I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes seventeen years ago. That\u2019s the amount of time it takes to raise a child. With all the TLC I\u2019ve provided, Diabetes should be ready for college. Let\u2019s hope he goes out-of-state.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, two months ago, I gave birth to an actual child. Her name is Maya.<\/p>\n
When I brought her home, Diabetes was jealous. Holding her, feeding her, and changing those poopie Diapers made diabetes wonder where he fit in. \u00a0<\/p>\n
I admit: I\u2019ve been neglecting Diabetes. If you asked me if I had a favorite child, the answer would be Absolutely<\/em>. Maya takes the cake.<\/p>\n Ironically, when I was pregnant with Maya, I gave Diabetes extra attention. I tested my blood sugar 15 times a day, kept my A1Cs in the 5s, and ate right. I did this so that Maya would be healthy. But now that she\u2019s here and her health doesn\u2019t so much depend on mine, I\u2019m struggling to keep up with Diabetes. \u00a0<\/p>\n For so many years, Diabetes has been a top priority, maybe even to a fault. I can\u2019t even remember the days when I woke up in the morning and didn\u2019t instinctually reach for my meter. But now things have changed. Maya\u2019s arrival instantly unraveled my deep-rooted routine with Diabetes. Checking my blood sugar is no longer the first thing I do. First I check on Maya. Then I proceed to feed her because babies wake up hungry. A few minutes into breastfeeding, I finally get around to testing my blood sugar.<\/p>\n I know, I know. Testing first is the smarter choice \u2013 for me and for Maya. Because what if I were low or high? It\u2019s important to correct so that I\u2019m in good shape to be a good mom. But in the moment, it\u2019s hard to put Diabetes before Maya.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been repeatedly mumbling to my husband, \u201cOnce things settle down, I\u2019ll get back to my old routine.\u201d<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a parent, you\u2019re probably chuckling. That\u2019s okay. I understand now too; there is no settling down! I can\u2019t hang on to the memory of my old routine. There\u2019s a new face in town (a really cute one); that means a new routine. The challenge is finding it. I know it requires multi-tasking. But I\u2019ve always been good at doing one thing at a time.\u00a0<\/p>\n For now, I\u2019m trying not to beat myself up. Taking care of diabetes and a newborn all at once is hard work! I hope to eventually strike a balance: one where diabetes gets the attention he needs, and Maya remains my #1.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n