Day in the Life: Type I Diabetes @ 4 years old 

my 4 year old was diagnosed a week ago on his fourth b day. And im having a hard accepting that this is what his life is going to be like. i just wanted to say THANK YOU for your videos they make me feel better when i get sad or feel alone. Henry reminds me of my little guy there so brave and strong.

Thank you so much! It is hard and we aren't always patient but we do our best!

You are a brave kid and I admire kids who take control of this

Bless his little heart, no child should have to deal with diabetes. You guys are so great with him and making it all just normal. You are such a sweet family!

Seriously this video has to be soooo helpful for people with diabetic children! It's great that you share this with everyone! It's so crazy to hear all of the challenges you guys have to go through every day.

Thank you so much! It definitely isn't easy but life has gotten so much easier now that he is 4 and not 2 with a newborn baby.

thank you for this video. Our son was just diagnosed and is 4 years old. we were released from the hospital last week and are currently still dialing in his insulin dosages. I'm in tears as type this comment. He doesn't understand yet why he has to take shots and poke his finger but your video is very encouraging seeing Henry handle it like a champ with no fussing or crying. Aaron, our son, has let us check once or twice with no fussing, and i think also a shot or 2 without fussing so he is getting used to it. My son came up to me as i was watching your video and wanted to watch and i think it really helped him see another lil guy with the same condition doing so well with it. You guys are amazing and i really liked the van scene because you look like a normal family that we can totally relate to. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and you have definitely encouraged me. I will be sharing with my wife as well. Thank you all!

I know this is the normal for you. But if just breaks my heart for him. What a strong family you are.

I couldn't imagine having to do that. You are a real inspiration. I have no idea how you are going to be able to handle that with another little one on the way. Wow. Bless your heart.

Henry is so blessed to have you as his parents! You take wesome care of him! The Patience that you have how thoughtful you do everything is just amazing! And I know I say this everytime I comment but your Boys are just so cute!!! I wish we could meet up one day!

YES! :) He does say it every day but not every single time.

All of your videos are so inspiring for me. Even tho it is an 11 year age difference between me and him, it is still amazing how brave he is! It is such a high maintenance thing that you always have to be on top of. Thank you!!!

Thank you! I couldn't do it without Andy. He is amazing with diabetes care.

You're amazing parents! Praying for Henry and your family!

You are absolutely amazing parents !! God bless your family !!!

I ran out of room in my previous comment but i wanted to add, you and Andy are amazing parents. You guys seem so patient and just... well amazing :) I know i say it every time but Henry, Even and new baby dreamflight are so blessed to have you as their parents. I dream of having a family as precious as yours one day :)

"why does he always want to have juice" sometimes having diabetes is SO frustrating!!!! I think little kids are so brave fighting diabetes. I'm 34 yrs. old and I don't do as well with my fight!! keep up the great parenting!!

You guys are great parents. I am confused by it all. U are so patient and kind.

Oh wow. So eye opening to someone not very familiar with diabetes. You guys are all just amazing!

It's so interesting to see how each person does their diabetes differently. I think I've said it before, but Henry is so lucky to have parents that are so patient and caring, and you are so lucky to have Henry who is patient and caring as well! It breaks my heart though to hear Henry say some of those things about hating it..I will admit I have my days like that as well, but your videos of Henry keep me fighting! ....

Omg I would be so overwhelmed with all you have to do. I feel so bad for Henry having to go through so many pokes a day! You are a strong women! I almost cried when he said he wished he didn't have diabetes. You have a great attitude about it all.

Great Mamma and Strong Little man,

Thank you so much! Not always patient but I try my best!

HAVE YOU TRIED TEACHING HIM TO TEST HIS OWN BLOOD SUGAR? JUST BECAUSE ITS SOMETHING HE WIL HAVE TO DO EVENTUALLY A HE GROWS, i WS DIAGNOSED AT AGE 5 AND LEARNED TO STICK MY SELF AND GIE INSULIN AS WELL, TRY PRACTICING ON AN ORANGE HELPED ME..I WATCHED ALMOST ALL OF YOUR VIDEOS AND YOU ARE A GREAT MOM AND TAKE AMAZING CARE OF HENRY, AND ALSO VERY GOOD WITH THE FOOD MEASURING!! GREAT JOB MOM!! THIS HARD WORK WILL PAY OFF!! ALSO, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED YOU SWITCHED FROM PUMP TO SYRINGES, BUT HAVE YOU TRIED THE OMNIPOD?? HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PLAY SAFE! XX

Thank you Kristie!

