My daughter was diagnosed when she was 10 months and then we had another baby when my oldest was 3 1/2 and then I got pregnant with my 3rd when my 2nd was only 10 months old. It was a little crazy when I had the 2 younger who were about 18 months apart but you just rise to occasion and do it! Make sure you have plenty of breaks for yourself and let yoiur expectations of perfection drop if you have them! You will do great, enjoy the ride because once it’s done, it’s done… BTW I am pregnant with my 4th, I hope you have a wonderful pregnancy!
Oh that’s so cool! Your fourth, congrats! My son and daughter are 15 months apart, and it was rough having two in diapers. I think initially I was more nervous about dealing with diabetes with one child and then having this new baby…I felt really guilty the first few days, like I was wronging my daughter because this would somehow take away from her care and so on. With reading what everyone wrote and just thinking more and more about it, I’m not nervous or guilty any more, I’m excited. A big saving grace is that my son who is 5 and way active if you know what I mean, lol, will be in kindergarten when this baby comes, then Ava my little diabetic will go yo kindergarten in the fall. Which I am sure I will be on here blogging about nervously, since I have heard horror stories about school nurses not cooperating.
I got pregnant 6 months after my sons diagnosis-he was diagnosed at 20 months old. oops! Anyhoo I’m so glad she’s here. I had a rough pregnancy so make sure you have family that’s trained. We moved back to our hometown and grandma went to diabetes classes to take care of our son-my hubby works offshore so I needed a break. He left to go back to work a week or so after our daughter was born. Grandma takes our son on the weekends so I could sleep through the night, well sleep through the night with a baby hahaha.
Whatever you do, you put diabetes first. I got a sling and she lived in that for awhile so I could prep and weigh meals, test. I took her out when it was time for a shot cause a squirmy toddler and a needle is not a great idea with a baby attached to me. I am one of those earthy mamas who never let a baby cry it out and all of that but she just had to cry sometimes so I could take care of diabetes.
But now they are best friends. She is almost 2 and believes she has diabetes too and wants tests and shots. She’ll say she’s low to get glucose tablets.
Yeah, it’s about 6 months after my daughter’s diagnosis…so you prob felt the same way I did at first. Thinking how am I gonna do this? It’s too soon!
Thanks so much for your comment…I’m feeling much better now that reality has sunk in…it’s funny you say you moved BACK to your hometown, but now we are trying to move away, from N.J. , our home, to Texas. We lived there once for a year and loved it and should have never left. But yea, that means no family, no help, but better family life, husband getting home from work at a decent time so he can help and more affordable living as well. 4 bdrm there? no problem. I have had good pregnancies in the past and so far I feel great so hopefully I’ll just keep trucking!
My daughter is so excited to be a big sister! My son only cares about it being a by so the girls are then “out numbered” Diabetes or not…life must go on right?!
My 5 year old was diagnosed with T1 in December and my wife and I are now expecting our 2nd (in late Oct). I’m feeling a bit stressed, as well, but the fact that he’s on the pump has made life so much easier for us. Also, my wife is T1, so that has held me together and helped my son understand a bit more (not to say it’s not impossible for us all to grasp at times).
I think it might actually be good for our kids to have a sibling around (although yours already has one). Maybe I’m just being overly optimistic, but perhaps the attention needed for the baby will take away all the attention my son gets when I’m stressing constantly over trying to get him to finish his breakfast and/or drink some juice. (He’ll be relieved that I’m not driving him crazy all the time!) I think that when he becomes a big brother it will create an increased sense of responsibility that will help encourage him to care for himself more (he’ll have to). He’s already talking about all the things he’ll be doing and need to do when the baby is born: walk the dog (“that’s what big brothers do”), sweep the sidewalk, eat his vegetables, brush his teeth, and teach his sister how to play with legos (I’ll have to teach him about choking hazards!).
Unfortunately, there’s really no way of knowing how they’ll react when the little one comes. I think the best thing to do is just to make sure they know that we’re always there to take care of them and help monitor/regulate their diabetes.
Best,
Alex
It’s the thought of juggling diabetes and a baby, lol, kind of scary! Your 5 yr old is on the pump you said? Did you do the shots for a little while or jump right to the pump? I’m scared of the pump, everyone says it’s made life with diabetes so much easier but what about when you have to change sites, and more importantly what if it malfunctions? My 4 yr old goes to kindergarten in a year and I hate to send her with the shots, I’m sure the pump would be much easier. Hmmmm…