Stacey Simms Blog

At the Sound of the Tone...

Just back from a week-long vacation. We came home to lots of mail and lots of phone messages.

I won't be hearing any of them - I accidentally erased them all.

Yep. 11 messages. No idea who they're from or what they were about. Just gone.

I didn't even know you could do that on my machine. But you can. And I did.

So if you called me while I was away, please call again. Or maybe just email.

Back to School Shopping

How can summer almost be over? We're back to school around here one week from Monday. I grew up in New York, so starting school before Labor Day still seems strange to me. Then again, so does shopping for new school clothes like jeans & sweaters when it's 100+ degrees outside.

I just ordered a pair of boots for my daughter. She won't be able to wear them until well into November, but if I wait there won't be anything left in her size. So she's trying on suede boots and turtleneck sweaters while it's still bathing suit weather.

Benny won't get too much in the way of new clothes - he's the youngest of all the boys in our extended family so he gets loads of hand me downs. My cousin Kristin has two boys and she sends me a huge package every couple of months. She has great taste - I usually buy my kids clothes at Target & Old Navy, she shops at places like Jack & Jill and Nordstom.

I am in the market for some more pump clothing for Benny. I think I've linked to this website before. As kids get older, they can clip the pump to their belts or waistband, just like a cellphone. But at 2 or 3, most of them wear little fanny packs or special clothes with pump pockets sewn in. Benny's got a couple of the pump packs and I'm thinking of getting him some pj's or boxers with the pockets.

If you're new to this blog, here's a good link that explains how a pump works and why Benny would have to wear a fanny pack all the time.

It's funny, he's on the lookout for other people with belts. We recently started reading a Bob the Builder book and he thinks the tool belt is a pump pack. I can't say I've corrected him. I think it's awesome that he thinks Bob the Builder has diabetes. He already thinks Mickey Mouse does. Have I mentioned that?

When Benny first got the pump, our Animas rep suggested we give one of his stuffed animals a pump as well, so we rigged up Benny's Mickey Mouse with his very own pump, fanny pack and all. It's a sort of dummy pump, a sample that looks like the real thing but doesn't have any working parts. We did put a real site into Mickey, and a real tube. It's especially helpful because Benny's site is on his tush - he can't really see it. With Mickey he can see how it all comes together and can even try to take it on and off himself.

We're planning a trip to Disney this April. Should I call ahead and tell them to put a pump on Mickey?

The Pump & the Potty

So it's one month since we started the pump and I am so glad we did. We've adjusted nicely from about 6 shots a day to basically one every three. We're getting used to checking blood sugar more often and our doctors are helping pinpoint the incredibly precise doses of insulin Benny needs.

About a week and a half into it I decided Benny was ready for another change. No more diapers. He's two and a half, his sister was potty trained right at two and frankly, I was sick of changing him. Lea was easy - she just decided she was ready and after two weeks (and a few accidents) we were pretty much done. Benny's known how to do it and wasn't afraid or unable, he would just say "no" when I asked him if he was ready to make the leap. So basically, I decided to stop asking and start telling - which is really the best way to handle a two year old.

We made the big move the day of a birthday party at Gymboree. It was for one year old twins, so I didn't think anyone would get too carried away if we had a few accidents. Benny did great! He had one accident during the party but otherwise was terrific all day. We did have a blood sugar issue during the party, though. He said he was tired and laid down on a mat. His blood sugar was 32! Hasn't been that low for a long time. One juice box and a piece of birthday cake later, he was back to his old self.

Now nearly three weeks into it, I'd say Benny is pretty much potty trained. Yay! Interesting, though, how diabetes affects this as well. When your blood sugar is high, your body is trying to get rid of the extra glucose in your body. That means lots of drinking and peeing. There's also Benny's insulin pump. He wears it 24/7 in a little fanny pack around his waist, so we have to make sure that's out of the way.

The pump is attached to his body by a thin tube attached to what we call a "button" on his bottom, the infusion set. More info on that here. We've discovered a unique problem with that. When a two year old tries to take off his own pants, he can pull the button out. He's done it three times already. Because of that, he's pretty cautious. Anytime we go to the potty he tells me, "Be careful my button!"

Even so, he's doing great. And we can finally get rid of the changing table and the diaper genie. Next step: no more pacifiers. That's a totally different story.

Root for the Home Team

The Carolina Panthers were gracious enough to have us back to their training camp in Spartanburg. They changed their practice time this year so we were able to watch from the sidelines right after the show.

I'm a pretty casual football fan. I follow the Panthers pretty much the same way, and for the same reasons, I root for the Mets and any team from Syracuse.

My dad used to take us to see the Mets maybe once or twice a year. We always had great seats - I think the company he worked for had season tickets - and my sister and I always drove him crazy. You see, this was back in the late 70's and early 80's and Shea Stadium was the first place I ever saw Haagen Dazs. It was also the only place and my sister and I would basically eat our way through the games. Dad would try to get us to follow what was happening on the field, but I'm not sure he ever succeeded.

I went to Syracuse University so for college sports, I'll always root for the Orangemen. My sports experience while in school was mostly limited to watching the Bob Costas wannabes record their play by play in the stands. Syracuse has a great sports broadcasting tradition, but it's pretty funny to see the students practicing during the games.

A few years after college Slade and I moved back to Syracuse and we got football season tickets. That was fun because it was Donovan McNabb's last year and people were going crazy.

We usually go to two Panthers games a season now. We've brought Lea - she likes to get her face painted - but will probably wait one more year for Benny. Actually, I may bring them both to training camp next year. They've got a great play area for the kids and it's never really crowded. If they only added Haagen Dazs I know it would be a big hit.

Panther Camp

We're broadcasting live today from Panthers training camp in Spartanburg. I'm having some computer issues while we're on the road, so this is picture of us from last year. (l-r that's Jim Szoke, Al Gardner, Jake Delhomme and me) . More pictures and news from today coming later!