Reenactment (A day in the life of Our Diabetic Life)

I am going to attempt to give ya’ll a glimpse into our diabetic life. In doing so I’m afraid you will also be given a glimpse of my swelly hurty brain. I can’t write out everything that I think in one day…my brain will explode and your brain will surly over heat, so I’m going to attempt to give you a little looksie into our craziness. A typical Wednesday… Enjoy :)

1:30 am: BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP x 10,000

(That is my alarm…I sometimes jump up on the third or fourth beep…but usually I let it go for awhile, sometimes for even an hour. Unknowingly of course, but ridiculously annoying none the less.)

1:30-2:30am: Up I go…zombie in motion.

Pee. (If I wait, I usually get the rush to go while wrestling with B’s hand. He has a tendency to yank it away when I test at night. He also likes to sleep on top of his pump. Every night I dig for it, like I’m fishing for the elusive white whale. Inevitably, if I haven’t gone first…I have to go at this point…NOW!)

Check L. Check B. Correct L if need be…correct B if need be. Check J. Correct or feed. Feed B or L if needed.

Set alarm as needed…sometimes I check again in a couple hours, usually it is set for 6:30.

6:30am: BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

I’m up like a shot. I don’t want my alarm to wake the boys…this is ME time.
On goes the computer…and I check out the D community blogs, email and facebook.

7:00am: LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

I usually sing to wake up the kids, something annoying…annoying enough to get them up, but with silly words so they won’t get too mad at me.

Check sugars x3. Negotiate breakfast…they would have waffles everyday if I’d let them…and then bolus x3 accordingly. (I am not a weigher…I’m a guesser, although an educated one. The boys have 4 different breakfasts that they rotate through, and the carb amounts are all stored in my swelly hurty brain.

Lunches. Shower. Dress. Clean. Cell phones? Sometimes more blood sugar checks, depending on how the night has gone. Off they go to school at 8:30am.

9:00am: Worry, second guess myself.

10:00am: B calls with his blood sugar reading and what he plans to eat for snack. B boluses himself. (This is actually one of my favorite parts of the day…he is always in such a euphorically good a mood, it is contagious.)

10:15am: I’m out the door to L’s kindergarten class to check his sugar and bolus for the snack that was brought in for the day.

11:00am: Worry. J usually doesn’t call anymore. Did his check, did he bolus?? Send J a text telling him the President called and it is a matter of national security that he test his blood sugar.

11:50am: L has All Star Reading after school. I bring him his lunch, and check his sugar.

I brain scan his meal, carb guess, bolus, pray he eats it all, and leave him for another hour with his teacher.

12:35pm: B calls with blood sugar number and gives animated explanation of what he ate for lunch, that usually sounds something like…”Three bites of apple…3/4 of my sandwich…most of my chips, all of my yogurt and 1 cookie that Bobby gave me.” After which I “confidently” guess…and he hangs up.

12:36pm: (one minute later) Worry.

12:50pm: J checks in for the first time. Fills me in on his blood sugar readings that day, if he in fact did test, and then he runs through what he ate, and tells me the carb amounts he is going to give himself. If he is way off…I’ll correct him, but 90% of the time I agree with him and he hangs up.

1:00pm: Pick up L. A quick trip home and then…

1:15pm: I usually get a call from B. Someone has brought in a special snack for their birthday, or report, or holiday. Honestly I get this call a few times a week. Why must these people celebrate EVERYTHING with a cupcake??? Long conversation ensues about the size of said cupcake, the frosting and accompanying candy decor. Guess a carb amount. Hang up.

1:45pm: They boys get out an hour early every Wednesday for Teacher meetings. Pick up B, J and M.

2:00pm: Home. Blood sugar checks. Small snacks. Guess carbs, bolus.

3:00pm: B to scouts. Snacks in his pocket and a blood sugar monitor clipped to his belt loop.

3:30pm: Lawton usually alerts. The odds of all three boys experiencing blood sugar nirvana at the same time are against us.

4:00pm: Pick up B…and off to in laws for dinner.

How many carbs in homemade German noodles….hmmmmm…let me guess!! I LOVE to guess!!! I must think it is the funnest thing to do in the world…because I do it ALL. The. Time!

EPIPHANY! When someone asks if I have a hobby…my answer will be GUESSING!!

5:30pm: Blood sugar checks, corrections ect…

6:30pm: Leave in laws and off to scouts for the older boys. Cell phones? Snack in J’s pocket? Blood sugar monitor clipped to his belt loop? Off they go. Will they be tying knots…or running the mile? Who knows? I REALLY try not to think about it, and TRY to believe that J has got it all under control.

7:00pm: Usually another alert. Check out the situation and fix whatever is going on.

8:30pm: Ryan picks up sweaty/blood sugar dropping boys, while I put the two youngest to bed.
“Check before you go to sleep!!”

9:00pm: AHHHHHHH>>>>Grown-up time! TV…computer…chatting…loving…

9:05pm: Stop! J comes out remembering he is almost out of insulin in his pump. The 3 insulin pumps are gathered. Supplies, insulin, rocket are accounted for, and the set changes ensue.

10:00pm: Grown up bed time. (If I’m lucky. Depends on the results of the checks.) Check the boys. Correct, feed or change basals as needed.

10:30pm: I think this is when I go to bed…but honestly I don’t remember anything once my butt hits the bed…I am down for the count…until…

1:30am: BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! X 10,000