DAM -n- NaBloPoMo Day 21 - No Pudding For You!

I felt like The Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. Isn't it adorable? And, no, you can't eat it right now!


We do our best to let T-Bear eat “like other kids” as much of the time as possible, at the same time keeping fairly healthy and balanced foods in the house so there are healthier foods to choose from. But, sometimes, you’re just not in a position, as a D-Parent, to channel “carb moderation” in your diabetic child’s direction, and today was one of those times.

Birthday parties. I feel every D-Parent out there cringing. I know you slap on your game face and support your child in their child-ness, and do your best at birthday parties. And, I also know how challenging they can be.

So, birthday party. Pizza. And cake. And ice cream. And soda (no diet!). And goldfish. And pudding! It was a D-Parent’s carb overload nightmare. The perfect storm of “spike carbs” and “difficult carbs”, and so many of them all at once. It’s hard to be a kid with diabetes at a moment like that. Especially when you have to wait to eat, when all the other kids are digging in. Whenever they want. And I hate that I have to be the “Mean D-Mommy” and not let T-Bear dig in to his heart’s content.

Because the invitation said “cake and ice cream and play” and was at 2:00, I assumed a “dessert-based” party. My bad. I should have asked when I RSVP’d, but I hate coming off as the over-protective, overly-controlling mom of a “special needs” kid, and I’m willing to punt when necessary. So, I fed everybody before we went to the party.

And walked into a pile of pizzas. Ooops. So, while BroBear immediately grabs a plate and digs in (after woofing down two sandwiches and a bowl of soup at home because he’s gearing up for yet ANOTHER growth spurt!), T-Bear has to wait another hour to test. And, he’s so patient, it breaks my heart. Puberty is really going to suck for him.

So, by the time T-Bear was good to test again, and was ready to eat, it was time for cake and ice cream. He was high (205). Really NOT a good time for pizza and a big dose of sugar. So,I limit him to one slice of pizza (he wanted two). Plus cake. And ice cream. NO soda. And NO pudding. And, still, 13.5 u of insulin. That’s just so much to be injected into his little butt at once. And, he sucked down his 90+ estimate carbs in about 10 minutes. And, really, I was just guestimating the carbs to come up with his insulin dose. Which always makes me a wee bit nervous. Okay, makes me really nervous, because my son’s life is ENTIRELY in my hands at moments like these.

But, I slapped on my game face. I was as subtle as possible when I had T-Bear test his BG. And when I counted up carbs and estimated a dose. And drew it (needles tend to make some folks a little uncomfortable). And made sure T-Bear closed the powder room door entirely before pulling down his pants to give himself his insulin injection (after all, there were girls around).

The kids had a great time, and so did the parents. Despite my own “behind the scenes drama”, I gotta give total heart-felt kudos to today’s hostess/mom for pulling off the most relaxed, low-key, enjoyable kids’ birthday party I’ve been to since….well, probably ever. Which is probably why T-Bear’s BG was a very rockin’ 161 at dinner time, instead of the 300+ it would have been if he’d been overstimulated and/or stressed during the party (which he usually is). Woohoo! Thank you, Mama A!

And, the adorable little pudding cup the girls made was T-Bear’s bed-time snack. A nice balance of carbs, protein, and fat.

Shoot. How many carbs do you suppose are in that?!?