As I have read several posts from other D Moms I have come to understand that "chasing numbers" is just part of the new normal for us but REALLY when do I get to learn how to be proactive instead of reactive! It seems as though NOTHING I do creates any kind of consistency! I read yall’s post about giving less cause they were going to be running around and giving more cause it was a long lasting carb or something... but right now all I know is if he eats x then do y. I just feel like no matter what I do he is either SUPER HIGH or in the 70's. Our target is 100-200 and I CANT EVER get him to be there for more than 1 test at a time. I get maybe 1 in range number a day! Then there are the times when you just test for peace of mind and he is LOW.. those are the times I think WTH... I thought the point of filling out these logs every week was so that the Dr. would call with advice and assistance... I guess we dont get that till we go in for an appointement in May???
our formula looks like this
(IF BG is over 200) BG-200 = A, then A/200=B THEN
add Carbs=X, then X/60=Y. Then take Y+B=C (base units of insulin) Then to get our dose since we are on diluted insulin take C*4 =Z
The biggest problem to this is when he is taking a snack every few hours and so the last dose of insulin hasn’t fully corrected
here is our apx schedule:
7 am up and test
Breakfast cover carbs and correct
9:30-10ish 5 oz milk and nap cover
12:30 lunch cover and correct
3:30 snack and nap cover
6:00 dinner cover and correct
8:30 bed snack and cover
12:00 am test
3:00 am test
7 am all over again.
Because I work from home I am now not getting anything done during the day so I work when the kids go to sleep around 8:30-9 pm then finish around midnight with work and I KNOW if I sleep then I’ll miss the 3:00 testing... I just stay up... this is making for a VERY sleepy and grumpy mommy.
HOW DO YOU DO IT!! how did you learn to be proactive and less reactive, what time do you go to bed to be able to do this 3 am testing... what do you do if you know the last insulin dose hasn’t worked fully yet so your numbers are going to be wacky...
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
"Done is better then perfect"
This week I did something I haven’t done in a long time. I sat down and finished 30 pages in a scrapbook. I have been plagued by guilt that the boys baby albums were not complete. (okay so not even started yet) Jackson my 4 year old has several albums but not a "baby book", and Joshua... well he doesn’t even have a picture on the wall yet. Why did this make me feel guilty you ask?? I am... are you ready for this... a CREATIVE MEMORIES CONSULTANT! ( a unit leader in our company to be exact). I have been a consultant for 8 years! I have completed over 25 albums and love having them finished and able to be shared. My nephews love (or at least when they were little) looking through the pages and reliving the stories. Jackson has a little book that is his and he will just look at it for hours... I KNOW how important it is to tell the stories that make up our lives. I don’t care one bit about the paper, and decorations. I care about the photos and the stories. So why then do you ask did my kids not have finished baby books? I was scared they would not be right... See while I might not care about the paper and decorations, I see friends albums that are so beautiful and creative. Now I can get over this my albums but the boys baby books they have to be perfect don’t they??? We have a saying among consultants, done is better than perfect... and while I know this to be true I wasn’t living it. My upline and friend Dee Dee has been telling me for 4 years how I would be upset with myself if I let it go to long and then I did... it is almost like that shirt you borrowed in college you forgot to take back when you finished wearing it... You were late, then you were later and then you were embarrassed you were so late so really why take it back at all... I haven’t started on Joshua’s cause Jackson’s wasn’t done, I wasn’t doing the family album because their albums weren’t done. THIS IS A HORRIABLE cycle to be in. I have done trips, I have done Christmas cards, I have done digital but was so lacking on these.
Then on February 13th everything changed. I was actually at a Creative Memories conference when Brian called me to tell me he was rushing Joshua to the hospital. (I’ll tell his story in a later post) As my great friend Hillary was driving me the 5 hours home all I could think about is I haven’t told Joshua's story yet, what happens if he doesn’t make it? Dee Dee had shared with me a few years ago when her cousin lost her son that her cousin was so thankful her albums were up to date because she was able to look back on them and see the happy times, she could see her son in the glory that she remembered and she didn’t have to go back to do the albums with the loss fresh in her mind but could use her albums as a healing tool. My friend Hillary, who was driving me home, also has a knowledge of this, she lost her 14 month old daughter to a drowning at her daycare providers home. I have seen her albums be great comfort to her and I have seen her heart break when she is finishing them now that Natalie is gone. It breaks my heart that she is suffering this pain .
