Monday, August 22, 2011

Big Nate, Sweet Sophie, and Emma the Wonderful - 1st Day of School

Here's what it was like at my house this morning --- how about yours?  All 3 of my kiddos were SO EXCITED to go to school.



Emma is entering 2nd grade, Sophie kindergarten and Big Nate is starting pre-school.





The girls were thrilled to start the school year!


The girls, the girls, the girls are easy peasy lemon squeezey!  Sophie's 504 is in place, all of her teachers know what's up and she has an awesome 'GOTTA GO' pass that she can use at anytime.  She is feeling good (update on Soph later this week) and ready for a fantastic year in kinder.


Oh Oh Oh - and then there is my Super Big Boy Nate giving my plenty of grey hair already.  I was terrified to send my sweet boy off to school today.  I slept maybe for an hour last night --- I went over every scenario in my head over and over and over.  I was up emailing the school nurse at midnight and making more laminated lanyard tags to put on his backpack and D Bag.






After we dropped the girls off at school I started getting a bit weepy just thinking about taking Nate to pre-school.  Nate was running on the low side while at school with the girls so we carbo'd him up but when we got to his school his bg was 57.  Holy can't do this Batman!  We gave him some apple sauce but he was so busy playing and pushing us out the door I wasn't sure he was going to eat it all.



The nurse checked in an hour later and he was 71 so they gave him 15g of carbs which is ok but snack was coming and at this point they are not bolusing for snacks.  I sent 30g --- whoa nelly I knew he would be high at pick up.  Oh yea - 370!  Hello Roller Coaster!!  Normally he needs the uncovered snack to cover the tail end of his raging breakfast basal and bolus but today the combination of the 30g he got uncovered before snack and the 30g he got for a snack we ended the day high.  The good news is he had a BLAST.  He got in the car telling me all about playing with his friends, singing songs and playing with train tracks.  And 2 hours later he was back in range. 



Oh yea - Did I mention that he was WIPED OUT after school? 

As for me I had 3 hours by myself for the 1st time in almost 2 years and although it was quiet and somewhat peaceful I could not relax until my little man was home.  He took a 3 hour nap which was nice for the both of us.

So, how did I get here? I have to say it wasn't easy.  If you've read Nate's dx story then you know he was attending a mother's day out program when he was dx.  Since it was just a little church school they were not equipped to care for a 14-month old T1.  Then last year I remember being so sad when the girls went back to school.  I so wanted him to be able to go but again there was just not a mother's day out program that would take him.  Now my little guy is 3 and is able to go to an early childhood school is our (public) school district.  Hello federally funded, 504 accepting, full time nurse having school!!

It's not an easy step to take --- letting these little ones head off to school.  Letting go of the diabetes control is soooooo hard but turning over that care to perfect strangers is even harder.  Trusting that our babies will be safe is almost overwhelming --- there were times today that it literally took my breath away just thinking about Nate being there without me.

I am not the 1st D Mama to send their child off to school.  There have been many others facing this day just like I am today.  They have done - they have kept calm and carried on!!  So must I!!

I am so thankful for the parents that have helped me through this new phase of diabetes and I love that I can look to them for guidance daily.  Not only have these wonderful ladies given me the moral support I needed to get through today but they also helped me prepare for this day by sharing tips on health care plans, Section 504 plans and awesome other must-haves for sending type 1 diabetes to school.  If you too are embarking on this journey and are looking for some help I haven't had a chance to upload our docs to the blog yet but I can tell you that I got a lot of help from Wendy, Lorriane, Hallie, Heidi, Reyna and Tracy. Seriously ---- these women were so helpful in planning out Nate's 504, his care sheets, his EVERYTHING, even lanyard tags for his bag ---- hello Heidi!!   So, thank you to all those that have taken this path before me and shared your knowledge, shared your wisdom and shared your support.  Even if you are not listed about --- you all know who you are ---- Thank you.  Let me say it again and please know I mean it when I write it --- Thank YOU!


And instead of signing off with my normal keep calm and carry on --- let's face it today was more like this . . .



Thanks, Mallory --- LOVE IT and LOVE YOU!

13 comments:

Stephanie said...

yayyyy! So glad everyone had a fun day. And how adorable is Nate all tuckered out??? Love it.

Jessica said...

Seconding the yayyyyy! Glad it went well. Knew it would. :)

Leigh said...

Same here... Yay!!!! That is so cool that there is a preschool in your public school system. The built in nurse would just be awesome!! I'm so glad he had fun!! And his little legs look just like Aiden's with little scrapes and bruises. ;) I'm so glad it all went so well! I was repeating "keep calm and carry on" when I left Aiden this morning. :) have a great rest of the week!!

Unknown said...

The pic of him pulled on my heart strings...reminded me of Joe at that age. You ARE doing this girl AND you are doing it well.

P.S. Your girls leggings would look FANTASTIC on my blog. Just changed the backdrop to some SASSY Zebra Print!!! xo

Cdejulius said...

So happy happy happy that the first day of school rocked! Loved having you drop by for coffee . . .you must have known I was nervous too! I prayed for Guardian Angels as I do every day and night for our littles . . .You make me so proud every day of the year . . .Few know how hard it was getting ready for this day! But again, as always you ROCKED it! xxoo

Penny said...

Oh how wonderful - they all looked so pretty/handsome and they will have such fun. This is hard stuff - the letting go, but YOU are an awesome Mama, Laura! SO very proud of Nate and of you!

kkd said...

My Lydia started 3p last Thursday and I was a wreck too. Today is her 2nd day and I'm not much better today. I think alot of ppl think I have control issues, but I just worry about my little betes girly. Glad Nate is enjoying school. He looks like a big boy with that haircut. :)

I've spent a little time on your blog today. With the boys all in school and being so behind in the DOC and getting to know people, I read old blogs and looked at pics and read Nate's dx story. Cried the whole way through. Felt a little stronger connection going to the same hospital (Although I must say I was aggrevated for you that you had to wait in the ER; our doc called ahead and took us right back when we got there. Maybe that had to do with Ry's ketones being greater than 1000). I would love to grab coffee with you sometime. But whether online or in Plano sitting at Starbucks, you have a friend here. And I'll keep reading!

Kelly said...

I have so loved reading all the First Day of School and Back to School posts over the last several weeks. It sounds like the Houston family rocked it! I am learning so much from everyone's blogs in hopes for my own super cool school year in the future for Our Sugar Babie. Hope the school year is one filled with much learning, friend making and memory making for all of you.

Sarah said...

way to go! I am so jealous that there is a preschool available to you guys that has a full time nurse, here the child has to have a learning disability to attend the preschool at the public schools...so well...we're doing our own thing this year.
Your girls are absolutely adorable in their matching outfits, too. I love their priceless smiles! Hope the rest of the week goes fabulously!

Sounds like a day of so many mixed emotions. I really like the smile on Nate's face with the bin of toys; and I also love the one of him wiped out in his car seat!

sky0138 said...

High fives to you all for doing such a fantastic job the first day!! :o) I totally felt your worry about sending Nate off to pre-school....my t1 daughter was diagnosed just 2 months before junior kindergarten and i was a nervous wreck! You did great Momma!!

Unknown said...

YOU GOT THIS MAMA!!!!

So proud of you, my friend. You did it! Nate did it! The school did it!

Yeah for a new adventure :)

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Just a Mom

I am NOT a doctor, nor do I play one on this blog.

I AM a wife.
I AM the mom of 3 wonderful children.
I AM my son's pancreas.

The information provided on this blog is from our personal experiences with Type 1 diabetes. Because something works for us does not mean it will work for you.

Please consult your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about your health care options.

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