Training Complete

On Monday, we will have officially finished all the training we need (as parents) to care for a child with Type One Diabetes.  Hmmmm...I can't say that I feel all trained up and ready to go.  I definitely feel more comfortable than those first few weeks at home when we called the endocrinologist faithfully each evening at 5:30 PM to report Carter's blood glucose readings. Those phone calls have dropped to once a week or longer if things are going well.

The top 10 things I've learned the last 2.5 months:

1.  Just when you think you've got insulin dosages figured out, something changes and you're right back at square one.
2.  Life does go on with Type One and your child is still the same little munchkin he was before.
3.  Sleep is overrated...and whoever said that you'll come to a place that you won't feel the need to test your child's glucose in the middle of the night did not have a child with Type One.
4.  Type One IS NOT Type Two.  Yes, Carter can eat sugar.  His diet is no different than your son/daughter's except that his pancreas doesn't work.  His insulin injections cover the food (carbs) that he eats to make up for this.
5.  Type One Lingo:  A1C, T1D, bolus, carbs, BG, lows, treat, highs, sliding scale, long acting insulin, short acting insulin, CGM, Dexcom, pumps, MDI, ketones.
6.  Pampers really do soak up a lot of fluid.  Especially when you're trying to test for ketones and have a dirty diaper spread out on the counter to find some urine to squeeze out of one of those babies.  Never thought I'd do that on purpose.
7.  Toddlers are so resilient...Carter doesn't flinch for a finger prick and fusses very little for his insulin injections.  Getting blood drawn is a different story!
8.  There is a special place in heaven for diabetes nurses (their patience and positive feedback helped us believe that we can do this)
9.  There is a special bond between parents of children with T1.  I'm thankful to those who reached out to us.
10.  Carter has Type One Diabetes but Type One doesn't have Carter.


We've got a long road ahead of us...full of turns and bumps and lots of gorgeous views along the way.  We love our little T1.