Swim Lessons

Miss E has finally started swim lessons, this was something that she has been looking forward to for a long time and something that I have been anticipating with much hope and a little bit of anxiety...you see, I have heard crazy stories about how swimming impacts blood sugar levels.


Now, Miss E is not swimming laps around the pool...she's only five. Yep, she turned five this summer...my little girl is growing up sooooooo fast and kindergarten is just around the corner. So Miss E has taken to swimming and is loving her class, she has been doing so good. I love watching her, there are only five girls in her class so I am able to watch each little personality as they spend 35 minutes in the water splashing and jumping their little hearts out. It's just too cute!


One of the girls is a die hard doggie paddler...this kid just paddles her heart out doing little circles in the pool, and she rarely listens to her swim instructor! In fact the other girls will be doing an activity and this one is off heading in the other direction, it's as if she is in her own little world. Then there's the little girl who is always fearless, she will jump off any ledge, dunk her head over and over or fly down a water slide head first!!! So many personalities...my Miss E, well she is the cautious one. She is always within a few feet of her instructor listening intently and hanging on to every word. She follows his direction well, but if it's something that scares her she immediately goes into negotiation mode...he wanted the girls to jump into a hula hoop looking thing off the side of the pool, all the girls did it but Miss E made him hold her hands while she jumped and she was very careful not to let her head go under the water.


Then there was the day when the girls were supposed to dip their heads under the water, well Miss E would only put her face down while holding her nose and she wouldn't let her ears go under water...like I said, she's very cautious. It was funny, on the first day of swim class her instructor told the girls "If something is too scary for you, you don't have to do it." So later that day I was asking her why she wouldn't dunk her head in the water, you know what she said? Word for word..."My teacher said if something is too scary for me then I don't have to do it mommy" She's a smart one!


I love that she is cautious...it makes me feel good that she won't try anything too dangerous, she is my timid one and she takes her time with everything, always asking lots of questions. Every child has their very own unique personality, I try to help hers blossom and not force anything on her...although after her first class was over she did say she didn't want to swim anymore. All that I asked was that she finish her week out and give it some time and guess what...after day two she was IN LOVE WITH SWIMMING!!!


So far her numbers have been great, I don't think she is in the water long enough or excerpting too much energy for it to have a big impact on her blood sugar...thank goodness! We have been very careful before each class, I check her blood sugar right before class starts and I make sure we have plenty of snacks on hand...but so far it has gone great without any problems, no lows and no major high bg's. She only has one more week of lessons and she is already asking when she will be taking more classes...UH OH, what have I just started here :) I may have a future swimmer on my hands!

Lets Get Moving

Day 5- Lets get Moving

I have two daughters who are 2 years old and 4 years old, they are very active and love to play. We spend a lot of time in our back yard where they have a huge play set that they love to climb on, slide down and swing on. This has worked out great for me because when it comes to being active and their blood sugars, I just never know what's going to happen with them.

A perfect example of this was recently I took my kids in the back yard to play, they were running around having a blast. About 30 minutes into their playtime Miss E asked me if I would push her on the swing, I had just started swinging her when she told me that she was hot and she wanted me to stop pushing her. Then she said she was tired and that she wanted to go inside the house, looking at her I knew something was wrong. I had Lil Miss C in her baby swing so I was trying to quickly unfasten her belt and get inside to Miss E who had made a bee line for the house. By the time I got to the back door I saw Miss E sitting on the kitchen floor, I grabbed her blood glucose meter and started to get it ready when suddenly Miss E just dropped down on the floor and said she felt dizzy. She was lying there on her back and all of the color had drained from her face, I could feel my heart start to race and my hands where shaking.

It was a terrible low, one of the worst so far...38...I had to hold her head up while I gave her a juice box, she cried and told me she felt sick.

It was scary, but I was thankful it happened in our own back yard and I was able to take care of her. We have a park that is just a few blocks away, every time I take the kids there I always bring their meters and juice boxes...you just never know.

I don't have the girls in organized sports yet so I am not sure how that will play out in the future for them and their diabetes. I have Miss E signed up for swim lessons this summer, from what I have read on some of the other d-blogs...swimming can be a nightmare on their blood sugars. Time will tell, I think it's a little bit of a learning curve and a little bit of luck when it comes to figuring out how different activities will affect their blood sugars. I used the word "luck" because some days diabetes just doesn't behave...even when you are doing everything "right".

I'm just hoping that swimming will be kind to my girls :) It is something that Miss E is really looking forward to.