Day three – insulin pump

Wow, it has been an exciting few days. Ayden is officially wearing his insulin pump, and he seems to really be enjoying it.

However I’m noticing he seems to be tired these days, and I have a feeling he’s not sleeping well because it’s attached to him. I can’t put it under his pillow thhough because he moves around too much during the night. Anyone have any other suggestions?

The main quesiton I have been getting from people (even our pharmacist) is “what is an insulin pump?” So for anyone out there  who is confused, it is a device about the size of a pager that delivers insulin to him through an IV type of insertion. This allows Ayden to get a constant dose of insulin throughout the day to match his body’s minimal requirements. The overall purpose of it is to better control your numbers by taking him off of long acting insulin which can act irratically.

Because of the features of the pump it also allows us to be more flexible in when and what Ayden eats as you can deliver extra insulin to him to balance the food that he’s eating.

Because of the features of a pump and the way that it operates we are essenitally learning a new way of managing Ayden’s diabetes. And it is as intensive, if not more so, than when he was first diagnosed. We started the first of our official training on August 25. And I have to say, this session did not go very well. 

First off, the team at the Stollery has done a fantastic job creating this pumping program, and I feel very fortunate to be a part of it. But it has been my experiance since Ayden got diagnosed that many of the programs, services and best practices that are developed are geared towards older kids with diabetes. This means that parents of younger diabetics are given the same information and treated the same, even though they have different restrictions or needs.

The first day did not go well, because my husband and I were trying to learn about how to manage Ayden’s diabetes this new way while trying to entertain a very active two-and-a-hlaf year old in an auditorium. this meant neither of us learned a thing.

The second day we brough my parents to help us with Ayden, and they spent the first 10 minutes in the class and then the next three hours wondering around the hospital. This worked out as Ayden was entertained and they could check in on eany numbers and get advice on what needed to be done.

we have a the third session next week at night, and we are not bringing Ayden, we can make any needed adjsutments to his pump when we get home that night.

There was also a course last week about how to use and insert the pump. Ayden did not have to be at this one either and it meant Phil had to chase him around the whole time and I had to teach him as much as I could the next day.  

I have to encourage anyone who is raising a diabetic toddler to push for what you need as a parent that enables you to take part in these programs and services. After going through the first two sessions, I can tell you your child does not have to be with you at all times for the classes. 

I completly understand that there are restictions on room sizes and how many people can take part in a course, but flexibility for a parent of a toddler is imparitive. Even if the room size couldn’t accomodate extra people to whatch the toddlers, just know that they can be available outside of the room, as your child does not have to be with you the whole time.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to connect with other parents of diabetics, and I really appreciated the kids that came up to me after the class to give me advice from their perspective. It meant a lot to me to hear from them, and see it through their eyes.