Then we came home from the hospital and as you all know there was NO time for thinking about album making. Then this week happened. I read about 2 different D children losing their battle with this crappy disease. I had not heard about "dead in the bed syndrome". I wish to God there wasn’t a name for it and that it wasn’t real. It has caused me much less sleep then I was already getting but on top of it, it made me realize that just because we have dodged the first bullet it doesn’t mean that we aren’t still in the middle of the war. The next thing that happened was Jackson turned 4 on the 26th. On his birthday we were looking at photos on the wall and he said "mommy can I see pictures of me as a baby?" I said "Yes, let’s go look on the computer" I then preceded to spend the next 30 mins showing my son his 1st year on the computer screen. With the click of each mouse I felt a twinge of guilt... do I want my son to grow up without an album with my handwriting? Do I want my computer to crash and I LOSE EVERYTHING from the last 4 years? What would it mean to me to have an album about me in my mom's handwriting?
It was right then that I decided to pull out my table and put out my traditional scrapbook stuff (I have been doing all digital lately and while it is easier and less mess I have all these pictures printed and the album kits to use already). The first day, I was able to get 30 pages done, I haven’t been able to get much more done this week. I have tax appointment to prep for and laundry to do and *fill-in the blank with 80 more things* but, I have been going back to it every once in a while to crop a picture, add a journaling box etc. It won’t be my most creative album when it is done but it will be my favorite, until Joshua's that is. My goal is to finish Jackson's 1st year and then skip ahead to Joshua's 1st year. Then I’ll go back to fill in the middle
So what do you do with your photos? How do you find the time? If you could complete one album what would it be and why?
Then on February 13th everything changed. I was actually at a Creative Memories conference when Brian called me to tell me he was rushing Joshua to the hospital. (I’ll tell his story in a later post) As my great friend Hillary was driving me the 5 hours home all I could think about is I haven’t told Joshua's story yet, what happens if he doesn’t make it? Dee Dee had shared with me a few years ago when her cousin lost her son that her cousin was so thankful her albums were up to date because she was able to look back on them and see the happy times, she could see her son in the glory that she remembered and she didn’t have to go back to do the albums with the loss fresh in her mind but could use her albums as a healing tool. My friend Hillary, who was driving me home, also has a knowledge of this, she lost her 14 month old daughter to a drowning at her daycare providers home. I have seen her albums be great comfort to her and I have seen her heart break when she is finishing them now that Natalie is gone. It breaks my heart that she is suffering this pain .
Then we came home from the hospital and as you all know there was NO time for thinking about album making. Then this week happened. I read about 2 different D children losing their battle with this crappy disease. I had not heard about "dead in the bed syndrome". I wish to God there wasn’t a name for it and that it wasn’t real. It has caused me much less sleep then I was already getting but on top of it, it made me realize that just because we have dodged the first bullet it doesn’t mean that we aren’t still in the middle of the war. The next thing that happened was Jackson turned 4 on the 26th. On his birthday we were looking at photos on the wall and he said "mommy can I see pictures of me as a baby?" I said "Yes, let’s go look on the computer" I then preceded to spend the next 30 mins showing my son his 1st year on the computer screen. With the click of each mouse I felt a twinge of guilt... do I want my son to grow up without an album with my handwriting? Do I want my computer to crash and I LOSE EVERYTHING from the last 4 years? What would it mean to me to have an album about me in my mom's handwriting?
It was right then that I decided to pull out my table and put out my traditional scrapbook stuff (I have been doing all digital lately and while it is easier and less mess I have all these pictures printed and the album kits to use already). The first day, I was able to get 30 pages done, I haven’t been able to get much more done this week. I have tax appointment to prep for and laundry to do and *fill-in the blank with 80 more things* but, I have been going back to it every once in a while to crop a picture, add a journaling box etc. It won’t be my most creative album when it is done but it will be my favorite, until Joshua's that is. My goal is to finish Jackson's 1st year and then skip ahead to Joshua's 1st year. Then I’ll go back to fill in the middle
So what do you do with your photos? How do you find the time? If you could complete one album what would it be and why?
