Monday, July 9, 2012

Understanding Pokes and Tabbbbbbbbbbs

Kids At Play - Children Crossing Sign

My kids have been swimming and bouncing in the trampoline daily.  Then add in the golf, bike riding and did I forget to mention that my kids have been running with my husband? 

It makes me exhausted to keep up with it all, so I can't figure out why they aren't asleep at six o'clock p.m..  every.single.night.

Kid energy could fuel the world.  There!  I think we just solved the fuel crisis!

Some of that comes at a price.  Yesterday's cannulas from their infusion sets both had a trace of blood of in them. 

Numbers were pretty good.  Better than one would think when their is blood clogging the line.

They just weren't good enough for a mom to not worry all night long.

At 10:00 p.m., I posed the question, "You have a little bit of blood in the cannula.  Should we change your site now or when you wake up?"

The first reaction from both of the girls was to say, "Tomorrow!"

I stayed quiet and spent a moment thinking it through.  One of my most successful ways of getting things done with the girls is not to react the moment they speak.  I have to let them process the information first. 

A moment later, my youngest daughter spoke up and said, "OK, lets just get it over with and do it now.  I don't want blood in my cannula.  I don't want to go high or low.  I don't want to eat tabs."

She slowly gets up to walk towards our site change area (which I will explain in another post) while repeating and muttering the word "taaaabbbbbbbs".

Another new development in our house is that glucose tabs suddenly taste bad. 

The second new development is that the girls mock the word "tabs" to show their disapproval of that kind of glucose.  Apparently, at type 1 diabetes camp, the med staff used the word "tabs" generously.  And from what I can gather, with emphasis.

Then my other daughter chimed in with, "Me too.  I want to change my site now. No tabbbbbbbsssss!" 

Youngest daughter said, "That's good.  Because if you waited until tomorrow, you would have to do it alone and no one wants a poke alone."

What would have been a battle and a bucket of tears over fearing the impromptu infusion set change, has now become something that the girls recognize as a "need to happen - now!"

I might still have to call it quietly to their attention but neither girl wants to go to sleep with the possibility of a low glucose or high glucose and ketones.

And apparently "taaaaabbbbbs"!



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