Ready, Set, GO!!

Today we had our Animas Insulin Pump training class.  Darci had been pretty excited the last couple of days, but as soon as we met Jessica, our educator, she got real nervous.  The class really went pretty quickly, but what a whirlwind of information!!!  Darci was feeling ok about the insertion of her infusion set, but by lunchtime she was asking if it was time to take the pump off.  We tried to explain to her that she will wear it all the time now.  We will only remove it for her to shower and swim.  And we don't even have to do that because it's water-proof.  The rest of today she has been feeling pretty emotionally overwhelmed.  She did admit to liking the ease of dosing her meals.



This is right before we left for the class.  We made her several undshirts with a pocket for her pump.




Here she is all connected with her tubing delivering her insulin. 


For those that don't know... an insulin pump is a tiny machine that measures a gives Darci's insulin via small plastic tubing that goes into a canula inserted into her body fat.  That means she now gets small continuous amounts of insulin all throughout a 24 hour period (much like a pancreas would do), and we can deliver her insulin without giving her 4-6 shots/day.  Another bonus of the pump is we can give more exact amounts in tighter increments.  This is going to give her a higher quality of life and make life with diabetes so much better.

She was starting to feel a little emotional and unsure here.

On the Road to Being a Pumper.

We are very excited to have recieved Darci's insulin pump!!!  This is a big deal for her and our family.  It has been a long road leading up to this.  Even with our insurance it was a pricey piece of equipment and we were finally in a position to spend that money.  This is going to make some things so much better for Darci.  Instead of 4-6 shots a day we're looking at one infusion set change every 3 days.  She will have more flexibility for grazing and snacks.  It will be a better balancing act for her sugars.  We knew that before she started school we had to start the pump.
It's a little thing, about the size of a cell phone or iPod, but (according to all the info) it's tough.  She'll wear it in a belted pouch or pocketed undershirt most of the time.
Now we just need some education.  This thing and using it is mostly like a foreign language.  Once we get our classes Darci will officially be a pumper :)

One of the neat things about the pump we've selected (the pump is that pink thing on the left) is that the glucose meter (silver on the right) is a remote for it.  We can program her insulin and have to pump deliver it right from the meter.  It'll even help us figure out her dose based on the carbs she'll be consuming.  Neat, huh?

Back By Popular Demand

I don't see the appeal, but I have had several friends mention that they miss me blogging.  I kind of stopped when life got a  little hectic and it seemed like no one really read the blog.  I have to admit, though, that I miss having a place to record our comings and goings and having it act as sort of a journal of sorts.

So now I need to decide if I catch everything up or just start where we are.  Maybe I'll intersperse stuff in as needed.  We'll see.

Currently in our life we are getting ready to register Darci for Kindergarten.  Wait... WHAT!?!?  No, seriously, where did the last 5 years go?  Just thinking about filling out all the usual paperwork brings tears to my eyes, but add in that there is more for her to go to school and I have to let her go be in the care of other 5 days a week... well, lets just say that I have had to do some deep, slow breathing and tell myself to not hyperventilate.  I always said I wouldn't be THAT mother, but now faced with sending my daughter (they're supposed to be more fragile than boys) and diabetic to school I've turned into THAT mother.
Not that Darci is concerned at all.  Of all my kids, so far, she is the most ready to happily wave good-bye and enter those doors.  She is currently in preschool M,W,F and it's just not enough for her.  She is like a sponge soaking up any info she can aquire.  She loves to paint and draw and color and recently she wants to add words and write.
Christopher is in 4th grade now and for the first time every math isn't perfectly easy.  I mean, don't get me wrong, he's still acing it, but he actually has to put forth a little study and effort.  There have been a few tears, but he pulls through.  We are really trying to tell him it's ok to make mistakes and not be perfect.  Sometimes we need to struggle through the learning process to appreciate it more. 
Xander is in 1st grade and excelling academically.  He's getting better at coping with some of his issues and his teacher is really good at letting him have his moments, but moving on from them, too.
Eliza is almost 3 and such a stubborn little thing.  But she is just SO FUNNY!!!  The moments you want to be mad at her she'll do something so hilarious you just can't be mad.
Bret is still working at the West Jordan Library.  This could change in the near future as they are building a new West Jordan Library and it will be the new main branch for the system and he's not sure if they'll keep all the current staff where they are.  We'd love a transfer to a branch closer to home :)

Well, I'll try and update more often and keep everyone abreast of the happenings in our family.  LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!