Yay for Lydia!

Lydia and I headed to Birmingham around 1pm last Tuesday. To say the drive up was long, is an understatement. Will had gotten me new tires,  and we were not traveling so smoothly. I stopped at Jim Whaley in Ozark and they told me it would take about thirty minutes for them to do their business. (that always means "after" they start)

We were in Jim Whaley during what should have been Lydia's nap. When we got back on the road, she had zero desire to close her eyes. I saw a Red Box in Troy and whipped in to get  a couple of movies for the ride. While at Red Box, I decided to do a quick blood sugar check since we were off schedule. That is when I realized I did not have "THE" diabetes bag. My heart fell to my feet and I immediately knew that it was at Jim Whaley Tire. I called them to confirm and we headed south.

I wanted to call and cancel her appointment so bad and just go home. I was tired and frustrated. I didn't though. My sweet friend that lives in Birmingham was expecting us and we were long overdue for a visit. Plus, it is hard to get a new appointment in a timely matter.

We made it to Birmingham  after the bag incident. We walked to dinner with Jessica and her little boy, Michael and had a wonderful time catching up. (the margaritas didn't hurt either) The kids had a blast playing together, even way after bedtime.

Lydia's appointment was at 8:30 the next morning, so we got up early for her check-up.

We spent half the morning talking to the doctor and letting them help me work out some changes. It is so encouraging there. We changed her basal rate, carb ratio and her correction factor- together. The doctor doesn't just do it, she completely involves us. I love that.  I even asked for a new insulin  (Apidra) that I had read about that would help drop highs faster and we left with some samples.  After two hours with Dr. Ashraf and her staff, we were back on the road again.

We made a  pitstop for lunch, then Lydia slept all the way home. I just drove in silence and listened to some tunes. It was so nice and peaceful.

Dr. Ashraf asked Lydia if she would let us put a pod on her stomach, very soon. Lydia told her no, then later said she would try it. Lydia's stomach has been off limits. Anytime we would mention a shot in the stomach or putting a pod there, she would start screaming and crying. We haven't pressed it, ever.

Until today. It wasn't what I would call smooth and easy, but it could have been a lot worse. She told me to take a picture and send it to Dr. Ashraf. :)

She is so proud of herself and wanted to call and tell her daddy right away.


Then, we loaded up and headed to Petsmart for a field trip.

(Yes, she is still sporting blue one and if anyone wants to stop by and hold this little booger or borrow her for a little while,  feel free. Let's just say, I checked her blood sugar tonight, just to be sure)

Night Friends and Family!

Every Three Days

Me: "Lydia, you are doing so awesome. We almost have it all off.
Lydia: "I don't want to be awesome- diabetes is so not fun."

That was part of our conversation yesterday during her pod change. We have to change it every three days and the worst part is taking the old one off.


This is a new pod package. It includes a pod, syringe and needle.

Every three days we take off her old pod and open a new pod package.

We fill the pod with the minimum amount of insulin (85 units) into the syringe. Yes, we waste way more insulin than we use. Example- she uses at the most 30 units of insulin in three days, so  the other 55 units are never used and are tossed with the pod. Also, once you open a bottle, it is only good for 30 days, so we were throwing away our fair share before the insulin pump. Would be nice if they had half vials for little ones. (a vial is 1,000 units)

We fill the pod with insulin.

Hit a button on the PDM and it starts priming the insulin.

When it is done priming, we remove the needle cap cover and adhesive backing.  We clean the area with alcohol and then stick it to her body. We hit the start button on the PDM and it does the rest. She is fine with the needle going into her, except she always says, " I don't want to "see" the funny noise. It makes a rat trap sort of noise, so she covers her face sometimes or wants to watch a movie on the computer.

How do we dispose of the old ones? The Dantz Machine likes to sport them from time to time.

New Day... New Pod!

Bring it on!

This pump business is frustrating, to say the least. The good days are good and the bad ones are rough. As in 500 rough. It's an entire new learning curve and it's a tough one. We have been through four pods in four days. We are not sure if she is hitting a growth spurt and going really high at night, if being too rough in the pool is jacking it up, if they are faulty pods or what the issue seems to be. I have resorted back to shots several times this week.  Luckily, she doesn't mind a shot. I haven't missed them, but it's a good feeling to "know" she is getting exactly what I put into her body with a syringe.

We are not giving up on pumping, but got some love/hate goin' on!

And I'm just wishin' I was fishin' instead...... :)

Day Number 1- Check!

Lydia feels great, better than she has in a very long time. Actually, I cannot remember the last time she felt this good. Sad, I know but the whole high/low blood sugar thingy really works on her mood. Today was good though.

She hasn't been high all day today. She's either been in range or low. In target is good stuff,  but it is hard to relax because you aren't sure if it'll stay or drop. It has been dropping. I slept all of about 3 hours last night and don't see tonight being any different.

The good news is, we will send in all of her data on Thursday.They want three full days of info with no changes, sticking strictly to their directions, so they will know how to adjust her insulin to carb ratio. So, I'm predicting we will go into the weekend a little more relaxed and hopefully, get some rest too.

Going from 4-6 shots per day to zero and feeling AWESOME too.  Day number one- check!


Disclosure: I'm not a writer, especially in the midnight hour. I'm just putting this info out there for those of you that care and want an update.

Up and Running

Sunday afternoon we loaded up and hit the road to Birmingham for an early a.m. appointment with Dr. Ashraf.



 This next picture is the definition of trooper. After her appointment with the Dr, we had to attend another pump class. She slept and entertained herself for over three hours, not counting how amazing she was when we put the "pod" on her arm. The nurse educator said it would hurt more than a shot and would make a rat trap noise. This super-awesome child didn't even flinch. :)

I took this next picture with my cell phone and it's blurry. I love it though. (Will's expression says it all- tired and unconditional love) She slept almost until we reached Montgomery. :)

This is the PDM on my leg that controls the pod on her arm. I was in the backseat quizzing myself and Will and checking it all out. It's like playing with a new cell phone, but you have to be a bit more careful than just losing your contacts. Hello Omnipod, I think I'm going to love you.

I checked her blood sugar north of Montgomery and knew she had to eat within 15 or 20 minutes. (No biggie, 'cause I've got the PDM on my leg) We wheeled through "Old McDonalds" and I gave her a small "bolus" (dose of insulin), while Will ordered her Happy Meal. Then, after she finished eating, going down 231 South, I hit a few buttons and it gave her the remainder of her dose. Talk to me!! Is that something or what?

See the pod on her left arm? It has insulin in it and we change the pod every 2-3 days

Now, we learned a lot today..... And, it's going to take some getting used to, but we are "pumped" about it!