I am not what I consider a control freak (others may disagree, feel free to comment). However, when it comes to keeping my son with Type 1 diabetes the healthiest he can be, I do have to control some elements of his care. While my son is never denied any food of any kind, we are adamant that his blood sugar must be checked before meals and the proper amount of insulin must be given for all carbs eaten. My son gets his sugar checked before breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and evening snack as well as any time he feels that his sugar may be off. We do give insulin for all of those snacks unless he chooses a carb free snack like pepperoni and cheese.
These are the normal days.
Now we add in special days like school parties, birthday parties, holidays and Christmas cookie baking day in our home, and it is made clear to me that if I want my son to have as normal life as possible, I need to let loose, just a little, for his sanity. On special days we do our best to keep my son’s sugar as in range as possible, but there will be some ups and downs with the extra snacks or treats along the day.
Baking cookies is a prime example. It’s practically an American right that you taste the cookie dough before it is cooked. I have no idea how many carbs are in a small spoonful of raw cookie dough and I have no desire to know. I simply dole out the spoonfuls to both of my children. That’s it. No glucose test. No carb count. That’s it. Just continuing the glorious tradition of tasting the raw cookie dough.
Letting loose. We can always check my son’s sugar later and correct with insulin if need be. Most times the excitement of the holidays runs his sugar a little on the lower side, so a spoonful of cookie dough doesn’t have much impact. But letting loose (just a bit) has all the impact in the world.
For a brief moment in time, my son is exactly like his sister, just enjoying a holiday tradition without carb counting or glucose check. Yes, Type 1 diabetes takes a great deal of management and consistency, and that is a necessary life saving practice needed for everyday. It’s the special days, where along with management and consistency, you add in a little spontaneity and loosen the grip just a bit, and you realize you can do this. We can do this. Type 1 diabetes is always there, holidays and all, but we don’t have to let it take center stage.