Timing of Pump Start and the holidays

My son's Ping arrived yesterday! Yeah! But we don't have pump start scheduled until Dec 17. :( I'm a little concerned of starting on the pump and then having Christmas only a week later, when we will be traveling by car, visiting family, etc.

In some ways, I think it might be good because both my husband and I will have some time off of work so that we can get a handle on using the pump, and of course, in our family there is always food around at the holiday so it would be nice for my son to not be getting 'extra' shots to eat or not be able to eat when others are. But in other ways I'm worried that it will be stressful/busy enough without figuring out how to use the pump, doing some of the first site changes away from home, etc.

Opinions? Insights? Experiences on starting your or your child's pump?

Being away from home might be an issue, make sure to keep extra supplies and backup needles just in case. You don't want to look for a pharmacy in a new area in the middle of the night.  Other than that, I think having everyone out of work and school will let you devote more attention to getting the numbers right.  I noticed going low more often, and having less sensation of being low after switching to the pump, so having all that extra food around might be a good thing.  Good luck.

Starting a pump whenever you do it can be stressful. The holiday's might affect things slightly, but I truly think the benefits out weight the negatives. Obviously the early morning testing could be inconvenient. Traveling by car should not be an issue either. The thing is that the biggest concern you might have is with the site changes, however that happens usually in the morning, or at least in the beginning. So changing the infusion set should not effect things to much. Having extra supplies when you travel is normal. Any time I go away for a night, I have a bag full of extra everything. Better safe than sorry. I do travel with extra needles and insulin of both types as well. You never know when something might go wrong.

The other bonus you mentioned stems from the no extra shots. I mean you guys already are calculating his carb count with what your son eats. That is nothing new. The basal pattern might take time and be effected by extra holiday eats, but again your trainer should be able to work you through all of this. Being around with the pump start will be great for you and your husband. I would continue with the date as planned. I mean if things get stressful or confusing, you could always go back to MDI until you can get stuff sorted out.

If ever you have any pump questions though feel free to ask.

Ironically, my pump arrived today and I have the same problem with setting up training.  I wanted to start tomorrow and play with it while I'm off from work, but they won't do that (I can't blame them really!).  So don't feel like they are jerking you around; you're not the only one!  ;)   Either way, I'm excited to try the pump and hope that it works out.

My pump came in the mail today and I'm sooo excited to start it.  I called my diabetes educator and I'm just waiting for her to call me back to set up a time when we can go over everything.  I really think that it will make life just a little bit easier.  Good luck to everyone who is starting on one.

My new pump will be here in mid-December, so I'm with you guys.  For me it won't be a calculation/basal issue since I'm already on a pump, but I'll still have to learn how to use this new one, and figure out all the settings and such.  I'm still debating whether I should wait until after the holidays or not to do training.  I might have enough going on already!