My name is Kim. My daughter Kaitlyn (the third of our five children) was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just a few years after my nephew James was diagnosed with the same disease. I’m excited to pair up with my sister-in-law, Jen, to share our story with you!
by Kim M., Real Moms Talk Type 1
With the help of our diabetes devices, we usually handle the birthday parties, movie nights, and outings just fine. But going to the beach with friends is a different story.
All my years as a parent, I believed that it was my job to push my kids to try hard things and to be adventurous and brave. Now I realize that there’s a fine line.
Have your kids ever used their type 1 diabetes as an excuse for not doing something that’s expected of them?
It’s important to have the desire and the tools for successful management of type 1 diabetes, but it’s even more important to have the habit.
Recently, one of my best friends taught me a great new way to prioritize and challenged me to try it for two weeks. Here’s how it went.
Elementary school has been our safe haven — a place where Kaitlyn is comfortable, where she knows everyone, and everyone knows her. I have more butterflies in my tummy about this change than I did when I went to middle school a million years ago.
As mothers, we get constant reminders of how we can be doing better. It’s like someone hands us a bright, shiny Best Mom Ever badge at birth, and everything that goes wrong after that is a big black mark smeared across the front of it. But it’s time we shined up those badges.
It wasn’t always the best combination — a girl who loves to bake who has type 1 diabetes. Since then, though, her baking obsession has turned into a good thing. Here’s why.
Kaitlyn’s teacher recently told me about the most adorable thing that happened at school — it just made my heart melt.
“Well, Mom,” Kaitlyn said, “I don’t really know how class was today. I spent a lot of the day at the nurse’s office.” I think we’re going to need to make some adjustments at school.