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Order
Okay yall~ you don’t know me well yet, but you will I have confidence... I am not someone who HAS to have an order to things, you look in my closet and there are clothes everywhere, look in my bedroom and my husband has to ask is this basket clean or dirty, look in my Tupperware cabinet and you will be searching for matching pieces~ do you get my point? I don’t like clutter and an unorganized house that just seems to be what I have. Everything was okay pre Dx. I would "snap" as my husband called it every week and freak out throwing things away, donating and promising to sell it on Craig’s list. I would put a new "system" in place to help us make it easier... It would work for a day or 2 and then be back to normal life with 2 kids, 2 parents, dog, cat 2 jobs and life.
Fast Forward to 2/13/10 D day... I now MUST have order and need your help. I feel like I am running to stand still trying to catch up to the Diabetes.
1. What system do you have in place for making sure you have everything you need when walking out the door. What is in your packed bag for everyday trips to the store, to drop off brother to preschool. With a 13 month old I feel like I am packing the kitchen sink and I still find I am missing something...
2. Is there a bag you have fallen in love with that you would recommend to keep it all in?
3. What system have you put in place to communicate with your spouse and the dr about the carb intake and BS numbers and insulin consumed?? I have to fax a sheet in every week and I think I have missed the last 2 weeks because we can’t find where someone wrote it down and I don’t want to send in a 1/2 done sheet and they think I’m not giving him his meds. (Since he is so young we are on food first then cover and correct)
4. Do you stick to a strict time schedule or are you more flexible and roll with the punches?
5. What other tricks work for you to keep things rolling???
I am sure once I get this in place I will feel like I can kick D in the butt right?!?!?!?
Fast Forward to 2/13/10 D day... I now MUST have order and need your help. I feel like I am running to stand still trying to catch up to the Diabetes.
1. What system do you have in place for making sure you have everything you need when walking out the door. What is in your packed bag for everyday trips to the store, to drop off brother to preschool. With a 13 month old I feel like I am packing the kitchen sink and I still find I am missing something...
2. Is there a bag you have fallen in love with that you would recommend to keep it all in?
3. What system have you put in place to communicate with your spouse and the dr about the carb intake and BS numbers and insulin consumed?? I have to fax a sheet in every week and I think I have missed the last 2 weeks because we can’t find where someone wrote it down and I don’t want to send in a 1/2 done sheet and they think I’m not giving him his meds. (Since he is so young we are on food first then cover and correct)
4. Do you stick to a strict time schedule or are you more flexible and roll with the punches?
5. What other tricks work for you to keep things rolling???
I am sure once I get this in place I will feel like I can kick D in the butt right?!?!?!?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Cutest Kid
HI! I am hoping you all can help me out! I have entered the boys in a cute kid contest with our photographer. My boys are numbers 2 (Jackson) and Joshua is number 29. I would love it if you could take a min and vote one of them. We are in need of a new family photo and this would be a great way to win one. THANKS so much!! The contest is only a few days long so if you think about going back and doing it again Id appriciate it!!
http://kimberlingrayphotography.com/
THANKS so much!!
Shannon
http://kimberlingrayphotography.com/
THANKS so much!!
Shannon
Monday, March 29, 2010
2 months in
Wow so life has been crazy since I posted 2 weeks ago. Every chance I get (which isn’t much time) I’ve been reading blogs from other D moms. See that is what we are called "D Moms" the moms of children with Diabetes. (by the way my 4 year old calls it diabebes. It is so cute). Well these moms have given me so much inspiration and have truly let me know I’m not alone. I just have to say thank you and give them a huge shout out. I have been sending their blogs out to people because there is no way I could put into words what I’m thinking right now and their words are so true!
