I've been a Type 1 for over 20 years now, and I'm a new-ish parent (my daughter is about to turn 1). I feel like I've finally come out of the fog that is figuring out new parenthood, but the thing I can't seem to get a handle on is how to manage my diabetes better while parenting at the same time. Before and during my pregnancy I had stellar A1Cs and now I can't seem to get them below 8. Ugh.
I'd love to hear any advice other Type 1 parents might have! I'm a mostly stay-at-home mom (I do teach piano lessons a few afternoons a week), I'm on a pump and have CGM (which I need to use more often).
First of all congratulations on being a new mom, I can only imagine how challenging it must be to take care of a little one and yourself! my only advice for you is don't stress they will fall into place, work with your endo and diabetic educator together you can get you numbers back on track!
CGM is your friend, and will help you see in realtime what your food choices and dosing strategies do in real time. With good records you will begin to see what works and what does not. Have you read PUMPING INSULIN by John Walsh, or THINK LIKE A PANCREAS by Gary Scheiner?
They will help you learn to understand how to use the good tools that you have.
I was on a simple insulin regiment when my kids where at home. You are in the honeymoon stages of the child rearing experience. I really did not have time to focus on a extreme insulin regiment. Son and Daughter 18 months apart, the hard part was later when they where in school. I remember taking my daughter to the pool at 5;30am 6 days a week for three years,and there was no summer brake, she was also on the golf team, a girl scout, played fast pitch softball, and competed in many academic competitions. My Son played Varsity Foot ball ,baseball, starting with T-ball and going all the way through mustang and pony league play. I can't even tell you how many nights I have spent holding their hair back while they where "sick"...and plenty of other nasty tasks that are reserved for parents. I also forgot to mention that I was a single parent for the first 6 years of my children's lives, she walked out on us...she just could not handle the kids. I never focused much on my BG numbers until my kids went off to Collage, just did whatever it took to keep from going low, My A1c was around 7.5 back then and It was not a time to focus on me....
I'm OCD about my BG now but can't say that was true when my kids where at home..... I survived it, all the exercise probably played a positive role.
