-I cannot make a meal without weighing the ingredients. The other day I was making dinner for a friend who just had a baby, and I kept putting things on the scale to figure out the carbs. It has just become so automatic. I finally got in a non-weighing groove towards the end... oh the freedom!
-Even after 2 1/2 years, this disease still has the capacity to break my heart. Elise told me the other day that she was sad that she eats a different snack than the other kids at school. At Elise's pre-school, they provide the snack for the kids; animal cookies, cheese crackers, cheerios, etc. To make things easier, I always packed a snack for her in different carb increments; 7g, 15g, and 20g, along with a note for her teacher instructing how much to give Elise depending on what her BG was. Even at three, Elise is noticing how diabetes is setting her apart and she doesn't like it.
-Even after 2 1/2 years, this disease still has the capacity to break my heart. Elise told me the other day that she was sad that she eats a different snack than the other kids at school. At Elise's pre-school, they provide the snack for the kids; animal cookies, cheese crackers, cheerios, etc. To make things easier, I always packed a snack for her in different carb increments; 7g, 15g, and 20g, along with a note for her teacher instructing how much to give Elise depending on what her BG was. Even at three, Elise is noticing how diabetes is setting her apart and she doesn't like it.
-My daughter is more responsible at three than some adults I know. Elise takes a tap/ballet class on Thursday nights. At the end of class, her teacher gives the kids the option to get a stamp on their hard, or two skittles. When the teacher let me know this at the start of our first class, I told her to let Elise decide which one she wanted. And she always picked the stamp. But the other night, my Mom (who was here visiting), noticed that when the skittles were offered, Elise shook her head with a very sad look on her face. Apparently the teacher noticed too, and came over to me and said, "I think she really wants the skittles." I told her no problem, and Elise was so happy she wanted to have one skittle then, and keep the other to have the next day. Now how sweet/sad is that?
-Elise is not to young to start having conversations with about her care. The two incidents above taught me that Elise is very aware about what is going on, but might not have the words to express how she is feeling. So I sat her down and discussed both the snack and skittle situation; telling her we would figure out a way to make it work, but if she's ever feeling sad about her diabetes, she can come tell me. When we finished talking, she was beaming from ear to ear and gave me a hug saying, "I just love you so much Momma." Me too, little girl. Me too.
I've decided to change the title of these recurring posts from "things I learned about diabetes", to "things diabetes has taught me". It seems to fit better.
I've decided to change the title of these recurring posts from "things I learned about diabetes", to "things diabetes has taught me". It seems to fit better.
I literally LOL ...laughed out loud about your weighing comment. It struck me as humorous. I think we (D moms) should have our own sitcom or something. Anyway, what a sweet story about the skittles. What a special little girl.
ReplyDeleteoh what a sweet little girl!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweetheart you have! I definitely agree with the part of her being more mature than a lot of adults. I see that in my daughter too. You are such a great Momma! I hope Elise enjoys her skittle and you all have a fantastic week. :o)
ReplyDeleteWhen I catch Sugar in a complete random act of childhood, I am always moved to pause for a moment...it seems that she's so grown up and handling her diabetes with such grace. I cannot help but to savor every little childhood moment, because I feel like the time is going too fast.
ReplyDeleteOh the things our children teach us :)
ReplyDeleteFor us, the snack thing is probably the biggest benefit to the pump. I use to hate making him wait when all the other kids were snacking away. It was heartbreaking. It sounds like Elise has some pretty fantastic pre school teachers too... they will probably be willing to learn.
''I just love you so much momma''
ReplyDeleteThey know. They instinctively know and are awarenthat D makes them different. My goal is to make her feel as normal as possible- and not care about the rest!
ReplyDeleteI get the skittles thing.... Sweetpea has had HALF a dum dum pop HALF Not only did she jnderstand half at 3 years old, she did it. Sweet. And sad.
Good job, mom!
The Skittle thing got to me a bit. You are doing such a terrific job in sitting with her and making sure she knows that she can talk to you about anything that is troubling her or making her feel different...etc.
ReplyDeleteAwwww, shoot. The skittles broke me...I had tears in my eyes as I finished reading the post. Sugar Boy has done something similar recently.
ReplyDeleteI am in no way saying you're doing anything wrong...just a mere suggestions - could you count the carbs out for the same snack as the other kids before you leave? I think this is a great task for us parents to teach our CWD that they may have what the other children are having they just need to take insulin for it. But, that's just what we do because TJ (whom has t1d) is adamant about this aspect of d management. He thinks/hopes it'll keep us from having future diet related issues with Isaac during the teenage years. Who knows, right?!
ReplyDeleteElise sounds like such a wonderful little girl, who is adjusting to her life and knowing she is different. You are doing such a great job handling it all. She will grow up knowledgeable and confident and strong. You are am amazing pancreas Mama!
ReplyDelete@ Sarah - I love the idea of figuring out her food while at school, it's just that drop off is so chaotic. I'm usually late, lugging Mattias around in his carseat, and the poor teacher has other kids and moms to deal with... it's a complete zoo!
ReplyDeleteThat Skittle thing is killing me. It's funny that I never felt sorry for myself when I was a young'un with diabetes, but when I hear about kids now, it breaks my heart.
ReplyDeleteLOVED this blog post! I was wanting to expand on what Sarah said. I had a little girl in my Pre K class who had diabetes and was on shots and the carb ratio. Every morning when whoever brought the snacks got there we would write down what it was and the carbs. Then call her Mom tell her all that info and she would tell us how much insulin to give her. Sometimes kids would bring snacks the day before and we would send a note in her backpack and her Mom would send the info back. This worked out good with her Mom the best. Not sure if that is an option for you but just a suggestion,
ReplyDeleteSOooooo sweet!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen Bryce was in preschool, I would check out the snack and figure out how much he could have, I also sent a snack incase he decided he didn't want the school snack. It worked great to let him have the choice. (and I TOTALLY understand how chaotic morning drop off is, esp. with a lil one in tow) Good luck!!
So, I have another idea...about both things, not that you asked for ideas or help, but, well here goes...(please delete if you're not interested, I won't be offended at all!)
ReplyDelete~ Snack at preschool: could you as the teachers if you could bring snack in once a month and then subsequently ask Elise to help in preparation for this snack. She is obviously aware of things and is mature (as you noted) so maybe this idea might help provide her with a chance to see that she can educate others about foods and what they eat. You could even put the carb count on EVERYTHING. I do that sometimes and find it helpful for me, too and it makes me laugh as did you when you realized you were weighing food unnecessarily ;)
~ Skittles: okay this is just my little issue with food as a form of accolade....maybe the teacher would like something else that she can hand out but doesn't have the funds. I had a parent whom brought me a bag of cheap dollar store trinkets and the students LOVED them, maybe if you could provide this it would make it so that Elise doesn't even have to feel like she needs to make a choice that makes her feel sad about having d.
Just my silly brain thinking away at how I don't want this gorgeous little girl to feel any bit of sad about d in her daily life. Really this stuff gets me in the gut.
Hope your day was fabulous!
she sounds like such a sweetheart.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post. She's a blessed little girl to have you as a mommy.
ReplyDeleteby #2 i had a lump in my throat
ReplyDeleteby #3 i had tears in my eyes
by #4 i decided i would have to come back later if there was a #5
my heart hurts for your little girl. may you both always feel blessed and encouraged by each other.