Preparing for the pump.

We've developed a pretty decent routine with 'MDI' (multiple-daily-injections) care for Sierra. She's finally not struggling for every shot, sometimes she complains that it stings (and to be fair - Lantus, the 24 hour basal insulin DOES sting :( ) and wiggles around a bit, but generally she's pretty cooperative for an almost 4 year old.

So why change it up?

Pumping technology is pretty cool. Aside from just being 'pretty cool', it's pretty great at helping (most) those who try it in achieving better overall diabetes management. The more I read up on pumping, the more I'm convinced this is absolutely, no question, the way we need to go.

Here's the stitch - I'm worried scared shitless. Are we ready for another big upward battle? Another massive, intense (albeit worthwhile) learning curve in caring for our little girl properly? I want to say yes, and I will say yes, but I am a little scared. I feel like it's taken us nearly 4 months to really get a halfway decent grip on this whole diabetes bit, and every single day is a new days with new lessons. So maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal to switch it up, but I know better. I know it's going to take at least a month or so after classes and training and trials to really start to figure out what it is we're doing with this pump stuff. I've read all I can online about the 3 major players:

Omnipod , Animas Ping, and Medtronic.

The technology for all of these is very similar, the way they work is *pretty* similar with a few standing points (like the omnipod, for example is 'tubeless', while the other two are not etc).

Thus far we seem to be leaning towards the Omnipod, both for the tubeless part and the 'not having to disconnect insulin while in the water for 60 minutes' part. We live by the ocean, we spend a lot of time at the pool - she will probably swim, so I think this might be important. Then again, in all honesty, what the hell do I know?! Only what I've read. Frank is going to be attending the next pump class at Standford to get the real schpeal on these things, and I hope he comes back with a stronger feeling than I have now on which we might want to go with. If still undecided, the reps will have to battle it out in person at our house :)

Pumping will help a great deal with a toddler/young child who likes to graze, and Sierra was the queen of grazers pre-diabetes. I think we should buy stock in olives and cheese sticks at this point, because we go through them like crazy. They're considered a "free" food - very low carb content so technically she can go gangbusters without insulin if she's hungry between meals on these and a few other things, but I can't say 3 cheese sticks later I'm feeling so great about the idea. The pump would help with that. It would also help if she finishes the dinner we set up for her and she decides that she wants seconds - imagine, no shot for that! Great!

This can all trickle down into talks of CGMs (continuous glucose monitors - sound cool, are probably pretty cool, but sadly do not eliminate the need for multiple finger pokes a day and thus low on our list of priorities at the current moment, we might get there at some point but the pump is up first for sure). Anyway, I won't divulge into that whole case just yet. Baby steps, right?

There's also another really cool option out there for us to help with Sierras care. A Skilled Companion Alert Dog. We are absolutely going to shoot for this as soon as Sisi is 1 year past diagnosis (a requirement to get on the list). My lab mix of 13 years passed away about a month ago, and Sierra was madly in love with her. She took her death very well, and is now in an almost daily pattern of asking when we'll be getting a new dog - I said maybe when she's 5. That should be about right assuming they choose us based on our application during that whole process. But I know Frank and I would both LOVE to have not only another dog, but one that can potentially (and will!) detect highs and lows in Sierra. Really? Bonus. True bonus. Companionship and also a little bit of a partner in diabetic care. Pretty cool. We understand a great deal about what it takes to own a dog like this as Franks mother has raised Guide Dogs for the blind for 30+ years. We definitely are up to the challenge.

Anyway, just some Saturday musings. I managed to get some sleep last night so I'm feeling pretty chipper. Pumps are weighing pretty heavily on my mind - to those of you in diabetic community who want to chime in here on how you feel about pumps in general (or sell me on yours!) I'd absolutely love it. We're in the beginning process here and have a lot of learning to do... was it as crazy as that first 2 weeks after diagnosis trying to switch from MDI to pump technology? Reassure me it's worth it, if nothing else, I'm definitely a little nervous and normally I'm pretty gung-ho let's get it done, so this is throwing me for a bit of a loop.

And also - we're heading to Maui at the end of April. If we were to hop onto a pump in, say, early March - would that leave enough learning time to feel confident in flying somewhere with it and knowing what to do? We wouldn't be out of touch with our endocrines, but are we crazy if we plan it this way?