Sleepover

A few weeks ago, Charlotte came home from school with an invitation to a friend's birthday party. She was so excited about it that she could hardly contain herself...it seemed she couldn't grab the invitation from her school bag to hand to me fast enough. As I scanned the invitation, my eyes were almost immediately drawn to the words "sleepover"...hesitation and concern began to set in. This wasn't Charlotte's 1st sleepover invitation, but for one reason or another the previous invites didn't work out (even before taking diabetes into consideration). Up to that point, Charlotte's only sleepovers had been with her grandparents'...and even with those I've worried -- despite knowing that she's in capable hands. We've had a few bad (and at least 1 horrendous) nights with those sleepovers despite having done everything right...persistent lows requiring frequent blood sugar checks and giving juice after juice into the wee hours of the morning to try and keep her from totally crashing. Needless to say, the mere thought of her at a slumber party was making my stomach do some serious flip-flopping.

After settling my nerves and talking it over with Charlotte, we were able to reach a compromise. I told her that she could go to the party...but staying the night would depend on her bedtime blood sugar. She said she was okay with the decision. But I knew she wanted more than anything for me to tell her she could go and stay overnight without any conditions attached; and I wished more than anything that I could. Stupid D...always there waiting to spoil something for my little girl!

In the days leading up to the party, I played out all sorts of scenarios in my head about how the night would go and I did my best to prepare. I called the birthday girl's mom and talked with her about my concerns and how Charlotte's D would be handled for the sleepover. Fortunately, she was already aware that Charlotte has D and was willing to help out however she could to make the sleepover work for us. Talking things through with her helped ease my concerns and made me feel more confident that my little girl would be well taken care of for her night away!

Finally, the sleepover night arrived...woohoo! Charlotte was psyched and ready to go well before party time! When I dropped her off we did a quick assessment of the food and drinks being served, checked her sugar and bolused her for the carbs she planned to eat...and of course I had a quick chat with the mom too. Charlotte assured me that she knew the drill...to check her sugar and call me before the cake and again at bedtime. I was hesitant to leave, but I knew she wanted me to go so that she could be like the other girls. So after a couple of hugs and kisses I was on my way back home.

The night seemed to linger on between her phone calls, but everything went great! She remembered to call each time as planned without fail and was able to tell me her blood sugar and deliver her boluses without any problems. The next morning when the phone rang and I heard her little voice on the other end of the line a huge wave of relief washed over me. She made it through the night just fine. I could tell that she was excited to have had a night where she could be just like all the other girls!

Looking back I'm glad that I didn't let my "Nervous Nellie" tendencies keep me from letting her go. I know things may not always go as smoothly as they did for this sleepover, but my little girl has taught me that she can be trusted to make good decisions and take care of herself independently (with a little help over the phone from mom)! And I'm thankful that for a change she was able to go to a party and (for the most part) be like all the other girls...and just have fun!