How does your toddler wear the Animas Ping?

Hey~ So, Wyatt (18 months) just started wearing his Animas Ping on Tuesday! So far, so good :slight_smile:

I am just wondering how some of the other toddlers wear their pumps? Right now, Iā€™ve just made sure to put him in pants with a back pocket and bought some of those A-shirts to pull down over the pocket. He is in a group daycare (with an onsite nurse, yay!) so I just want to make sure it is all ā€œout of site, out of mindā€ for the curious classmates :wink: Iā€™ve been looking up some of the cases, but would love to see what has worked for you and your LO.

Another question, what sites do you use? Iā€™ve been told that with little ones, the butt is the best place. With it placed thereā€¦have you had any poopy contamination issues???

Thank you all for your help and input as we take on this new step :slight_smile:
Danielle

Danielle,

Our son was diagnosed when he was almost 2 years old in July 2008 and he started on the Animas Ping pump in February 2009. As far as carrying the pump, we looked online but they all seemed very pricey. Luckily, grandma is very handy at sewing and she helped us make a bunch of different carrying cases. We got creative and used things like a neoprene cell phone case sold at Walmart for about $10 available in about 3 colors and made him some "waterproof"cases. We velcro for the ā€œbeltā€ that holes the case. All cases look like a fanny pack.

We mostly used his buttocks for the infusion site although we have also used his thighs and the area above his waist line. We have only had one problem with placement in the buttocks where it appears it is infected. We have been giving him a strong antibiotic to try to get rid of it. Not sure if it had to do with poop but wouldnā€™t be surprised. He has finished his potty training so we hope he doesnā€™t get any more infections. We used to apply a piece of Tegaderm and some bandages on top of everything at the infusion site to protect it from anything (poop or the site getting yanked out due to the tube getting caught on something). This mostly worked although a few times, the infusion site still popped out early. Also, during potty training, the carrying case would get in the way but he learned to move it out before going potty.

Due to some of the problems above, we decided to try the Ominpod and so far it has been great (he started on it at the end of December 2009). We used the $300 ā€œcut the cordā€ promotion to switch. No tube means no carrying case and he loves it. We also enjoy the simplicity of getting the pump ready for replacement. The Animas has way too many pieces to prepare for a site change. The Omnipod only has a syringe and thatā€™s all! It also seems that the cannula insertion process for the Omnipod removed a lot of the variability we used to see (too shallow, too deep, etc) with the Animas pump. He did rip one of the pods off yesterday after only about 15 hours of use and we ā€œwasteā€ a lot of insulin since the pod requires a minimum of 85 units (he uses about 45 per 3 day period). There are other smaller problems but so far we and him are happy with it. Both pumps are much better than giving shots.

Let me know if you need any more info!

Freddie

Thank you for your story! Iā€™m glad you added about the potty training, as I was just thinking about that today. We tried a new site today while at his pump check up appt. and luckily he is a rolly polly little guy! Right now Iā€™m just so excited that I donā€™t have to chase him around to give him insulin. (Iā€™ve just reached term in this pregnancy and he is a quick mover, haha!) It has been pretty amazing only having to get the remote out and press the buttons. You are so right that the pumps are much better than those shotsā€¦especially when little ones require such little amounts. We got the pump b/c his BG was still uncontrolled. The 1/2 unit syringes just werenā€™t a small enough measure for his insulin needs and we saw highs and lows due to that. Did your son have that problem before? And has the pump helped stabilize his sugars?

A family I know has a 2 year old that just started the Ping and they have this case that attaches around the toddlerā€™s waist that zips closed and he seems to do well with itā€¦ I think they got it at pumpwear.com if I remember correctlyā€¦

Danielle,

The pump has been a million times better than shots for my son. Using the insulin pens, we saw a lot of insulin leak out of the spot where we gave him the shot. It was impossible to hold the needle in for 6 full seconds on a toddler. Now we can dose him at increments of 0.05u on the Omnipod (I believe the Animas is 0.025u) so we could give him just the insulin he needs. His sugars are much better and we have minimized the huge swings from low to high back to low throughout the day. We are also not as concerned with night time lows since we have the pump adjusted as required (he requires very little insulin overnight). He used to be on Levemir and once it was injected at dinner, it was multiple checks during the night to make sure he was not going too low (he used to be low most mornings). His control has been much better on the pump.

Freddie