My blog hiatus stretches close to a month, so I guess I better end this dry spell. I don't know why I have been absent. There's been plenty worth documenting.
O turned two.
(The cupcakes were low sugar and delicious. O's numbers were beautiful all day. A nice present for us all.)
We put off making a decision on Baby Number Two.
O's off the ports. She wore two and they definitely made things easier, but she could not get used to it and asked us not to put in another. So we are taking a break, but will try again soon. Without them, the injections are again an ordeal for both of us. It basically comes down to sit on her or sneak up on her and neither feels like a good option.
Some days I feel like I have allowed myself to be lulled. I haven't been reading much about diabetes, haven't been preparing for or researching the pump. I watch her numbers; I count her carbs (trying to figure out how much she gets and how much she feeds to the dog); I try to factor in how her activity level will come into play. If it works today, I'll try to replicate it tomorrow. It rarely does, though, and tomorrow morning I will be back at it, counting, guessing, praying. Day slides into day. A bit of a holding pattern, which is probably neither bad nor good, I guess. Catching my breath.
But Olivia? Most definitely not in a holding pattern. We go to the playground, the zoo, the museum. She picks up a new word every 17 seconds and keeps up a running commentary on everything she sees. She sings Twinkle, Twinkle to her bear. She asks to hold my hand. She amazes me every single day.
O turned two.
(The cupcakes were low sugar and delicious. O's numbers were beautiful all day. A nice present for us all.)
We put off making a decision on Baby Number Two.
O's off the ports. She wore two and they definitely made things easier, but she could not get used to it and asked us not to put in another. So we are taking a break, but will try again soon. Without them, the injections are again an ordeal for both of us. It basically comes down to sit on her or sneak up on her and neither feels like a good option.
Some days I feel like I have allowed myself to be lulled. I haven't been reading much about diabetes, haven't been preparing for or researching the pump. I watch her numbers; I count her carbs (trying to figure out how much she gets and how much she feeds to the dog); I try to factor in how her activity level will come into play. If it works today, I'll try to replicate it tomorrow. It rarely does, though, and tomorrow morning I will be back at it, counting, guessing, praying. Day slides into day. A bit of a holding pattern, which is probably neither bad nor good, I guess. Catching my breath.
But Olivia? Most definitely not in a holding pattern. We go to the playground, the zoo, the museum. She picks up a new word every 17 seconds and keeps up a running commentary on everything she sees. She sings Twinkle, Twinkle to her bear. She asks to hold my hand. She amazes me every single day.
Labels: blogging, diabetes, I-Port, Olivia, photos, two year old
posted by Paige at 4:40 PM
5 Comments:
Thanks for the lovely pictures and happy birthday to Olivia.
Two is such an amazing and wonderful age. Children are just like high energy sponges, never stopping at any one thing for very long, and just soaking up the new sights, smells, noises, and words all around them. Plus the brutal honesty they have is quite something.
You're doing a great job with that girl, I hope the shots get easier at some stage.
What a gorgeous little girl! Those curls are fantastic.
Parenting a toddler with diabetes is awful, plain and simple. It's easy to get burned out and to feel sort of overwhelmed by it all. Do you have any support groups near you? You can also try the Children With Diabetes email lists. They're pretty active and there's almost always someone around when you need some help or just need to vent.
The shots: Have you tried letting her hold a bag of frozen veggies on the area you want to give the shot? I used to do that with my O when she was little. It seemed to help. I also used to have her take a deep breath, hold her finger in front of her mouth and then blow out slowly, like she was blowing out candles on a cake. As she was blowing out, I'd give the shot. The relaxation that came with the exhalation, coupled with the iced area, seemed to calm her down enough so that I could make the shot relatively anxiety-free. The Injectease is another device that I used to use with O. She said it really helped make the shots a lot less painful. I also know people swear by the Shot Blocker, although I've never used it.
Hang in there.
Thanks for the kind words, you guys. I think that we need to get one of the Injectease devices. We have gotten into freak-out mode with the shots and I am not sure how to back out of it. I don't know that she is old enough to grasp the relaxation techniques, but I will definitely try! Thanks again.
She is BEAUTIFUL, Paige - and two now! I am so glad she had a great birthday - numbers and all.
Shots really are difficult at any age. My poor mother had to do battle with me for the first year after my diagnosis at eight. Not pretty at all.
Do listen to Julia's suggestions, though - she is an expert. Also - I'm sure some of the other moms out there will weigh in on this.
She is just beautiful, Paige.
And, thank you for your comment at my blog. It helps to know that someone out there gets where I'm coming from sometimes.
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