Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Yup, that's my boy!


So let me start by clearing up a common diabetic myth. Many times people will ask me in regards to AJ, "Oh, can he eat that?". Other moms have even gone out of the way to call before a child's birthday party to see if they can have another option available for him besides the cake. Now don't get me wrong I truly appreciate the sentiment and I know that everyone is just being kind. Usually our husband and I just give each other a look and smile. We laugh about it for two reasons. The first is that while eating a ton of junk is not ideal, AJ can have anything as long as we give him the appropriate amount of insulin. Of course we try not to have him eat candy all day long, but that is the same as any other parent. The second reason we laugh is that AJ has quite the sweet tooth. I try to really limit the candy but my husband has differing views on the matter. I think part of it is wanting him to be "normal". Plus, from what I gather he grew up with lots of sweets around (not that I didn't). Whatever the case may be AJ definitely has his share of sweets. We recently went to a b-day party with a pinata. So tonight he picked a Butterfinger from the bag of goodies. It was his first Butterfinger experience. Well to say he liked it was an understatement. He took it upstairs while I was finishing up the dishes. Next thing I heard was "Oh my G-d". My husband said I needed to see the look on his face as he savored every bite. And I thought only women could get the big O from chocolate:)
Oh and by the way one more diabetic lesson for the day. Sugar free is not the same as carbohydrate free. We don't count sugar we count carbs. Believe it or not sometimes items that are sugar free will have more carbs than their regular counterpart. Plus, they can often be harsh on the tummy.
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2 comments:

Nancy said...

Interesting. I never would have known ANY of this. My hubby's cousin was diagnosed about 2 years ago at the age of 11 and she now babysits for us, so I try to have snacks in the house for her when she's here. It's nice to know the "truth" about the sitch...keep the info coming!

Anonymous said...

I like you post Jennifer. I'm living the same thing as you. However, I thought it was a little "rude" of you and your husband to give each other a "look" when people ask you if AJ can have this.

Obviously they are concern and they are trying to include him and make sure that he has a good time also. I think that as parents of diabetic children, it's our responsibility to educate other parents. Not to make them feel bad for asking a question that they don't know the answer too.

I would much rather have a parent ask if Tristan can have certain things than have them ignore his condition all together!

It's just my opinion.