Back into a Routine

We’re about 2 weeks away from starting the new school year. Summer has basically been a free-for-all—-which to me, that’s exactly how it should be. I have great memories of summer vacations from when I was a kid 100 years ago——summer getaways with the family, staying up late, sleeping in, playing with friends all day or lounging around watching movies and eating snacks whenever the mood strikes. It’s that break from routine where you can finally relax without a care in the world … it’s SO needed after a full and stressful school year. I want my kids to have the same kind of experience, and we’ve been fortunate enough that they essentially have experienced this most summers. The only problem is…when you break out of a routine, you also lose a bit of control over blood sugars.

I haven’t pinpointed exactly where the issue is, although I’m sure it’s multi-factorial. I swear my kid has grown 1/2 a foot this summer. She is towering over all of her friends—-growth hormone messes with blood sugars. Her sleep schedule is inconsitent depending on how late she stays up, and what’s planned for the next day—-some nights she gets a good 10 hours, other days maybe 6-7 hours of sleep. That can affect her blood sugar. The weather has been hot, and she’s been playing outside a lot and likely at times hasn’t drank enough water; she’s been having more treats like ice cream and s’mores in the evening; she’s been casually snacking throughout the day rather than designated times at school. You’ve probably caught on by now….but ALL of those things affect blood sugars.

We’re trying not to beat ourselves up over it, but the percentage that her blood sugar has been “in range” has definitely decreased over the last month or so. It’s difficult to find that balance of having her be a normal kid and not letting diabetes dictate her life, but also being mindful that diabetes is affected by everything that she does throughout the day. I don’t want to constantly remind her of this either—I do my best to remind her to prebolus before meals, but I haven’t limited what she can eat, for many reasons. I do keep reiterating to her that she can eat whatever she wants, and if she’s hungry can absolutely have more——-but she needs to account for that with medicine and not just pick at things. The most difficult part out of all of this for us has been trying to get a 9-year old to care about what we’re saying. She doesn’t care if her blood sugar is 100mg/dL or 350mg/dL. What she cares about is if she gets to have a treat when she goes to the movies, or if she gets to have ice cream with her friends after playing outside.

All of this to say——I’m excited for the new school year. For all of the typical reasons most parents are ready for the school year, but also the fact that I think her blood sugar will be much more controlled once she’s back into a routine. A set bedtime, set meal and snack times, and typically the same amount of activity each day. I’m hoping to see much better control over her blood sugar over the next few months. We’ll try to have better control next summer, but for now I’m trying to remind myself that in the long run, a few days where her blood sugar spiked to 300 or 400 won’t have a huge negative impact on her. It was addressed and it came back down to normal ranges in a decent amount of time. What will have a substantial impact are the fun, summertime memories that she was able to make. And that’s really all I can hope for her.

…but can I say how much I’m dreading packing lunches again?


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