Thank you! I am so happy to share this because Type I diabetes isn't something people know about.

Thank you Jana.

Bless your little heart ! You guys go through so much I couldn't imagine ! Henry is soo brave ! What a journey to watch

You both are just awesome parents!

You have an amazing family- I know I've found myself complaining about much lesser things in my life. To see you, Andy and Henry take this all in stride shows your strength as a family :)

This just made me want to bawl! You and Andy are awesome parents! And Henry is a sweetheart. My prayers are with you!

These are so interesting to watch. As stated so many times already, your family is blessed. Keep up the fight!

Can't believe it's been two years! You are such an awesome mom! It looks so complicated, I can't imagine.. and he's getting so big!

Brave little guy, and you and Andy are amazing!!! His face looked so sad, I had tears in my eyes. It must be hard for all of you.

Thank you so much!

It broke my heart when he said he wishes he didn't have diabetes! He's such a tough little guy!

Your son is so strong and courageous 🥰🥰👏👏👏

He struggles with it and wastes way too many test stripes yet. He does practice here and there when we are next to him watching. He also ONLY will test his pointer which we never use. Proud that he could do it if he HAD too!

Wow, you guys are awesome! Very organized and patient.

One awesome family!! You guys are so great! Henry is so brave & so much of his great attitude comes from you guys!

I also have a 4 year old with diabetes and that is our exact day..thanks for sharing ...we are just 4 months into her diagnosis but it is very exhausting... u guys r doing great !! :)

Thank you!

Diabetes sure is hard work, and yet you all handle it with such grace. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us!

Thanks Jen. My goal is show people who don't know anything about diabetes, what life is like for us. I'm so proud that college professors show my other DITL's that I want to do one every year as he grows up. :)

No. I do subtract the fiber from vegetables and fruit before I add up the total carbs.

Good Bless You All! It's tough having a child with diabetes. Thank you for both for sharing your lives with us.

Henry you are the bravest big boy I know!! You are doing so awesome taking care of your diabetes! Keep up the good work =)

Thank you so much for sharing this journey. I honestly had no idea of all that is involved with diabetes. You are doing a wonderful job. I know how tired I was at the end of a day with my girls when they were that age. I can't imagine adding the stress and work of tracking the numbers like you have to do. Wow! I will echo what everyone else has said, Henry is so blessed to have such caring, attentive parents. Some children are not that fortunate. Bless your sweet family.

Wonderful, informative video. Thank you. (and thank you Evan for the comic relief...so sweet)

You're a awesome boy Henry. You have a wonderful family :-)

Brings back memories! Great informative video!

You two are amazing with Henry! I had to take care of my own diabetes when i was diagnosed at a young age, Henry is amazing! I love your videos. :)

Wow, it was great to see what your day is like. Your such a great mom, I can't imagine being able to do all of that, it just seemed so confusing. Henry is a awesome little boy!

You guys are amazing! Good job Henry! And Evan is so cute!

Thank you so much Dani! Thank you for watching!

Thank you Victoria!

He was on a pump the most of that time. Just switched off the pump in May. Pens aren't accurate if you dial up less than 2 units. We typically give less than 2 units.

I hear ya! Not a day goes by that my husband and I don't worry about our other kids getting it.

Evan blaming Henry was pretty funny hehe and he's like oh yay now I get juice too although Henry wasn't pleased about Evan having juice lol gotta love sibling rivalry;p That juice plea looks pretty hard to resist haha! In all seriousness now you are AMAZING! You really are!

It isn't confusing anymore for us. It is definitely time consuming and gets frustrating. He doesn't dig around for food yet. :) Thank goodness! We are trying to teach him that he needs to tell us first so he can get insulin. Thank you so much!

Never heard of sharps pickups. I should look up about that.

poor guy! You guys handle it all so well!

Your video gave me so much hope for my son. I watched this the day after we got home from the hospital, I was crying and wondering if he would ever adjust to this. As he screamed and cried and hid from injections I thought of Henry. and now a month later he is fully adjusted. I get those comments too "I wish I didn't have diabetes so we didn't have to do this" and "I hate diabetes!" (usually after we tell him he can't have candy lol!

Aww. Thank you!

Oh Amy - Hugs to you all!

