Tuesday, April 19, 2011

And the Award for Most Useless Organ of Adam's Body Goes to...

Adam's pancreas! Adam's pancreas is officially done, kaput, finished putting out insulin. The honeymoon is over.

Thanks for the memories, it was fun while it lasted. (not nearly long enough, jerk.)

Adam had his endo appointment today. His A1C is up to 7.6 from 7.3. Oh well. I was expecting it to be much higher, actually, so I'm happy with that number. Dr. H said that it was great, especially from looking at the Dexcom, he hasn't had many lows, so to get 7.6 as an A1C without lows is a good thing. Of course, he said, there's always room for improvement! I honestly think that Adam's numbers will be better once he's in school full-time and on a more rigid eating schedule. He's a grazer, and it's hard for me to work on that when we're at home together all day long. I love our doctor because he's so good about everything...he basically says, "I'm here to support you and guide you, so whatever you need, let's get it done." Love that.

I got our prescription changed to include an extra vial of Apidra since we're cutting it close every month and wasting some with priming and site failures. I also got a script for some more Freestyle lite strips...a total luxury to me, but I just REALLY miss using the Freestyle lite meter at night with the nightlight to see what I'm doing! Why can't One Touch come up with a meter with a light? Don't they know we check our kids in the middle of the night? Dude, it's really hard to see a blood droplet in the dark.


He made some adjustments to his afternoon basal rates and I'm still going to tweak his breakfast I:C ratio and see if we can get him to stop spiking after breakfast.

I also got the paperwork for school - we'll go more in-depth about it in July, but at least I can start planning what I want to have happen at school and then he'll sign off on it before school starts. I'm not even ready to go there yet.

All in all, it was a good appointment. I felt reassured with him telling me that his numbers are never gonna be perfect - it's still hard to get my mind wrapped around that he's never going to have the BG of a non-diabetic, but it was good to hear that from a professional, you know?

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Diabetical

I just had to share this...


We were at Dunkin' Donuts this morning (reward for being brave after his 5 year check up!) and he was in an especially talkative mood. He struck up a conversation with a lady and she asked him about what was on his arm (his pump site.)


He says, "Um, it gives me insulin for my diabetes. One day I went to football practice and then we went to IHOP and I drank 3 cups of milk and I was really, really thirsty and the next day I went to the doctor and I got diabetical."

Diabetical. Bwahahahaha! He just cracks me up. And for the record, I had no idea he remembered the events that led up to his diagnosis. He surprises me every day. 


He had a good 5 year check up, despite freaking the freak out over the TB test. For a kid who gets poked a lot, he sure doesn't like them at the doctor's office! He is still my strong, healthy boy. He's in the 97th percentile for both height AND weight, 53 lbs. and 3 ft. 10 inches tall. 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

And Now You are 5.

I think I'm getting a little mushy over this birthday thing. I've kind of been dreading Adam turning 5, because to me, that signifies "big kid." No longer a baby, toddler or preschooler. I *like* my kids being little. I'm not ready to have 2 grade-schoolers.

In five short years, he has gone from this sweet little face:


To this handsome young man:

My days of just him and I jetting around town together are coming to a close; I'm very sad about that. He's my buddy, my little shopper who makes everyone smile wherever he goes. We even have the same taste in music - we've got no love for the Bieber, but Big Time Rush? Yeah, I'll go ahead and admit that right here - we love singing along to BTR in the car together. :) It must be the boy-band thing from when NKOTB was the bomb.

Even though Adam was diagnosed with strep throat last night at Urgent Care, after 2 doses of antibiotics, he was rearing to go this morning. I kept him home from preschool because it hadn't been 24 hours yet (I'm a rule-follower like that!) but that didn't stop us from having our own birthday fun together.

We hit Target since he had a couple of gift cards burning a hole in his pocket. :) Then he was hungry, so at 10am, the kid downed 2 hot dogs. Then he said he wanted to eat at the Target Cafe for his birthday dinner.

Yeah, I'm going to have to veto that one.

Then we hit Toys R Us for his birthday balloon and to pick out a new bike! He picked a green one - his favorite color - to match his pump. Then on to the grocery store to pick out a small cake for tonight after dinner. 

After a 2 week hiatus, we've got Dex on board again today. I just needed a break and I have to say, it was nice. But, I'm starting to notice some random lows, and with all the sickness and birthday activity,  I thought it was time to put on a new one. I'm crossing my fingers that it's a good sensor!

I think I'm going to try to convince my little guy to take a nap with me - I think he's pooped out from all the activity this morning! Thanks for all the birthday wishes for Adam - y'all are wonderful!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Life of the party.

Even though my little guy's actual birthday is not until Wednesday, we celebrated with a fun party yesterday at Chuck E. Cheese. And I have to say...that $1.99 Bag-o-crap was pretty decent! But best of all, Adam had a total blast. He played HARD for 3 hours and I tried to keep up with him diabetes-wise, but by the time we got home, he was telling me he was dizzy with a BG of 57. Oh well...I guess I underestimated the power of play! He crashed hard at 7pm and was out for the night.











I can't believe my baby is 5. It has been 5 years since I've had a baby...he's not so little anymore! He's been through so much in his short 5 years - even as I was looking at this pic, I almost forgot about the cleft lip that was so traumatic when he was born (his surgeon did a truly amazing job - it is so hard to see!), and then the cataract and now the diabetes. Funny how all of his issues are "invisible," but they have had a great effect on all of us. He is a strong, happy boy and I know that will help him throughout his life. Happy birthday my little buddy!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Learning to Let Go.

I'm a mom who likes to do it all. I mean, I'm a SAHM for a reason, right?

Birthdays are a big thing for me...I love nothing more than throwing an awesome birthday party for my kiddos. We have always had "home" birthday parties...sometimes they involve swimming, sometimes they involve bounce houses, but they always include homemade treats, special homemade decorations, a special "theme" with matching goody bags/gifts. You get the idea. I stressed myself out, but it was so worth it in the end to have a fun party for my kids.

This year? I'm learning to let go of some things.

Chuck E. Cheese is hosting Adam's 5th birthday party this weekend. Granted, it has been his undying wish to have his birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese for the last 6 months, so he'll hardly be disappointed. I'm even letting go of the goody bags and Chuck E. Cheese is providing the Bag-O-Crap for $1.99 a head.

I'm actually breathing a sigh of relief. I just can't do it all and I need to let it go sometimes and realize that my kids aren't going to be tortured by the fact that I didn't plan a homemade birthday for them. Heck, they'll probably be happier.

But I'm still making the cake and cupcakes. That I'll never let go of. :)