Highs and lows of a different sort

No, I didn't die in childbirth...but I have neglected my blog in favor of keeping a small human alive. I figure in the battle of blog versus baby, baby should always win.

Introducing . . .

Jason Patrick
June 4, 2008
8 lbs 3 oz
21 inches long

Here's a picture of Jase when he was 2 weeks old. He is infinitely huger at this point, but still amazingly cute.

I have promised myself that I will eventually write up a birth story to record all the ins and outs, but for the sake of staying on topic here's a quick summary of things I learned about diabetes during my stay at the hospital:

• Not eating anything once you are admitted is annoying. I had to sneak a few juice boxes overnight (note to medical staff: I didn't die).
  
• Sugar-free Jell-o is not a guarantee; it is a gift from the heavens, much like manna. But less carbs than manna, I'm pretty sure.
  
• Yes, labor is intense, but no, I didn't need to reduce my basals to 30%. Apparently not all diabetics need a dextrose drip! Glad I got out of that one.
  
• Running 130-160 during labor will not necessarily give your baby a low blood sugar. So stop freaking out. (Jason's first sugar was 47, normal for a newborn.)
  
• No, just because the placenta was out doesn't mean I needed to lower my basal rates. I was in the 300s for the first day following delivery until I finally wised up and realized that in my case, I still needed a significant amount of insulin.
  
• Waiting to nurse your baby just because the nurse wants to take his fasting blood sugar is stupid. Why would I want to delay a feeding and cause blood sugar issues just so a chart looks pretty?
  
• Hospital food is AWFUL, both on the blood sugars and on the palate. Bleh!
  

I'll definitely write more later about what it's been like to be a new mom with Type I diabetes. I can honestly say that diabetes barely pings on my radar these days, unless whacky numbers cause me to lose sleep. It's kind of nice to clear my brain of the constant diabetes chatter.