Poor little guy. Such a burden to bear at such a young age. Thank The Lord he's got such attentive parents.

My heart aches for him :( thankfully he has amazing parents! I teared up several times through this. Not fair this has to be something any child should have to go through.

My husband has type one diabetes and I know it gets stressful with him I can't imagine how stressful it is with a child.

Thank you so much!!

Amy you are AMAZING!

Its cute Evan is concerned for Henry.. give him juice! :) Its alot to deal with for a lil guy.

I just can't imagine having to do all that. You are super woman. :) Andy is superman. And Henry is a brave little kiddo.

your doing amazing with him....i couldnt imagine my boys having it my fear everyday as i have lived with it since i was 17 (24 now)

He is such a good sport....such a cutie

Thank you for watching!

I agree with Alexander J. I've been following Dr. Bernstein's book and eating low carb (less than 20 / day) for almost 1 year. The wild blood sugar swings have stopped and I feel much better. I'm not sure if there is a different recommendation for children, but the numbers I've seen in your videos are very high. If you follow Dr. Bernstein's book you can achieve a level closer to 83 (recommended) throughout the day. That WILL mean changing your diet though, but it's worth it.

you guys are amazing!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

can you share how you make henry's oatmeal (instant quick rolled ect) and also your homemade pizza recipes. Also can you tell us how you figure out carbs in your recipes

When My Daughter was DX she was on Lantus and it never lasted long for her, she now uses Levemir Pen Just remember you need to shot 2 units out before giving a shot each time. My Daughter used the Novolog pen also Good Luck

:) Thank you!

my dad used to use old laundry det containers for his insulin syringes.. Henry is such a strong lil boy and you are an amazing Mom... I know you get used to it, and after awhile it kinda becomes second nature, But I think I would have such a hard time pricking my child all the time for reads and insulin I just cant imagine being in that position. you really are super woman =)

Evans so cute...JUICE! They learn so fast!

I currently use a pump, but when I was on Lantus pens I found the same thing happening to me as well.. even the Humalog pens I found did that on occasion. It may be a hassle to carry syringes and insulin, but sometimes it's worth it knowing it won't leak out or bleed! Best of luck to you guys.. can't wait for more updates :) -Megan C

You guys are awesome! I can only imagine how stressful if is on the whole family.

New to pens! Pens will always have a dr of insulin at the end of the needle before or after the injection, pens also leak...so most people would add a unit to allow for the leakage out of the skin after the injection. However, if Henry is only on 4 units, 1 units is a quarter if his dose so that would be way to much to add for leakage! I used to have 39 units so one unit here and they wouldn't make a difference!! Maybe you will have to stick to syringes until he in bigger doses ! Xx

I know. :( He says that all the time.

I find oat bran is good for stabilizing my blood sugar too. Love the fiber aspect too! Has Henry tried Wheatena? You have such good eaters in your house. Sending Love and Prayers!!

thx

He a brave kid. Pizza I know spikes my sugar leves yup to. But some Pizza I know have lower cabs. Try those. Check it out. Also I was told we went bread can go lower my sugars. Been doing that and it helped a lot. Try apple Cider on a salad. See if can help lower his sugar leves.

Yeah, he sleeps though it all! We are lucky with that!

If he doesn't eat everything on his plate, we have to figure out how many carbs are left over and give him juice or some other food to make up for the remaining carbs.

What a little soldier

Yes! We have an awesome new meter that takes the tiniest amount of blood compared to our other One Touch. We have the nano now.

10 seconds! Good to know! That is a long time! We are sticking to the syringes for awhile.

I find with the pens u need to hold it in for 10 seconds before u take the needle out because its a shorter needle. Then u shouldn't get the leakage :)

Great job guys! I've had diabetes for 4 years now but I have a pump but when I did shots I did it in my arm stomach leg and butt

I've been a type 1 diabetic for 21 years, every time I've used the insulin pin my BS ran high. I trust my shots and pump only!!! Best of luck little Henry! And you're a wonderful mommy!

When I did my clinicals with the anesthesia team I heard of a really smarr thought. If we can invent a pulse oximeter to measure the level of oxygen with a light in the bloid stream, then sone must have or should invent a blood suger meter also with light instead of poking, especially someone small like poor Henry. Good job, keep strong! God bless the you all.

we always had those problems with the pens. we used them for a short time but he bruised so bad, they leaked out back after and he bled back after. his numbers were NEVER good with the pen.