Diabetes Blog Week-Day 7

Life After A Cure...

Since I'm not able to write this one because I'm not the one with diabetes I'll let Alivia answer...

Me: Liv what will you do when your diabetes goes away?

Alivia: I will share my food with Bro (Anthony) because it wouldn't have to be measured!

Me: Good thinking Liv, I'll be excited not to have to measure out your food too!

Diabetes Blog Week-Day 6...Snapshots

Day 6 - Diabetes snapshots. Inspired by the Diabetes 365 project, let’s snap a few d-related pictures to share today. Post as many or as few as you’d like. Be creative! Feel free to blog your thoughts on or explanations of your pictures. Or leave out the written words and let the pictures speak for themselves

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Day 5- Let's get moving

Exercise . . . love it or hate it? Do you have a regular exercise routine? Or do you have trouble finding your exercise motivation? How do you manage your insulin and food to avoid bottoming out during your workout? Today is the day to tell us all about your exercise habits, or lack thereof.

Alivia is a active child, not wild and crazy but she LOVES to dance and do Yoga! Any time there's music on she's moving! And so far it does absolutely NOTHING to her blood sugar! Same with the Yoga that she does daily, NOTHING! She could dance and do Yoga for hours and blood sugar holds steady. But put her on a bike for 5 minutes and she drops all day and into the night!!! It usually takes 20-40 grams to cover 15-20 minutes of riding her bike. We usually give her a 20gm peanut butter granola bar before she rides and maybe one afterwards if she needs it. Then we still have a 50/50 chance of it catching up with her during the night and her dropping low, if that’s the case we usually treat the low with regular milk or if she's really low chocolate milk.

So I guess in the end I love exercise...as long as it's not Bike Riding!!!

Day 4 of Diabetes Blog Week! To Carb or Not To Carb....

When Alivia was first dx almost a year ago she was put on NovoLog, Lantus and NPH and we met with a intuitionalist in the hospital to make a meal plan for her... Breakfast-30carbs, Lunch-45carbs, Snack-15carbs, Dinner-30carbs, no more no less! If she was still hungry after a meal or wanted a snack it had to be "free" aka less than 15carbs, some of her favorites were tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, lunch meat and eggs.

After a while we ditched NPH and were given a ratio to use with the NovoLog at every meal and snack. This meant more shots but more freedom to eat different amounts of carbs at different times during the day. The only catch was that the shots could only be given every 3 hours so once again we had to rely on "free" foods if she wasn't able to get a shot.

Then a month ago we got her started on the pump. It has been WONDERFUL!!! We can give her insulin for any amount of carbs at any time with just the push of a button! Yes we still rely on "free" foods if she's on the high side or has just been having too many carbs lately but if she insists on having carbs like only a 3 year old can I'm more than happy to push a button to give her the insulin she needs!

Welcome baby "A"

C-section was scheduled for Wednesday, April 21st at 8am. The day before I still had SO much on my "to do" list but didn't sweat it because I figured I wouldn't be able to sleep that night so I'd have tons of time to work on it, boy was I WRONG!!! That morning I called my son's Dr., he has asthma and despite the steroids and albuteral he was still coughing non-stop. She had him come in at 3:30, but they were running behind so I waited for over an hour in that little room with 2 kiddos, thinking about what I could cut from my "list". She finally came in and was pretty sure it was just his asthma acting up but gave him a 5 day course of antibiotics for baby "A"'s sake. Next it was on to Target to get the Rx filled and of course something wasn't right and we had to wait for the Dr. to call back and confirm the Rx...another hour and half down the drain (we live a 1/2 hour away from the pharmacy so going home to work on the "list" was not an option)! So by now it's pushing 7pm, kids still need dinner, baths and to be put to bed, oh yeah and Alivia needed a site change...I was almost in tears thinking about my "list", why do I always procrastinate??? It was probably close to 9pm by the time the kids were sleeping, poor kids 6am is gonna come really quick for them! I hurried up and took my last pregnant shower, not even taking much time to enjoy it, too stressed about the stupid "list". Then I made a huge mistake...I sat down!!! Wow I was exhausted!!! What to do??? Take a quick nap then work on the "list"??? Push through the "list" then enjoy a few hours of sleep??? Humm maybe a compromise, at least finish packing the bags and do the dishes then sleep, setting the alarm for 2 hours before we needed to leave to finish up the more important things on the "list" I now despised! Trouble was that I pushed snooze 100 times and didn't get up until 15 minutes before we needed to leave!!! So much for the stupid "list"! I now have a bedroom full of boxes and piles of crap that needed to be dealt with! Err why do I procrastinate!!! Well of course we were a little late getting out the door, we were supposed to leave our house by 5am to get to the hospital by 6am, I don't think we even left until 5:20! After about 20 minutes of Hubbys super SLOW driving I made him pull over and let me drive so we at least had some hope of making it to the hospital kinda "on time". We arrived at check in at 6:15am :) Then it was up to my room to get some blood work done and to get my IV started... that did not go well!!! I have tiny veins! They blew 5 veins before they finally gave in and used a smaller needle and a vein on my forearm...OUCH!!!

