I need some input from someone, anyone, who has T1 and is a parent. Actuallyl I don't know any "adult" diabetics to begin with so any adult T1 would be pretty awesome.
Anyways my problem is that I have no idea how to balance my efforts between caring for my son and other "motherly" duties and my diabetes. I got the result of my A1C yesterday and it was 11.7! I know what I need to do in terms of taking care of myself. I know I need to check my blood sugar and probably put down the doritos the problem for me seems to be I don't know how to accomplish this.
Thoughts? Comments? Advice?
PS I'm on an insulin pump and my insurance won't cover a cgm.
Good question! I struggle with this on a daily basis. I don't know how old your baby is, but I didn't feel "like myself" again until mine was a year old (he's 20 months now). Many of my friends talk about how much they love having small babies. I love my son so much, but I enjoy being the parent to a toddler better. I found having a baby very hard. I couldn't put as much effort into my own health for the first year b/c he was very clingy and needy. As my son gets older and slightly more independent, it gets easier. (I'm making him sound awful, lol. He's really a good kid!)
When I try to test my blood sugar or take insulin (I'm on MDI), he always wants to grab the stuff. So, I've done couple of things. I have an old meter and old insulin pen in my kit. While I test and inject, he presses the meter buttons and lifts up his shirt to "inject" insulin with his extra supplies. When he was younger, he'd just practice taking the lid on and off the insulin pen. Also, when I'm in the car, I always test before and sometimes after I drive. That way, he's strapped in his car seat and can't interrupt. Also, it's a habit and makes me do it more often. I also have "special" juice and candy for when I'm low. He calls them "Mommy's" and knows he isn't ever allowed to have any.
I know parents worry about having a severe low while home alone w/ a child. But, if your a1c is so high, I really do think you need to raise your doses / basals! For me, my problem as a mom seems to be to make the "mental space" to stop and think about my doses. I find myself not focusing on my D as much b/c my brain feels full with all my responsibilities with being a mom, a wife, an employee, etc. I record all my BG's and try to make myself stop and look at the patterns every few days.
I don't know if this helps at all. I think it's just hard to have the responsibility of being a parent to a young child. I can't even tell you how long it's been since I bothered to get my eyebrows waxed, LOL. But, you're not alone!!
Wasn't a parent as a diabetic, but this my help. If you don't take care yourself first you won't be there for anybody!!!!!! I did take parenting classes and that's what they told us. Same with Dad(husband), he's going to be with you the rest of your life(lord willing), your child is going to be with you a few years.
You aren't making him sound awful at all! I totally get where you are coming from in that respect. I love my son more than anything but my son wants to be with his mommy all the time and it makes it hard to do anything. Isaac is 4 1/2 months old so he's still pretty small.
I love the idea of letting your son use your extra supplies! I'll have to try that when Isaac is older. I've had a couple lows but I've never had such a severe low that has resulted in unconsciousness or anything and those have been the only time where I've just "let" him cry or something. I'm working on trying to record my blood sugars a little better. It's also making me check my blood sugar more often. My endo has asked me to e-mail her every week with my numbers now so that will make me more accountable I guess. I'm glad to hear that it eventually gets easier.
Here's to one day getting our eyebrows waxed again!
My son is 11 months old. My A1c definitely rose slightly during the first few months following his birth. It's hard because you're so busy plus sleep deprived plus caring for someone else. But I still try to check my BG often - usually 10x's a day. I'm also on a pump, but I didn't start it until my son was 7 months old. I don't think i could have taken on the task of learning a pump prior to that!