Monday, April 16, 2012

Baby Girl, My Awesome CDE, & JDRF

I don't have much time to write today, but I wanted to post a quick update on everything going on!  First off, Baby Girl is going to be three months old a week from tomorrow and I honestly can't believe it.  It seems like the time has gone by so fast already!  When we went for her two month checkup a few weeks ago, we found out she has reflux...which explains the extreme fussiness, poor sleep habits, lack of weight gain, and other symptoms over the first couple of months.  Our pediatrician put her on Zantac and recommended we raise the head of her bed and thicken her supplementary formula with cereal, and it's seemed to make a pretty big difference.  We just started the rice cereal last week, and now she's sleeping for MUCH longer stretches at night...needless to say, this mama couldn't be happier!  In retrospect, I should have realized what all of her symptoms were pointing towards much earlier than I did, but like they say, hindsight is 20/20.  I'm just glad we figured it out at six weeks instead of six months!

In d-news, my blood sugars have been a little more stable after a couple of tweaks to my basal/bolus rates.  I've still had more highs than I'd like, but I would still much rather run slightly higher than to deal with low crashes--especially at night!  After reading my last post, my CDE called to make sure I was okay because she was concerned about the lows I'd written about.  I assured her that I had gotten everything straightened out and back under control, or at least as under control as T1 can be, I suppose!  Thanks to her great teaching after I was diagnosed and general awesomeness thereafter, I can usually identify what changes need to be made or shoot her an email when I need extra help fixing things.  She was the first person (other than my husband, of course) to know when I was pregnant, and the first person other than my husband or I to hold our baby girl...not to get all sentimental or anything, but I'm so glad to have such a great mentor to help me through the whole d-experience!  If it weren't for her, I would have pretty much been left to deal with it all on my own since my endocrinologist has always been more comfortable with higher numbers and letting me manage everything myself...which is good in a way since it gives me a lot of independence, but bad in others.  Anyway, I know that a lot of T1s aren't as lucky when it comes to the professional help they get, so I feel super blessed to have someone that knows their stuff and is a great friend too!

I mentioned in October last year that my CDE had nominated me to the board of directors for the local branch of the JDRF, so over the past several months I've been learning more about everything the JDRF does and trying to help out as much as I've been able to.  It's really been awesome to see how dedicated everyone is to finding a cure and the support that the branch receives from the community.  This weekend is the annual Promise Benefit Gala, which helps raise around $250,000 for the organization each year.  I can't wait to be a part of it all, and I know it's going to be an amazing event!  I attended my first board meeting a couple of weeks ago, and I was impressed by how involved everyone is and how much they do to support not only the JDRF, but the kids and families affected by T1.  I've said it before, but I truly am honored to be able to be a part of such an awesome organization!  In one of her last email updates, our Branch Manager said, “This board can move mountains and they will be the ones that make the CURE happen!”  The more that I see how dedicated each and every person associated with this organization is, the more I believe she's right!