I was really hoping to see my kids before they took me back but no luck, I instantly felt sick knowing I rushed them the night before and didn't wake them this morning to say goodbye and now someone was going to cut me open. I kissed hubby goodbye and they walked me back to the OR. Oh how I hated this part! Being all alone for the spinal and the "other" stuff they do to you before a C-Section. Spinal did not go well either, 1st attempt hurt SO bad! Instant unbearable lower back pain, she had to take it out and go higher...oh the Joy!!!

(My back after the spinal)

It felt like forever laying there strapped to the table all alone...oh I don't feel so good...oops blood pressures dropping...a little something to fix that...FINALLY the Hubbys here and everything got started...oh I don't feel good again...humm blood pressures fine...oops there goes the nasty pre surgery drink...do you know how hard it is to throw up laying flat on your back worried about the messing up the Drs holding the scalpel??? So not fun, after a few more rounds I finally felt better, just in time to hear her 1st cries!!!

Baby "A" was born at 8:23am.

(Checking out the cord)

 Daddy cut the cord and the nurse immediately noticed that she had a SUA (Single Umbilical Artery), she said no big deal, she just needed to do an ultrasound later that day to check for abnormalities.

Baby "A" weighed in at 8 pounds 1oz, pretty big for only 38 weeks, nurse thought so too and because she was over 8 pounds needed to check her blood sugar...33! I got to see her for a few minutes but then they had to take her to the room for a bath and some formula to get her sugar up. By 9am I was all put together and back in my room in hopes of some times bonding with baby...no such luck, because of the formula she had no interest in nursing and it was hard to enjoy her with the nurse constantly pressing on my tummy, then the bleeding started, I'll save you from all the details but lets just say I lost a total of 5 units of blood during the entire C-section and 4 units in just the hour after the C-section...needless to say I got a nice shot right in my thigh!

After the hour of recovery in flowed the visitors, it was nice to see everyone ooo and ohhh over her but I still hadn't gotten to see my baby. Another blood sugar check was done...43 (and we even cheated on that one, I had just finished nursing her!) The nurse said she needed 3 blood sugars in a row above 50 BEFORE a feeding. I was crushed, this was my 1st time away from Alivia, I shouldn't have to be worrying about blood sugar numbers, especially in my newborn! But I didn't have a choice, she would continue to have her blood tested every 2-3 hours until they got the 3 in a row (which she finally did…50...51...51). When the dust had settled and all the visitors had gone in came the nurse to take baby "A" for her ultrasound, the Hubby went with her and I got took a little nap. Shortly after the nurse and Hubby returned with baby "A" her Dr. came in... oh this can't be good, I've never gotten results from a procedure so quickly! The Dr. informed us that one of her kidneys was swollen and it was most likely 1 of 2 things... 1-vesicoureteral reflux which is when urine that dwells in the bladder flows back into the ureters and often back into the kidneys (she would need surgery to correct it) OR 2- Some sort of blockage that may need to be surgically removed if it does not break up on its own. She would need more testing in the next few days and she was referred to a specialist for even more additional testing over the next few weeks. Hubby and I both had a mini pitty party for ourselves and tried not to think about it. I finally had my baby to myself, she was finally wide awake and as soon as I looked into her eyes I knew her name...

Addison Jean

Diabetes Blog Week...A day in the life

I promise Addison’s birth story is coming soon! It's been a draft for almost 3 weeks and just keeps getting longer and longer! It will come to an end soon...I hope!


Diabetes Blog Week Day 1 (just made it! 11:50pm!!!)

Ok now on to a day in my life...


12am: Hubby gets home from work and checks Alivia, he wakes me just enough to tell me she was high and needed a correction.


1:30am: Time to nurse baby Addison, I "TRY" to stay awake long enough to put her back in her bassinet (doesn't always happen!)


2:00am: Alivia’s beeping...check blood sugar, coming down but needs another correction, "Check BG-2hrs?"...Confirm


4:00am: Alivia’s beeping...check blood sugar, coming down more but needs another correction, "Check BG-2hrs?"...Confirm


5:30: Time to nurse baby Addison again. Fingers crossed the screaming didn't wake the other kids, if so I scoot over to the edge of the bed to make room for the little ones.


6:00am: Alivia’s beeping...check blood sugar, much better...no correction needed


7am: Kids are up, snuggle the kiddos for a few minutes trying to catch just a few more minutes of rest, check Alivia, change Addison’s diaper, drag myself out of bed, help the kids get dressed.


7:30: Measure breakfast, bolus for breakfast, serve breakfast beg Alivia to finish eating breakfast all while nursing baby Addison.


7:45: Make lunch, finish getting Anthony ready for school, feed Alivia the last few bites of her breakfast while still nursing baby Addison.


