Ahhh, Costco. The land overflowing with 3-packs of milk and honey that comes in bottles the size of a small child. Where you can buy a pack of toilet paper that will last the same length of time it takes the earth to go all the way around the sun.
I've often joked that if I were ever to become homeless, I would take up residence in a Costco.
Back when Fred and I were in debt up to our eyeballs and every spare cent went towards bills, we used to hit up Costco on Saturdays for a little "redneck dim sum". We were there so often that all the sample people got to know us and would give us extra little helpings of the treats they were handing out.
With the arrival of kids, we started spending less and less time at the free buffet. Especially when diabetes came to town. Watching people just hand food to their kids all willy-nilly hurt my heart a little too much.
We still go from time-to-time. Just often enough for Elise to know that people will give her food if she looks cute enough. We went this past Sunday. As we arrived in the parking lot filled with people who would kill their own mother for a good spot, Elise said, "Costco... yay! Can I eat some stuff?"
Used to be, if we went to Costco when Elise was on NPH, she could "eat some stuff". Within reason. She could snack on a few things and it would have no adverse effect on her BG. I could eyeball the food she was eating and know when enough was enough.
Now with the pump, she also can "eat some stuff", but I'm still trying to figure out how much stuff. And when to bolus. And how much.
So we checked her before. At 74, I decided to let her have at it. And boy did she eat some stuff. Ham, cheese, greek yogurt, sausage with chicken and spinach, perogi, brown rice and quinoa (which both of my kids loved and I ended up buying), and the definitive winner of the afternoon; TWO samples of cheesecake (chocolate and creme brulee).
I didn't bolus her and she ended up at 144 90 minutes later (right before dinner). Now, 4 hours later she was 349 (two hours post-dinner). BUT... I think the high BG could have been due to excitement. We were at our town's Polar Express, and as we checked her, we were just about to get on the train.
Or maybe I should have bolused her for some of that "stuff".
Either way, we corrected and she came down by the end of the Polar Express. Enough to have a hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top.
Yes Elise, you can "eat some stuff". Next time, your Mom just needs to bolus you for it.
I've often joked that if I were ever to become homeless, I would take up residence in a Costco.
Back when Fred and I were in debt up to our eyeballs and every spare cent went towards bills, we used to hit up Costco on Saturdays for a little "redneck dim sum". We were there so often that all the sample people got to know us and would give us extra little helpings of the treats they were handing out.
With the arrival of kids, we started spending less and less time at the free buffet. Especially when diabetes came to town. Watching people just hand food to their kids all willy-nilly hurt my heart a little too much.
We still go from time-to-time. Just often enough for Elise to know that people will give her food if she looks cute enough. We went this past Sunday. As we arrived in the parking lot filled with people who would kill their own mother for a good spot, Elise said, "Costco... yay! Can I eat some stuff?"
Used to be, if we went to Costco when Elise was on NPH, she could "eat some stuff". Within reason. She could snack on a few things and it would have no adverse effect on her BG. I could eyeball the food she was eating and know when enough was enough.
Now with the pump, she also can "eat some stuff", but I'm still trying to figure out how much stuff. And when to bolus. And how much.
So we checked her before. At 74, I decided to let her have at it. And boy did she eat some stuff. Ham, cheese, greek yogurt, sausage with chicken and spinach, perogi, brown rice and quinoa (which both of my kids loved and I ended up buying), and the definitive winner of the afternoon; TWO samples of cheesecake (chocolate and creme brulee).
I didn't bolus her and she ended up at 144 90 minutes later (right before dinner). Now, 4 hours later she was 349 (two hours post-dinner). BUT... I think the high BG could have been due to excitement. We were at our town's Polar Express, and as we checked her, we were just about to get on the train.
Or maybe I should have bolused her for some of that "stuff".
Either way, we corrected and she came down by the end of the Polar Express. Enough to have a hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top.
Yes Elise, you can "eat some stuff". Next time, your Mom just needs to bolus you for it.
Elise excited about the Polar Express
Having some fun before the train ride
"snow" falling before we boarded the train
family pic. Note Mattias using the Iphone. 
Aww cute family pictures.
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy she was able to eat some stuff!
Funny that you wrote this. I remember being in Costco prepump and telling my mom that when he got on the pump he'd be able to eat the samples. It was a very exciting concept.
ReplyDeleteYay!!! And I have to say, cheesecake is ALWAYS bolus-worthy!! :)
ReplyDeleteNice swagging! Not easy when being off just a few carbs can have such a big impact. And - how could anyone refuse that face?
ReplyDeleteSo glad she can just eat some stuff and can use the pump to bolus. She has that freedom now. Priceless. I think you did a great job SWAGing. The 349 could have been from the slow digestion of the high fat food... or not. Bolusing after is safer in that instance I think. Sounds like your Omni problems have resolved themselves and nice to see everything is working out. Our DD balks at using Dex but would never give up her pump.
ReplyDeleteaww, how what a beautiful family! And I love Costco's "stuff", too - even if it comes in the most ginormous sizes possible. Have a wonderful pre-Christmas week :)
ReplyDeleteHi Stranger! Glad she could enjoy herself! That's one thing Matthew lives with pumping. Sounds like you handled it well!! Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about the NPH and eating stuff within reason...happens here everyday! So glad that she was able to eat such fun stuff and enjoy herself. Yay for the Polar Express...such fun and those pictures are too cute especially the one of the whole family at the end...love it! xoxo
ReplyDeleteLove it!!
ReplyDeleteGlad that correction did the trick.
It's a process figuring things out, but I've found that it's just better to bolus for everything (within reason...not a juice for a low, duh, but you know what I mean!)
Love that the PDM will reverse correct for below target BGs (if the feature is on) and that has taken a lot of the guess work out for us.
:)
Probably should have bolused. I do that all the time. My middle name should be the grazer for how I graze on snack foods.
ReplyDeleteYAY! i love that you all went on the Polar Express...that is so cool! Glad the correction did the trick and all was well in the land of BG's :o)
ReplyDeleteCute pics!!!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, bolus every now and then :0)
Soon you'll be able to bolus to "eat some stuff" with the pump using that same gut intuition that you had when on NPH. It's just a learning curve. Also, sometimes I find that a temp increase in my basal rate does better to accommodate light grazing, especially if that light grazing is followed (or accompanied) by some sort of light activity (like walking around a costco). You've just gotta experiment and keep track of what works (and what doesn't!)
ReplyDelete