and the award goes to...

Ok so today I do NOT deserve this award! 

More like this one...

 

Here is the story. I really enjoy making cute lunches for my kids. Having diabetes sucks. Eating healthy food while all the kids around you garbage down on HoHos sucks. So, I try really hard to ease my mother's guilt and I do this by making them fun. 

What also sucks is my son who does not have diabetes has eaten the EXACT same thing his brother has to eat for the past four years. I am not joking every meal was the exact same. Dictated solely by Rocco's blood sugar.  Thank God they are not picky!

 So once I split the twins up into separate classrooms I was truthfully a little excited to give the non-diabetic kid some sugar in his lunch. No! I do not pack hostess treats, just a really gooey PB and J once in a while. For my child with diabetes I give him a small amount of sugar free strawberry jelly and almond butter. Peanut butter is the devil for him and almond butter works better to keep his blood sugar in a good range. They get this treat on gym days so my child with diabetes can work off the AB and (s/f) J after lunch. 

So the day after we decorate our Christmas tree, I made a cute Christmas tree sandwiches. One child gets goey peanut butter and the other gets almond butter. 

If you can't see the picture there is a tree sandwich (I even decorated it with my new food color pens), six nacho chips, a couple of blackberries and some carrots. Under the napkin is the rest of the sandwich pieces. I was so proud I even showed my husband. Yeah me! 

I sent them off to school. At lunch time his blood sugar was 180. Then I got a call that before gym two hours later and his blood sugar had risen to 470! What? That's weird. He hasn't been this high in school yet so she wanted to call and let me know. I told her his pump infusion site might be clogged but go ahead and give him the insulin and send him into gym. I wondered if I should go up to the school and change his infusion site but he only had another 45 minutes of his day and he was in the gym. So I let it ride. When they got home, his blood sugar was 220. Ok, coming down. I was able to get them to eat this when they got home. 

Before dinner it was 230. That's it stupid port, you are coming out! So we changed the site and everything went back to normal. Chalk it up to a port problem. Until....

this morning when I opened the fridge and there was the culprit! 

Yep, you guessed it!!! The stellar mom that I am was soooo proud of my cute sandwiches that I switched them! Diabetic kid got gooey one and non-diabetic kid got sugar free strawberry jelly and almond butter! Best part about this story non diabetic kid is allergic to strawberries! Way to go Shar .  Oprah will be restarting her show just to have you on as a guest! Mom of the year! 

My guys LOVE Lenny!

Even if you do not have diabetes in your family, get this app! It is so fun and a really great way to show kids healthy eating choices.
Lenny® the Lion Carb Counting Games Now Online!

Lenny the Lion is pleased to announce that you can now play his carb counting games online!  WIth  Lenny's food guide of over 50 foods and four different games, Lenny makes learning to count carbs fun and easy for both kids and parents. Check it out!

http://www.lenny-diabetes.com/

Eggo Nutrigrain Waffles

For the first 3 1/2 years, breakfast was my nemesis! Anything I gave Rocco would send his blood sugar straight to the moon. I tried every cereal, oatmeal, bread, and english muffin on the market. With virtually no insulin in his system, the carbs would rise before the insulin hit him. Then by lunch, he was always in the 300s. I would send him outside to play hard or send him off to play with his twin (if it was too cold outside). Unfortunately, poor Zeke got the brunt of Rocco's high blood sugar behavior. It was so hard to see them struggle all morning. Fits, tantrums and frustration.

I always imagine this feeling to me eating four chocolate cakes then having to sit in a box for four hours.

I even just eliminated all carbs together but the fat in the other non-carb foods ate away at him too. Not as bad so I stuck with that for about 9 months and EVERYONE was sick of greasy breakfasts by the end of that stint.

But then! Then I found my best friend - The EGGO Nutrigrain Blueberry waffle! I only add a couple of squirts of spray butter and an egg on the side. This breakfast of champions did the trick!! I would check him about two hours into the insulin, low and behold- SUCCESS!! He was always in the 100's!!! He didn't yell at Zeke anymore! He didn't cry. Our mornings ran so much more smoothly. Thank you Kelloggs!

