The Red Princess

Wow. Today was such a trying day of being a parent. But as I put my little girl to bed, I can't believe it's possible to love her even more than I did yesterday.
We put up the Christmas Tree and all the ornaments and it is nearly impossible to keep a 2 year old from wanting to pull them all down. Maybe with a little work at it, she will realize we don't have to redecorate the tree every five seconds.
Anyways, there is a little red nutcracker that was on the tree and Abby decided it was gonna be her favorite. She kept referring to it as the little red princess. She watched TV with it, she ate her dinner with it, she wanted to bathe with it... So you can just imagine how crazy it must have been when the red princess went missing. Could not find her anywhere. Now it was time for Abby to go to bed and all she wanted was her red princess. So I started tearing apart her room and emptying toys bins and looking under her bed. Then she told me the red princess was in the box. I becoame even more perplexed and kept searching her room. Finally inside the ball bopper the red princess lay between the pink and green ball. When I shouted with enthusiasm that I had found it, Abby began to giggle and say, "Mommy found the princess." I was the hero and now she could finally go to bed.

The Tree Lighting in Anthem, AZ

It's definitely starting to feel a lot like Fall/Winter around here and it's certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The weather is getting a bit nippy here and it's time to start pulling out the sweaters and sweat shirts.

Last night we did something a little different. We decided to go up to the outlet stores in Anthem for the Christmas Tree lighting. What fun! We took Abby's cousin Leah with us and the girls had such a fun time playing together. They rode in Abby's Wagon and Abby was giggling and smiling the entire time. Many more outings are planned with her wonderful cousin in the future. Can't wait. They are pretty close in age and it would be really special if they were to have a great friendship like I remember with my cousins as I was growing up.

A Lot has happened since last post

Wow. I guess it's been a while since my last post. I'll try not to let that happen again. Where to start...

Abby was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes Sept 29th, 2010. It has been a little over a month now and we are trying to manage this horrific disease that strikes kids for no apparent reason.

She had been acting kinda crabby for a few weeks prior to diagnosis and was constantly asking for more water, juice or milk. In addition to that potty training had become nearly impossible as she was soaking a ton of diapers and peeing her bed. After a few weeks of wondering if this was just a 2 phase or if something was really wrong, I took her to the pediatrician. Fortunately, I went with a urine sample that they tested and it was off the charts. They then did a finger stnk and couldn't actually get a number on the meter. All it said was high. So my Dr. told me to take her to Phoenix Children's so they could run some more exensive blood tests and that she could be wrong but that more than likely Abigail had diabetes. I even had a dentist appointment later that day for Abby and my doctor told me that I would probably want to cancel that. So off I go to Phoenix Children's with paperwork in hand and I'm frantically trying to call my husband. I get a hold of my mom and tell her what's happenening and then get a hold of my husband and tell him I'm on my way to Phoenix Children's. He leaves work and before I know it his sisters Tina and Becky, and brothers Joe and Pete all arrive in the ER. We were very fortunate to have them with us.

Turns out we have caught Abigail's diagnosis very early as it could have gotten much worse. She could have been in DKA which is diabetic ketoacidosis. With how high her blood sugar was she should have been lethargic and pretty much comatose. Fortunately, she was not.

So we spent almost 4 days in the hospital learning all about type I and insulin shots and checking blood sugars and ketones. A lot to absorb in the time we were there. I slept in a hospital bed with my baby every night and when she went to sleep I would just cry.

She is such a trooper through all of this. In the beginning she would pull away and not want to be poked, but now when we get ready to test her sugar she says, "Let me see your finger!" And she will even count 1,2,3 when it's time to do the injection. Kids are so resilient. It's me that isn't so much.

I hate that we will have to do this for the rest of her life. I hate that she will have to go through this and not be a "normal" child. I hate this so much, it's tearing me apart.

On a good note though, she will grow up with this and it will be second nature for her. She won't know any different and she will learn how to take care of herself and be responsible. I hope.