I can’t explain how horrific these last few weeks have been, adjusting to Joshua's diabetes, Jackson having pneumonia (the day we came home from the hospital he was rushed to the dr and then to chest x rays) and then Joshua came down with a breathing issues and having to go on oral steroids which led to out of control Blood Sugars. Then came Jackson having to have allergy testing to try and help both boys with breathing. No allergies for Jackson~ Joshua is to young to test. More chest x-rays on Jackson found he has not healed from his pneumonia, and so they have sent blood work in for more tests. They say that a portion of his lung is still deflated/collapsed and they hope in another month it will be better. In the mean time he is on a daily inhaler and then we have an emergency one too. UGHHHH
So Joshua's numbers have been crazy which I know we are only in month 2 of the dx so of course they aren’t going to be normal but really 42 and a 572 in the same day! Give me a break. Our numbers are supposed to be between 100-200. I didn’t give juice to Jackson until he was almost 2 and even now at 4 it is almost always cut in 1/2. Not that I have any issue with juice but really I’d rather my kids get their fruit by eating it not drinking it. Well Joshua has had so many lows that he probably has had more juice in 2 months then Jackson had all year long. 2 months... WOW how long it has seemed... One of the D moms wrote a great blog about how she couldn't remember life before Diabetes. (I’ll try to find and give credit when I can) I am quickly thinking that those memories are far behind us... I really thought by now we would be getting into the swing of things... instead we have been living in crisis mode the entire time. I am hoping things calm down around me so we can focus on just the D.
Diabetes changes everything, even down to how I parent. With Jackson I decide we were done using the bottle and in one weekend we made the switch. I knew if he missed a drink he wasn’t going to "die" this was the saying I used to say. Now with Joshua, his numbers are so unpredictable that if I give him a cup and he refuses, I can’t wait him out for fear that his numbers will go down. At dinner with Jackson I used to give him dinner and if he refused the meal I would say well... he will eat it at the next meal. Not with Joshua... and man he knows it... he will spit it out and then just scream... let me say I think he might be well spoiled at the moment. So D-moms tell me how have you fixed this... I am not able to be nor would I like to be a short order cook. Joshua is only 13 months old, I can’t reason with him, nor can I let him not eat... how do I make sure he is eating healthy and what the family is eating without letting him be a yogurt and applesauce only eater.
I can’t explain how horrific these last few weeks have been, adjusting to Joshua's diabetes, Jackson having pneumonia (the day we came home from the hospital he was rushed to the dr and then to chest x rays) and then Joshua came down with a breathing issues and having to go on oral steroids which led to out of control Blood Sugars. Then came Jackson having to have allergy testing to try and help both boys with breathing. No allergies for Jackson~ Joshua is to young to test. More chest x-rays on Jackson found he has not healed from his pneumonia, and so they have sent blood work in for more tests. They say that a portion of his lung is still deflated/collapsed and they hope in another month it will be better. In the mean time he is on a daily inhaler and then we have an emergency one too. UGHHHH
So Joshua's numbers have been crazy which I know we are only in month 2 of the dx so of course they aren’t going to be normal but really 42 and a 572 in the same day! Give me a break. Our numbers are supposed to be between 100-200. I didn’t give juice to Jackson until he was almost 2 and even now at 4 it is almost always cut in 1/2. Not that I have any issue with juice but really I’d rather my kids get their fruit by eating it not drinking it. Well Joshua has had so many lows that he probably has had more juice in 2 months then Jackson had all year long. 2 months... WOW how long it has seemed... One of the D moms wrote a great blog about how she couldn't remember life before Diabetes. (I’ll try to find and give credit when I can) I am quickly thinking that those memories are far behind us... I really thought by now we would be getting into the swing of things... instead we have been living in crisis mode the entire time. I am hoping things calm down around me so we can focus on just the D.
Diabetes changes everything, even down to how I parent. With Jackson I decide we were done using the bottle and in one weekend we made the switch. I knew if he missed a drink he wasn’t going to "die" this was the saying I used to say. Now with Joshua, his numbers are so unpredictable that if I give him a cup and he refuses, I can’t wait him out for fear that his numbers will go down. At dinner with Jackson I used to give him dinner and if he refused the meal I would say well... he will eat it at the next meal. Not with Joshua... and man he knows it... he will spit it out and then just scream... let me say I think he might be well spoiled at the moment. So D-moms tell me how have you fixed this... I am not able to be nor would I like to be a short order cook. Joshua is only 13 months old, I can’t reason with him, nor can I let him not eat... how do I make sure he is eating healthy and what the family is eating without letting him be a yogurt and applesauce only eater.
Monday, March 8, 2010
What am I doing???
