Holidays and a rant

[Becca]

It's nice to be back 🙂

Have been away for 2 weeks with the kids and left OH at home as he was working. I went with family and it was a real eye opener for me. We went with 3 other children and it was really noticeable how different life is with diabetes. Being a parent and having to look after your child and seeing how other children are looked after who don't have diabetes did make me wish it would bugger off! We were in a confined space anyway (8 berth caravan) so everything felt magnified..... Food times, lots of sweets , evenings out, extra exercise during the day, more night time testing then normal; a lot of wet beds was really noticeable when i could see how my brother and his family and my cousin and his child were going about there day.

Grrr...the holiday was really good don't get me wrong but sometimes...........

 

[DiabetesPartner]

Hi Becca,

While you have been away I have joined the forums, so nice to meet you 🙂

I'm glad you had a good hol but I can imagine that it must be hard at times. You sound like a very caring Mum so he is lucky to have you.

 

[Twitchy]

Hi Becca,

I was diagnosed in infancy, & looking back I am awed at how my parents dealt with it...ok, not perfectly, but as a parent of a diabetic the sad fact is you do just have so much more to deal with. I think when you're cheek by jowl with people like in your situation on holiday, it can make the contrasts so much more obvious too, which can be difficult sometimes.

But on a positive note, hopefully your kid at least enjoyed a couple of weeks with the family, with some treats that they wouldn't normally get! 🙂 Not easy on you though, it must be such hard work. I think you were really brave to go away without your OH - ok, your family were there, but you & your OH are the experts in your child's care, so well done! You will have made possible some lovely memories for your kid to look back on when they are older - I look back at the things my parents did for me (esp things like holidays) & I am filled with gratitude & pride for them. It sounds like you're doing a really good job too!

All the best,

Twitchy

 

[Steff]

hi Becca i can imagine it is quite frustrating for you but as been said least it was a holiday and the kid enjoyed it , I think sometimes people dont think but im sure you made the hol as nice as poss for your boy/girl x

 

[sasha1]

Hi Becca...

I fully understand where you are coming from...I was and felt exactly the same last year when me and Nathan went away for a few days for my sisters wedding....... What is second nature and normal for us everyday..when put in other situations it kind of brings everything back form that life we had before diabetes..

As others have said the main thing is you had a great holiday and the little one had a brilliant time..

But like you I wish sometimes it would just ****** ***...🙂

Heidi
xx🙂

 

[Caroline Wilson]

Even with a child who doesn't have diabetes, I try to encourage a healthy diet with not too many sweets, so I know it is difficult sometimes.

Matthew is adopted but as part of the agreement we let his mum visit every six weeks. We were apalled (upset, angry, pissed off etc...) to find the (several not nice words) said we were only feeding him crisps and chocolate.

Every family has its own ideas of what is a good diet, and it is difficult sometimes. We all need sweet treats sometimes.

 

[Proudspirit]

It is a shame that we live in a society where treats are sweet things. I didn't give my daighter any sweets or chocolate until she was old enough to ask for it but her grandparents gave her chocolate behind my back because i was denying her... WHAT? she had HER sweet that were raisins etc. Anyway it did backfire as she is a total chocoholic now!

Kids in my classes from 2+ bring in sweets to give out for birthdays, we have to ask permission from parents before giving out but WHY, if they want to acknowledge their childs birthday give balloons or stickers.

We wont talk about Party bags or the soap box will be out all night lol.

Julie xx

 

[Caroline]

It is a shame that we live in a society where treats are sweet things. I didn't give my daighter any sweets or chocolate until she was old enough to ask for it but her grandparents gave her chocolate behind my back because i was denying her... WHAT? she had HER sweet that were raisins etc. Anyway it did backfire as she is a total chocoholic now!

Kids in my classes from 2+ bring in sweets to give out for birthdays, we have to ask permission from parents before giving out but WHY, if they want to acknowledge their childs birthday give balloons or stickers.

We wont talk about Party bags or the soap box will be out all night lol.

Julie xx

Matthew has just left nursery. there the policy was if you wanted to share your childs birthday parents were to take in fruit to share, nuts, crisps and sweets were not allowed.

