I'm curious how many mom's out there had a tough time deciding whether or not to have more than one child? We're in the beginning stages of figuring out if we want to have another biological child or if we want to adopt. But I'm curious about other people's experiences. Were you worried that your control would be worse for pregnancy #2 since it is so hard to have bs control with a child? Were you worried that after having a second child your bs control would be even harder to maintain? How do mom's of more than one kid manage their sugars?? I feel like I was so worried about being pregnant as a diabetic, I never considered what it was like to be a mother as a diabetic... Maybe only having one child period is the way to go? Would love to hear stories/other perspectives! Thanks!
Hi there! I have a four year old. When she was a newborn it was a little harder to take care of myself and her, mostly when I was home alone during the day with her and my husband was at work. I often found it hard to eat because I was either breast feeding her, changeing her, or just holding her. She has some tummy issues and had to be held a certain way to help. I didn't make the time to care for myself and I did have some low sugars. As she has gotten older it has gotten easier but there are times when I am busy with her and then I realize oh it is lunch time, so I can tell her now that we need to take a time out and have some lunch then we can go back to whatever we are doing.
I just got on the pump and I really want another baby. I am a bit nervous about how my body will handle another pregnancy. My control with my daughter was excellent and I was on shots then. I am hopeing that with the pump it will make it easier. So for me it will be like being pregnant for the first time all over again with Diabetis because I manage it differently now.
Really the biggest thing to remember being a mom and a Diabetic is that even though your kids come first 99% of the time you do have to think of yourself too and take care of yourself so you can be there for them and be the best mom you can be. So take the time to check BS, eat and relax too. You also can't be afraid to ask for help, in fact I think all moms should ask for help Diabetic or not because being a mom is a fun but tireing job and you'll just wear yourself out trying to be supermom. Anyway that is my take on it, I just take time to care for myself now and make sure I am always monitoring myself. I have also taught my daughter some emergency measures in case I were to have a severe low, she'll know what to do hopefully she'll be able to do it. Every mom should teach their children 911, who to call if there is an emergency, address, parents names, grandparents names, whether you are Diabetic or not. I hope this answered your question some. :) You will be fine, just take care of yourself.
God Bless,
Nicole
Hi Megan,
Thats a good question, and something that I have pondered on for awhile. I have an almost 2 1/2 year old and would do anything to have another child, biological that is. When my little girl was just a baby, there was no way I would ever imagine having another one as there was just too much involved at the time but now that she has gotten a little more independant, my husband and I have decided to go for it!!!!! It's going to be a LOT of work, but to hold that tiny little bundle of joy all over again, I say it's worth the work! It's easy to be discouraged by the idea of having another one, as being diabetic feels like looking after a kid sometimes, but I am just going to take it day by day and and try not to think about the what if's and all the negative things that may happen and just hope that it all falls into place. P.S. If you adopt, they are still just as much work as a biological child, the only difference is the pregnancy you wouldn't have to go through I guess. In my case, I loved being pregnant and I can only hope it will be the same way the next time around!
Good luck, and just know whatever decision you make is yours to make, there is no right or wrong!
We are struggling with the same questions Megan. We know that we want at least two kids, but the timing is the question. Our son is 16 months old and according to the "plan" that we had originally discussed, I should already be pregnant, but I'm not. I still feel that I am not ready (not to mention my 7.5 A1c). So my endo agrees that I am not ready ;) I remember devoting 95% of my attention to blood sugar control during the pregnancy and I just see that is not possible now.
My son has started full time daycare, as I have gone back to work and I can imagine the next pregnancy much better now. Seeing that I could balance work and pregnancy with the help of daycare. So I think that it could be good to think about whether you could get help caring for your first child (from family, daycare, babysitters, etc.) to let you focus a little more attention on your pregnancy (or at least help when we have ALL the doctors' appointments).
I know a ton of AWESOME women in this group who did it and somehow makes it look easy (managing the second, third, ... pregnancy while providing full time care for older children), but I have to admit the idea of being pregnant again still overwhelmed me until my son started daycare.
Thank you ladies for your words of wisdom and encouragement! I worry a lot about how stressful I found my first pregnancy- always worried about what my sugars were doing and if I was hurting the baby. I thought that after having one healthy child, I wouldn't be so stressed if I got pregnant again, but I think I feel guilty quicker now that I am a mom- so I'm worried that that stress will increase if we decided to get preggers again... But I know that it really is a "day by day" disease- especially when you're pregnant. I randomly spoke with an Endo at Mayo Clinic at a social event and he said that the average number of children for diabetic parents is 1.3, but at least in this circle, it seems like a lot of diabetic moms are having more than one kid!