Okay so this could cover so many things... What am I doing with a Blog?? What am I doing up at 12:15 am when I have to test Joshua's blood sugar at 3 am? What am I doing with a virus making everyone throw up at our house??? What am I doing on the computer when all I should be doing is sleep. Well ,while no one is throwing up I have decided now is the time to start this blog my sister has been telling me to do for the last 3 weeks. The reason for this blog, is to update Family, Friends, and anyone else who stops by on our Family aka Team Davis. You see 3 short weeks ago our world changed to what I have been referring to for a while as our new normal. (hence the blog name)
You see this has happened a lot for us over the years. So much so that I am really just counting the times we have had to say okay so this is just our new normal... There was the time in 2003 when we learned our 1st baby (Matthew) who was 22 weeks gestation was not going to make it. He had sever Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. But with God's grace, friends and family we moved on to our new normal. Then there was the time in 2004 when we learned I had a tubal pregnancy and we had another angel joining Matthew in heaven. We again adjusted to the new normal. Then in 2005 when Brian (my fantastic husband of almost 10 years) was diagnosed with Type 1.5 Diabetes (yea I know you haven't heard of it either). In 2006 were excited to adjust to a new normal of being parents. We welcomed Jackson into our world and MAN anyone who has ever been married for 6 years before kids will know THIS IS A HUGE change to a new normal. WE were excited and thrilled and had waited for this day for so long. WE welcomed this change yet...it was a new normal life for us. In 2009 after a scary start we welcomed Joshua into our world. LIFE with 2 boys has been a HUGE adjustment to a new normal. Then just 3 weeks ago, 2 weeks shy of Joshua's 1st Birthday our entire world was rocked. At 11 months and 16 days he was diagnosed as a type 1 Diabetic. It is rare for the doctors to see a baby under 2 diagnosed I was told and even more rare to see someone under 1. I had no concept 12 hours prior how drastically our life was about to change but that is for another post. In an instant my husband and I found ourselves begging to understand what this new normal life would hold for us.
We are blessed to have have friends and family who love and support us and are helping us to learn and understand that is this just one more change to what normal means. This blog is for them, to keep updated on our family, hear about our successes and read about our struggles. It is meant for people who want to follow it instead of being bored with updates on facebook or emails. It is an outlet for me, my sister the great blogger says, so I can get things out. (although I'm not sure Ill get out of it what she does) and hopefully it will be inspiration for someone else out there one day to find their new normal. But for me... for now... it is just a reminder that my husband and I have adjusted before, we will adjust again and this is just our new normal life.
You see this has happened a lot for us over the years. So much so that I am really just counting the times we have had to say okay so this is just our new normal... There was the time in 2003 when we learned our 1st baby (Matthew) who was 22 weeks gestation was not going to make it. He had sever Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. But with God's grace, friends and family we moved on to our new normal. Then there was the time in 2004 when we learned I had a tubal pregnancy and we had another angel joining Matthew in heaven. We again adjusted to the new normal. Then in 2005 when Brian (my fantastic husband of almost 10 years) was diagnosed with Type 1.5 Diabetes (yea I know you haven't heard of it either). In 2006 were excited to adjust to a new normal of being parents. We welcomed Jackson into our world and MAN anyone who has ever been married for 6 years before kids will know THIS IS A HUGE change to a new normal. WE were excited and thrilled and had waited for this day for so long. WE welcomed this change yet...it was a new normal life for us. In 2009 after a scary start we welcomed Joshua into our world. LIFE with 2 boys has been a HUGE adjustment to a new normal. Then just 3 weeks ago, 2 weeks shy of Joshua's 1st Birthday our entire world was rocked. At 11 months and 16 days he was diagnosed as a type 1 Diabetic. It is rare for the doctors to see a baby under 2 diagnosed I was told and even more rare to see someone under 1. I had no concept 12 hours prior how drastically our life was about to change but that is for another post. In an instant my husband and I found ourselves begging to understand what this new normal life would hold for us.
We are blessed to have have friends and family who love and support us and are helping us to learn and understand that is this just one more change to what normal means. This blog is for them, to keep updated on our family, hear about our successes and read about our struggles. It is meant for people who want to follow it instead of being bored with updates on facebook or emails. It is an outlet for me, my sister the great blogger says, so I can get things out. (although I'm not sure Ill get out of it what she does) and hopefully it will be inspiration for someone else out there one day to find their new normal. But for me... for now... it is just a reminder that my husband and I have adjusted before, we will adjust again and this is just our new normal life.
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