One of my friends has a problem with alcohol because her parents refused point blank to have the stuff in the house and she had to go behind their backs to try it, even as an adult living in the same house, so sometimes these things can back fire. I know it is done for the best of reasons too.

 

[Twitchy]

It is a shame that we live in a society where treats are sweet things. I didn't give my daighter any sweets or chocolate until she was old enough to ask for it but her grandparents gave her chocolate behind my back because i was denying her... WHAT? she had HER sweet that were raisins etc. Anyway it did backfire as she is a total chocoholic now!

Aaargh, I so know where you are coming from!!! My ****** mother in law (snarl!) seems determined at every opportunity to feed M chocolate, ridiculoursly over-iced cakes etc etc... We've tried explaining that we want it to be an occasional treat, (which means if she's always giving him treats, we can't) but she's a stubborn old cow & ignores us. Think I'm exaggerating? Last year, when he was 1 (yes, ONE), she bought him a giant chocolate thorntons bunny for Easter.😱 WTF?? I shouldn't be eating choc, the OH was on a diet & as for a 1yr old who was mainly on purees...what the heck was she thinking??! In case she had another total lapse of sanity, this year we said, "please DO NOT buy him any chocolate for Easter, get him a book or something if you must, but no chocolate" (Pretty clear, huh?). So the B***** hag bought him 2, yes TWO Easter eggs, saying to the OH "I know you said no, but I wanted to, so I did!" That basically sums up her attitude - screw what you, his parents think is best, I'll do what makes me feel good, irrespective of whether it is harmful to M or no. HAG!!! 😡

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. As you can see, relations took a turn for the worse when kids came along... 😡

 

[Caroline]

Aaargh, I so know where you are coming from!!! My ****** mother in law (snarl!) seems determined at every opportunity to feed M chocolate, ridiculoursly over-iced cakes etc etc... We've tried explaining that we want it to be an occasional treat, (which means if she's always giving him treats, we can't) but she's a stubborn old cow & ignores us. Think I'm exaggerating? Last year, when he was 1 (yes, ONE), she bought him a giant chocolate thorntons bunny for Easter.😱 WTF?? I shouldn't be eating choc, the OH was on a diet & as for a 1yr old who was mainly on purees...what the heck was she thinking??! In case she had another total lapse of sanity, this year we said, "please DO NOT buy him any chocolate for Easter, get him a book or something if you must, but no chocolate" (Pretty clear, huh?). So the B***** hag bought him 2, yes TWO Easter eggs, saying to the OH "I know you said no, but I wanted to, so I did!" That basically sums up her attitude - screw what you, his parents think is best, I'll do what makes me feel good, irrespective of whether it is harmful to M or no. HAG!!! 😡

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. As you can see, relations took a turn for the worse when kids came along... 😡

We had excatly the same problem with my father in law and my mum who seemed to compete to see who could spend most money on their first grandson, not just sweets but larger and larger toys too. Both are as stubborn as hell and there is no convincing them to do otherwise...

 

[Becca]

I I think you were really brave to go away without your OH - ok, your family were there, but you & your OH are the experts in your child's care, so well done! You will have made possible some lovely memories for your kid to look back on when they are older - I look back at the things my parents did for me (esp things like holidays) & I am filled with gratitude & pride for them. It sounds like you're doing a really good job too!

Thank you 🙂 and to everyone else for their kind comments. It was quite weird not having my OH there, my family don't really know what to do, they say they want to learn but in 3 and half years since diagnosis we're not much further forward....I did have a good weep one night, very self pitying to my OH on the phone, i had left R with my brother and cousin whilst i did a shop with SIL, the one chance i had to get out, i was there for 15 mins before i had a phone call saying she was 2.6 WTF?!?!?! I had left her on 5.6mmol with plenty of snacks on board not bolused for as well (with a reduced temp basal.) I dropped everything in the trolley and raced back leaving my poor SIL in the shop with no transport - oops! Moral of the story, if R is swimming in the sea for over an hour and a half during the day it will affect her 5 hours after

I really felt diabetes had given me a kick up the bum and 'told me off' for having time out.... stupid eh?