8am: Diaper change and see Anthony off to school


8:15am: Diaper change woke up Addison, still hungry! Snuggle Alivia on the couch while nursing baby Addison.


8:30am: Another diaper change, Alivia helps me get Addison dressed and plays with her for a few minutes, nap time for baby Addison.


9am: Quick shower for me and if it's a good day I actually have time to get dressed AND dry my hair before Alivia comes in telling me that baby Addison needs me.


9:30am Another feeding for Addison, Alivia’s beeping...check blood sugar.


10:00am: Diaper change and back to feeding baby Addison, play dollhouse with Alivia


10:30am: Another diaper change and naptime for Addison, Alivia and I empty the dishwasher.


11:30am: Alivia’s beeping...check blood sugar, measure out lunch, baby starts screaming, bolus for lunch, serve lunch, beg Alivia to finish lunch, try to eat a few bites of my lunch, baby screams louder, nurse baby Addison


12:00pm: Diaper change and finish nursing Addison


12:30pm: Another diaper change and another nap for Addison, try to finish my lunch, try to figure out the carbs in the bites Alivia keeps taking from my plate, bolus Alivia for the half of my lunch she ate.


1:30pm: Time to nurse Addison again


2:00pm: Leave message for CDE about Alivia’s highs during the night, Say goodbye to the hubby as he leaves for work, diaper change and back to nursing.


2:30pm: Alivia’s beeping, "Liv please bring Mommy your meter", diaper change for Addison, Alivia’s still beeping, "Liv PLEASE bring Mommy your meter!", put Addison down for a nap, Alivia’s STILL beeping, get the meter myself, check blood sugar...a little on the high side, give correction.


3:00pm: Measure snack, bolus snack for Alivia, serve snack, get myself a snack since I only got half my lunch, eat half my snack when Alivia decides she wants what I'm having, measure, bolus, serve, Alivia decides she doesn't like what I'm having, pour Alivia some milk to make up for the snack she didn't eat.


3:30pm: Stand in the driveway waiting for the bus, CDE calls back, read off ALL Alivia’s numbers from the last 5 days while catching Anthony’s coat and backpack he rips off before even crossing the street, be greeted at the door by Alivia, "baby sister needs you!!!" ask the CDE to hold on, I can no longer hear her, Addison is screaming too loud, get Addison latched on and jot down the basal and insulin to carbs ratio changes.


4:00pm: Help with homework, diaper change, back to nursing


4:30pm: Diaper change, try to burp Addison with no luck, put Addison down for a nap, get dinner started


5:00pm: Alivia’s beeping...check blood sugar, "WARNING HIGH BLOOD GLOUCOSE ABOVE 600", wash hands and repeat, "WARNING HIGH BLOOD GLOUCOSE ABOVE 600", Addison needs to be burped...the screaming starts!!! Me: “Choose now, correction shot? or new site with no magic cream?" Liv: “Umm no shot, new site with magic cream!" Screaming baby gets louder Me: “We don't have time for magic cream! you're going to feel a poke either way just pick!" Liv: “MAGIC CREAM!" Screaming baby gets much MUCH louder!!! Anthony: "I can't hear the TV!!!" Me: “PICK NOW BEFORE YOU SLIP INTO A COMA!!!" Liv: “fine a new site with no magic cream", new site on the belly but still need to fill the cartridge and change it out, that can wait a few minutes, hook her back up to the old cartridge and give a big correction. Pick up Addison instantly a huge burp followed by LOTS of projectile spit up all over my shirt!


5:30pm: Quick shirt change. Try to salvage dinner. Measure, bolus and serve dinner. Fight with Anthony to try a bite of dinner. Addison starts fussing in the swing, hungry again since she threw up her last feeding. Take a few quick bites of my dinner.


6:00pm Un-hook Alivia from her pump and gather everything needed to change the cartridge . Get Addison latched on and get to work setting basals and ratios, change out cartridge and get Liv hooked back up.


6:30pm Bath time


7:00pm Bed time...YAY!!!


7:30pm Alivia’s beeping...check blood sugar, coming down nicely, hope the new basal works tonight. Finish my dinner.


8:00pm Give Addison a bath and ready for bed


8:30pm Nurse Addison


9:00pm Cuddle with Addison who is wide awake


9:30pm Put Addison to bed. Clean up dinner mess. Clear a path through the living room so Hubby doesn't break his neck when he comes home.


10:00pm Head upstairs, check Alivia’s blood sugar...73! Was it the correction? Was it the new ratio? Was it the new basal? Did she not eat all her dinner? Back downstairs for a juice box (glad I cleared a path!) Get myself ready for bed. Re-check blood sugar...113. Back down stairs for 7grams of milk.


10:30pm Check on Addison. Climb into bed, find something good on TV to fall asleep to.


11:00pm Fall asleep...Addison starts fussing...wanting to be fed.


12am: Hubby gets home from work and checks Alivia...167 Perfect!