Good Day + Bad Site = Bad Night

On Saturday I took four kids to the local splashpad, two of whom are Type 1.   My daughter Rosie, my son (non-d), and our two neighbors-- a girl Rosie's age, and a boy my son's age-- and who is also Type 1.  

It was nice, having another d-kid and sibling with us... not to mention that these kids are all good friends.   Nobody batted an eye when we pulled out two meters and did two finger pokes.  None of the four kids complained when they needed to sit after their snack for a few minutes and allow the d-kids to come up a little (from 84 and 83) before they ran off to play some more.  Any time we go places with non-d kids we have to explain and make a big deal out of testing and waiting... with these four, it was just a normal thing.   It was great!

Unfortunately, last night was not so nice.  I changed Rosie's site after supper, and apparently a wrinkle in the adhesive kept the catheter  from going all the way in.   Coincidentally, we also got ice cream last night, something we rarely do.   Around 11pm she spiked up to 537, complete with vomiting and headache.  A site change, a couple of hours on the couch,  and a 200% basal finally brought her down-- around 3am she was down to 194, and we finally went to bed.   Then, at her 6am check, she was low-- 49.  I don't know if that was from over-correcting the high, or if it was just normal, because the last two days she had also been low around that time.   At any rate, it was a long night that was very short on sleep!
 

Low, low, low.

Last night was one of those nights.  Rosie went to bed low and stayed low all night.   We were both up a lot last night, and we're both tired and a little grumpy this morning.

We're out of juice, in both boxed and bottled form.  That never happens, but last night, it did.  So my treatment options were glucose tablets or fruit snacks.  I chose glucose.

When Rosie is really out of it, whether it's from the low or from being asleep, she fights.  She clamps her mouth shut and literally pushes me away when I try to get some sugar into her.  At one point she was keeping her arm held straight up in the air, for no apparent reason.  It strikes me as funny this morning, but in my sleep-deprived fog, it was just one more thing to contend with.  She was really out of it.   That hasn't happened for a couple of months now.

Temporary basals, several rounds of glucose, and lots of prayers got us through the night.

My new flavor of coffee (buttery caramel) is getting me through this morning.

I hope God understands why we didn't go to church this morning.   The idea of dragging us there to sit through mass just didn't seem feasible- Rosie and I are exhausted, and her little brother is always a challenge at mass anyway.   Resting quietly at home seemed like a better plan. 

Note to self:  buy juice on the way to work this evening.
 

The Monster Doesn't Sleep

Once in a while, I wish the outside world would see the nighttime side of Diabetes.   The side that had my 9 year-old crying in her sleep and hiding under her pillow last night at 12:30am as I changed both her Dex and her pump sites, wrestled with changing a beeping pump battery, and tried to soothe her back to sleep.   

(BTW, I learned last night that the break-away piece on the Dex inserter is exactly the right size to slide in the slot and twist open the cap on her Minimed pump!)

I went back to my bed and laid there awake forever, pondering where in the world that 432 had come from and wondering how many other children have to endure such rude intrusions to their sleep.     Most of the time we tolerate it, we put it in the background, and we move along with life.  But nights like last night... my mind starts going and I lay awake getting more and more angry at this monster in my child's life.

Nights like this make me really glad that we've got the JDRF walk coming up soon.  Seeing so many people in one place, united for a CURE, gives me hope that one day we will find it.  Won't that be a great day?

 

Pancreas-in-law

She's not at home tonight.  Rosie and her brother are staying at my mother-in-law's house for a few nights this week over Spring Break.  My MIL used to babysit for another child with Type I, so she's comfortable with carb counting and such.   She doesn't know much about the pump, but as long as she helps Rosie carb count, Rosie can bolus herself.  They're only staying three days, so MIL won't have to deal with any site changes, as I changed one right before they left and will change it again as soon as they're home.    If anything crazy happens, they're only 45 minutes away, so I can get there fairly quickly.

Rosie will be fine. I am so used to being her full-time pancreas, that I tend to not trust anyone other than my husband to fill in for me.  My MIL is wonderful to take this on, and I know that, but I can't help but worry.   Last time Rosie stayed there MIL did a few things that I didn't like  (such as letting Rosie's brother have a cupcake but not letting Rosie eat one) and we've talked about these things since then.   It wasn't anything that hurt Rosie, it just wasn't the way I want things done. Yep, a bit of a d-control freak, that's me.

Rosie will be fine.  Someone keep reminding me of that, please? 

 

4:30am Site Changes

 I changed Rosie's pump site and Dex site at 4:30am today. Non-D families would find that interesting, or think it was something scary... nope.  Same old routine here in the Sugar Shark house.  

I've started doing all of Rosie's site changes at night, mainly because it's less stressful to her.  She's a brave girl and takes the site changes without a lot of fuss if needed while she's awake, but she much prefers that I do them while she's asleep, so she doesn't have to think about them.   I'm fine with that.   There will come a time when she's doing this all on her own, so while she's little (8, 9 in a few weeks), I'm willing to do all that I can to make D easier on her.    

She woke up to a beautiful 126, after being 360 when I changed the sites.   I credit the fact that I changed to a hip site, which always gives her better numbers, yet is the most painful site location if she's awake.  That alone makes it worth doing these while she's asleep.

Anyone else out there doing their child's site changes at night?