I hope if you try these little gems, your child loves them too!
http://www.leggomyeggo.com/waffles/nutrigrain-blueberry/

lucky

If you asked me how I feel about taking care of a child with Type 1 diabetes, my answer would be ..."lucky". 

Now, does that mean I feel lucky when I have to poke his finger 6-10 times in a day?  No. Does it mean I feel lucky when I have to inform him yet again that he isn't allowed to eat his treat yet because his blood sugar is too high for now? No. Do I feel lucky for those mornings when I pray that he will wake up today after I possibly gave him too much insulin over the night? Absolutely not. 

I do feel lucky to be given the opportunity to teach someone at an early age that life is not what is given to you, but what you do with it that matters. I feel lucky to show my son how to overcome such a duanting obstacle. I am lucky that I have the opportunity to show him how to handle his health well throughout his adult life while he is still so little and impressionable. 

I have noticed my son and many children with diabetes have this kind of "bounce back" gift. None of them seem to mind their condition. None of them seem to notice their blood sugar checks or their administration of insulin. The diabetic children I have met all seem to perceive their diabetes as some sort of an afterthought from their more pressing daily thoughts of Wii levels, birthday parties and texting conversations. 

Children with diabetes are resilient. They do not let their diabetes identify them, label them, or even really effect them. They run to the sidelines like professional athletes letting their mothers or fathers check their blood sugar all the while keeping their eye on the ball in the game. They stop bouncing with their friends at the local bounce house to drink their juice to keep their sugar leveled. They are like super heroes to me. True wonders.

Finally, I feel lucky caring for a child with diabetes because he is teaching me how to behave. I am learning how to be truly compassionate for others. I am learning that every human has a story- something that they must overcome everyday. I am learning that having a life threatening medical condition enter our family is not the end of the world and is quite "doable". I am learning how to take my otherwise meek personality and really advocate for something/someone, no matter what the cost. Finally, I am learning how to teach someone how to make lemonade out of sour lemons (with Splenda, of course!). 

So, it is for all of these lessons and reasons that I feel lucky to take care of my thriving, beautiful, and perfect son, Rocco.  I only hope I can teach him as much as he has taught me. 

Future

Today is a good day. Rocco's numbers have been in the 100’s all day. He is currently slurping his favorite after school snack - chicken noodle soup. It is autumn and it is getting colder. Soup was the perfect option.

Today as I watch him slurp his soup, I wonder about his future. As I do, many thoughts creep into my mind. At six, I feel pretty good about the type of man he will become. My crystal mommy ball says he will take care of his diabetes responsibly. He is already handling it so well. He has never played with his insulin pump like a toy. He has never pulled his port out because he was curious. I also believe he understands that his diabetes, if handled the wrong way, is life threatening. Well, as best as a six year old understands life or death.

Often, I visualize moments of his future in my mind. I think of him taking off his pump to play football and knowing just how much insulin or carbs to give himself so he can sustain his energy throughout the game. I see him checking his blood sugar before the SAT’s to ensure he stays focused. I see him bringing all the necessary equipment for his care during his honeymoon.

These are the Pollyanna thoughts I have. My worrisome mother instinct sometimes eats at me like a devil on my shoulder. That devil says "what happens if he wants to binge drink in college?" or "what happens if in 5th grade they call him robot boy because he has a pump?". Just as every mother does, I worry.

I also worry about whether he will get low during a business meeting and "blow the deal". I wonder if his wife will check his blood sugar at night. I wonder how he will react when he is sixteen and I ask how his blood sugar numbers have been all day. I wonder if I will be as patient with him while he learns as he was while I learned.

It is also hard to imagine letting him take control of his diabetes. Currently, my husband and I handle everything except when he is in school. Then there is a Mary Poppins type lady that cares for him during the day. What will it look like when it is just him? No me, no dad, and no Mary Poppins.

How am I supposed to let him just learn? How am I supposed to let him make mistakes, mistakes that I know are either life threatening or will make him feel awful? I know he is going to want to ride his bike up to Dairy Queen and get the 131 carb large Blizzard like all of his friends. Finally, at what age or point do I let him take the reigns?

Gosh! Sometimes, these thoughts seem so overwhelming to me. So today, once he finishes his soup, I guess I’ll just teach him how to add and subtract...