Becoming my mother...well, almost

Tonite, like most nights, after dinner had been cleared from the table and baths were finished for the girls, I sat down to relax for a few minutes before getting the girls their snack and starting the bedtime routine. Amelia was already dressed for bed and was watching the end of Chicken Little with Daddy. And Charlotte was getting her PJs on and had brought me her brush and hairdryer to dry her hair. As I was brushing through her wet hair I heard the faint melody of "Fur Elise" in the distance. She had been out of the tub for awhile already and had seemed to be so self-sufficient getting herself dressed and ready for bed so I guess I just assumed she had put her pump back on...but the distant music let me know otherwise. Already knowing the answer, I looked at Charlotte and asked her if she had re-connected...I'm not even sure if she actually answered me or not, but she ran and grabbed her pump off of the bathroom counter and brought it to me to help her get hooked back up...she's got an arm site right now so can't do it herself. As I snaked the tubing through her PJ top I smiled at her and in a light-hearted tone started to say "you know, I think you might forget your head if it wasn't attached"...but I stopped myself and started to laugh as I thought to myself "no, actually it's not her head, it's her pancreas....and she did forget it"!

Over the past few months, we've been trying to gently ease Charlotte into gradually taking on a little more responsibility for some of her D tasks...checking her sugar by herself, carb counting and entering info into her pump for mealtime boluses (with a check by either me or Jay before delivering), connecting and re-connecting her pump at bathtime, etc. She's been really awesome about it all and is learning a lot. And she has been really proud to show off her new big girl accomplishments. But it's sort of bittersweet...I see her growing up and having to take on more responsibility (and worry...as much as I hate to think it) compared to most other kids her same age - all because of T1. So in an odd kind of way it was actually comforting to hear those words (that my mom said SO many times to me) coming from my mouth! I really cherish these moments that she's able to be a goofy, carefree (and even forgetful) little girl...and hope that, by carrying some of the T1 burden for her, she can enjoy many more moments like that...but from now on with her pump reconnected!