Recognizing Diabetes in Your Child

I was all ready to do a completely different post today. Something of much lighter fare. But then when I saw the theme for today's "Works For Me Wednesday" carnival, that all changed. Kristen asked, "If you could tell people just ONE THING. What would it be?" While there a ton of great possibilities for this topic, the one that jumped out at me was to talk about Type 1 (or juvenile) Diabetes. Why? Because my beautiful little girl was diagnosed with it when she was only 15 months old.

Let me just say right now, there's very little chance that your child has Type 1 Diabetes. I'm not writing this post to try to cause people to worry. Unfortunately, this condition is out there and it isn't necessarily something that runs in families. There's no sign of it in either my or my husband's families. Its symptoms can go unnoticed, and many times do, until a child is in a diabetic coma. This is not something I'd wish on any parent, so I've decided to talk about some of the warning signs.

One of the first signs of Diabetes is weight loss. This can easily be overlooked because children will often have growth spurts which tend to thin them out. Weight loss caused by Diabetes occurs because the body is losing glucose (energy) through urination. The body will then use the body's fat and muscle stores to try to regain that energy. There can also be an increase in hunger as the cells become malnourished. Diabetes can also cause weakness because of the cells being robbed of their energy.

The thing that really tipped it off for me with my daughter was the increased thirst and urination. Now by this, I'm not saying that there was an extra diaper change a day. No, she was completely soaking through diapers. Repeatedly. I'd put a clean diaper on her before putting her down for a nap and she'd wake up 45 minutes later with both her and her crib soaked. When blood sugar (glucose) is high, the kidneys can't get all the glucose back into the bloodstream so the glucose is put out in the urine. Unfortunately, this makes the urine very concentrated, so water is pulled from the blood to reduce the concentration. The water and glucose fill up the bladder quickly and repeatedly causing the excessive urination.

As I said at the beginning, there's a good chance that your child does not have diabetes. But if you do notice your child experiencing the symptoms I've listed above, a simple finger poke at the pediatrician's office can tell you one way or the other. Should the doctor come back and tell you that your child does have Diabetes, please know that treatment options are so much better now than they've ever been. My daughter, who is now 8, has an insulin pump (Hooray for not having to do shots all day!) and has as much freedom to have a piece of cake at a birthday party as any other child would. While we have made changes to make sure she's as healthy as possible, it's not been anything horrible or drastic. It just becomes the new normal. And hope for a cure is alive and well.

Fingerprint Friday - Tidings of Great Joy

Merry Christmas! For today's Fingerprint Friday, I wanted to share the best Fingerprint God gave us: His Son. May His Fingerprint be alive and well in your hearts. Blessings to you and your family!

And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.

And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.

And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom He is well pleased.

Luke 2:8-14

The Untrained Eye - Snow Day

Every now and then, I'll be reviewing a book I've read or a movie I've seen. Why am I calling it "The Untrained Eye"? Because as the name implies, I have absolutely no training or background for reviewing these things. I'm just a normal person giving my opinion. If you're like me, you have no idea why critics come up with the critiques that they do. So I'll just be putting out a critique for the regular guy/gal. You know, one that makes sense...

For my very first review, I'll be talking about Snow Day by Billy Coffey. In the interest of full disclosure, I'll tell you that Billy is a friend of mine on Twitter (you can follow him at @billycoffey). I was beyond thrilled when he offered to send me a copy of his book and I sat impatiently by the mailbox and waited for it to arrive. In hindsight, I probably could have waited a couple of days before I started camping out at the mailbox... That being said, I may be biased, but that doesn't mean I'm not right about this book.

Have you ever sat down to read a book only to find yourself smiling? That happened quite a bit for me while I was reading Snow Day. It's such an engaging book! It's the story of Peter Boyd, a factory worker who fears he may be out of a job soon. When a winter storm comes in one day, he decides to call in a snow day from work. But there's to be no sitting around at home for Peter this day. He's got things to do in order to be prepared for the coming storm, literally and figuratively. This is where things get interesting...

Billy Coffey is a master in the Art of Observation. Everyone and everything has a story if you'll just sit back and take it in for a bit. His character, Peter, does just that with his day. It's amazing what stories come out when you just pay attention. I especially love chapter 4 when Peter comes across a wonky Santa figurine and a sweet couple who give him a new perspective on things. Be prepared to smile during this chapter!

This book is full of hope, faith, joy and surprises. Who couldn't use more of those things? Christmas is just a few days away now. Do you have any last minute gifts you need to get for others? Do you want a treat for yourself? Then I'd highly recommend this book to you. It's in book stores everywhere, so you don't even need to wait. It's one that I see myself taking out year after year to re-read. Doesn't someone you know deserve a Snow Day?

When did "Christmas" become a bad word?

Okay, I'm going to be a rebel right now. I'm going to put it all out there and wish you a Merry Christmas. That's right, I said "Christmas."

When did "Christmas" become a bad word?

I went to my daughter's "winter program" last week at her school. Yeah. Let's not even call it a "holiday program" because that may infer that there's something being celebrated that could be offensive. I had felt a slight glimmer of hope when I looked at the program that was handed out - it had "Do You Hear What I Hear" listed as one of the songs being performed. It appears that that was just a typo though and someone had accidentally added on the "What I Hear" part. Nope, it wasn't the Christmas carol we're all familiar with. Although it was a lovely song about winter. I found it amazing that they were able to find so many songs for the season that didn't have the word "Christmas" in them. Of course, I was shocked when a few of the songs included the word "holiday." Shocked!

When did our country lose its grip on reality?

The vast majority of people in this country do celebrate Christmas. And for those who don't, are they really offended by the holiday? I'm not Jewish, so should I be offended by Hannukah? Why would I try to squash a holiday so steeped in tradition and the celebration of something miraculous? And who am I to try to put limits on another person's religious beliefs? Or lack thereof? I'm not saying that atheists should be forced to participate in Christmas, but they shouldn't be able to keep me from celebrating it.

Let's stop putting a damper on joy. These days, we could use all the joy we can get! And really, what can bring that joy more than celebrating the Miracle of Christmas? Let's claim our holiday back. Merry Christmas to you!

Fingerprint Friday - Family

Well, here it is - my first 'real' post on my new blog. Yeah, that last one doesn't really count. And since it was Beki that put the idea in my head about doing a second blog (whether she realizes it or not), I thought that my first post should be one for her Fingerprint Friday carnival. How did Beki put the idea in my head? I'll be saving that for a later blog post. Gotta keep people guessing! Now, on to the post!

I see God's fingerprints all over in this picture! I see love, joy, laughter, beauty and family here and God is the author of all these things. I am so blessed!

Coming Soon...

Blog posts coming soon! Soon is a relative term, right?