Too Quiet???

For the past 24 hours, Charlotte's blood sugars have been great...especially compared to what we were dealing with just 2-3 weeks ago. They haven't gone much above the 150 mark and just a minor bump this afternoon with a low...but nothing horrendous! 

I figured this Dex graph needed "framing"  :)

I know should sit back and be thankful for this "break" of sorts! But I have a hunch that this is going to be like those days when both girls are home and the house falls just a little too quiet...you know that usually means trouble! That little voice in my head keeps telling me that this is quite possibly the calm before the storm...I so hope that voice is wrong! 

Airport Anxiety

Only 7 more days until Charlotte and I hop on our plane and head out to Washington DC for JDRF's 2011 Children's Congress!!! We're both extremely excited about going, but as each day passes I seem to be getting more and more anxious about travelling.

Before you ask...yes, we have traveled with Charlotte since her diagnosis. We've just been fortunate that we live in an area in close driving distance to our family vacation destinations. The last time we flew with Charlotte was in July 2005, just a few months before her diagnosis...so I have absolutely no experience with airline travel and T1.

Being the super-planner that I tend to be (with most things), I started our packing list weeks ago. It's insane to think that we have a whole separate list exclusively for her D-related stuff. And because I don't trust the airlines with our D-necessities, all of these supplies will be packed in one of our carry-ons. So far it looks like I'm planning to bring an extra infusion set for each day, 2 extra Dexie sensors, a back-up meter, and double all of our other usual supplies (strips, lancets, alcohols, etc). Also I found out just the other day that, unfortunately, TSA no longer allows liquids (juice boxes, water) through the security check points even if it's due to a medical need, so I've had to rethink our standard low treatment (juice boxes). It looks like we'll be using glucose tabs and fruit roll-ups instead. I'd love to hear some other ideas that would be easy to travel with if anyone has any!

I'm also a little concerned about the actual security check-point experience. I flew last year and was the "lucky" recipient of the "pat down" before my flight home....and I'd love to avoid this for Charlotte if it's at all possible. Fortunately, I thought about this back when Charlotte had her endo appointment a couple months back, so I did get a letter explaining that she has T1 and needs to travel with all of her stuff. Hopefully that will help us avoid too much hassle. I've heard a few different things about how to handle her Dexie and pump (Animas Ping)...some say that leaving them on will create the need for a "pat down" and others say that the x-ray scanner can cause it to malfunction. I'm not sure what the best approach is...I'm thinking we may just leave them on and take our chances??? I've already started preparing Charlotte for what to expect going through security...taking shoes off, putting belongings through the scanner, walking through the metal detector, etc. I'm just really hoping that all this preparation will help keep things low-key.

I'm sure I'm just over-reacting...as I've often been accused of doing. But I just want this trip to be a positive experience from start to finish for Charlotte. So, if anyone has any good airline travel tips I'd LOVE to hear them!

Girls Weekend

Okay, I realize this I should have posted this about a week ago...but better late than never, right???

Memorial Day weekend was a lot of fun for Charlotte. Charlotte's favorite twin cousins came in town to visit for Great Pa's 98th birthday celebration...and that meant a fun-filled girls weekend for the 3 little "besties"! 

After packing up what seemed like an insane amount of stuff for only a 2 day stay by Am-maw and Paw-Paw's house, the girls and I took off across the lake...daddy to follow later in the day! As soon as we got there the squeals of excitement began...we unpacked the care and (of course) they all immediately wanted to change into their bathing suits and hop into the pool! We were on day #6 for Dexie and day 2 of her pump site so I thought all was well....how foolish of me! 

Charlotte lounging pool-side...what a diva!

Within less than 30 minutes from setting foot in the pool I had a gaggle of little girls running to tell me that Charlotte's Dexie sensor had come out. I take a peek, only to see the darned thing halfway hanging out and stuck to her only by the grace of a tiny bit of the adhesive backing. I had questioned myself before letting her in the pool if I should reinforce with a Tegaderm, but she had refused and I thought it would hold at least for the day so we could get the full 7 days worth of use....lesson learned! So I pull the sensor and shut Dexie off and let Charlotte back in the pool. Not much later she comes running again with the gang to show me that her pump site is coming out. Now this makes me cringe, to see that needle pulled out and rubbing/scratching against her skin since the Tegaderm is still trying to do its job to hold everything in place....ouch! So off that goes. Check her sugar...looks good...so I let her back in the pool for a little while longer. Once lunch arrives (courtesy of Am-maw and Paw-Paw) I pop a new site in, bolus her up, and let her eat. Fortunately, that ended our run of D-site fails and complications for the weekend. 

D behaved itself well for the most part and let Charlotte just enjoy the birthday festivities and holiday weekend with her cousins. She even got to indulge in a few very special treats...cake, beignets, and a chocolate snowball! And yes, she can have all of that...we just cover with insulin! This D-momma can SWAG bolus like a pro (most of the time)! 

Red velvet birthday cake for a VERY special Great Pa!

The girls composed and sang an original song for Great Pa

Beignet breakfast with the cousins

Charlotte was SO excited to be able to get a
Chocolate Snowball....takes after her momma!

Not Nice FedEx

It's been a long time coming...and the day is nearly here! Apparently on Monday "Dexie" will enter our lives...woohoo!!!

This past Wednesday morning I finalized all of our paperwork with the awesome people at Dexcom. I could have jumped through the phone line and kissed the man on the other end when he told me that they would ship Charlotte's Dexcom the same day and it would arrive at our home in 2-3 days. I was happy and content knowing that "Dexie" would make her appearance more than likely on Monday (figuring no delivery on the weekend). Wednesday afternoon I got the email from FedEx providing the tracking number for the shipment. I can't even begin to tell you the number of times I've clicked on that little link...not sure why I'd think anything would change from the "Estimated delivery: May 2, 2011 by 4:30pm". But Thursday evening I noticed that the shipment had left Memphis pretty early in the afternoon, so I felt pretty hopeful that the delivery might be earlier than the "estimated" date. So this morning I faithfully opened that email (yet again) and clicked the link...I literally squealed with delight when I read "April 29, 2011 8:18AM: On FedEx vehicle for delivery". I waited patiently all day for the knock on the door. Around 2 o'clock there was a knock at the door....and a FedEx van!!!! I opened the door and saw the delivery guy getting back into his van...I knelt down and saw a small box on the porch....delivery for hubby's work...boo for me (yay for Jay, I guess)! So I figure maybe there's another truck on its way and "Dexie" will just arrive a little later. Back inside I go. I wait and wait and wait...finally just after 5pm I click on the link again (as though there is some GPS tracker attached to our package allowing me to see exactly where the package is)....and staring back at me like some cruel joke: "April 29, 2011 5:04PM: At local FedEx facility: Package not due for delivery"....wtf?!?!?! WHY???? If the package was out for delivery, why would you not just drop it off????

Not Nice FedEx....how dare you toy with a D-mama's emotions like that!!! I would have been perfectly content with the original estimate of the Monday delivery until you reported that our little "Dexie" was out on the truck today taking a tour of our town. Waiting until Monday for her arrival is going to seem like torture now!

(Please forgive the music choice (if you choose to click to listen)...this particular "selection" was chosen in honor of my sweet (yet sarcastic) hubby since he came home teasing me and singing this song (by none other than Dexy's Midnight Runners...who knew???) after my earlier post about Dexie ...but seriously Come On FedEx, we're waiting on our "Dexie"!!!!)