My DD was diagnosed at 15 mo, and on the Medtronic pump by 18 mo. It’s been a life saver for us. She’s never pulled out the site and when she was a toddler, we covered the site with IV3000 dressings to protect it as she slid off beds, etc. At one point she wore it in a little pump belt, but now she prefers to wear it on her waistband.
Eric was diagnosed at 18 months. HIs endo wanted him to start on the pump but we didn’t have the insurance coverage. 10 months later, I got him on my insurance (he’d been on his dad’s) and that’s when we made the switch. They all want to play with it or detach it, so you have to find ways to stop them – usually putting the pump site in their buttocks, and using some sort of pocket shirt that has the pocket out of reach on the kid’s back to keep the pump itself away from busy fingers (and always using the button lock!). I have a set of instructions for a pocket you can sew onto shirts or dresses, if you want it send me a message with your email address and I’ll email you a pdf.
my son got his pump a month after his fourth birthday. He is a very active rough and tumble boy who plays soccer and baseball. He also enjoys battling with his sisters and jumping on the trampoline, we have never had problems with his pump or infusion set. He loves the pump, and I would highly recommend it.
We went on the Medtronic pump 6 months after diagnosis, at 1,6 years old. I had the same concern-petrified that he would press the buttons and give himself too much insulin. He is 5 now and for over 4 years we had 1 day off the pump when it had to be exchanged. it was not a good day, my son did not like the injections at all and it was very hard for us because the pump gives immense freedom in eating whatever whenever. You probably know how hard it is to keep a toddler on a feeding schedule so having a pump helped a lot. I dont see any reasons at all why a small child shouldn’t be put on a pump, Medtronic’s one has a block feature that allows you to lock the buttons so a child can’t give himself insulin, we used to use a lot, don’t have to anymore.
We started with Sure-T infusion sets, where the tiny needle stays in. it has two thingies with tape, one is actuall infusion with a needle and the other one that sticks to the skin but can be disconnected for bathing. It only got pulled out a couple of times, to prevent that I used a small piece of tape over the part with needle.
Whatever pump you decide to try will make a difference in D management IMHO, Good luck.
what pump are you using? I am about to start my 3 year old girl on the animas and am worried about her getting rough and tumble with her two brothers.