5 year old diagnosed

[ionajc]

Hi, my 5 year old son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a week ago and I'm finding it hard to deal with the carb counting. We had a healthy enough little boy who pretty much could eat what he fancied in moderation to now having to read and count every part of his food and calculating it all which is all like another language to me especially as maths and numbers are not my forte. Is there anybody else that can offer any advice or just general chit chat regarding diabetes in young children. Thanks

 

[lisacp]

Working out carbs can be a pain but the more you do it the easier it will get. Once you know how much carb is in a sandwich for example that will not change.
Buy an address book, one with letters down the side. You can then record the food under the correct letter with the amount of carbs beside it and use it to refer to when you need it.
Carbs and Cals is also a good book as you have pictures of foods with portion sizes and the amount of carb per serving.
It is all a pain in the backside but you will get used to it.
Good luck x

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @ionajc - welcome to the forum.

Carbs and cals is great, download it in your phone, it shows plate portions of food so easy to understand carb content and calculate. Don't worry about the maths it does get a lot easier, see if you can get a dietician appointment to help you with food or try and work out a weekly food plan, planning ahead will help a lot and stop the daily grind in checking everything, also staying to the same foods to start with too could help then as confidence grows add more stuff in. I find cooking fresh is better than prepared food as you can measure and weigh carbs more easily. I hope you have a good supportive nurse to help you too ?

 

[Daibell]

Hi. It's not easy to start with but you will soon get used to knowing what is in most foods. For example I allocate 20-25gm of carbs for my sandwiches and around 20-30 gm for an apple or pear depending on size and so on. The biggest problem is eating out or doing your own cooking from fresh. Using the meter 2 hours after a meal will gradually give you the feedback you need on whether you have 'guessed' right.

 

[Ellie's mum]

My daughter was diagnosed 2 months ago, she's 9.

Carbs and cals book has been a life saver for me I also have the app on my phone. I found that some foods she was eating on a regular basis so the numbers kind of stuck in my head - for the life of me I can't get her to eat any apart from weetabix for breakfast!

I also found that a pen and a piece of paper to write things down as I worked the carbs out was better than trying to remember it all.

Things are still very new for you but it will get better in time just take it one step at a time. I personally found loads of help from the people on here and they're very reassuring too.

Feel free to ask any questions

 

[azure]

Hi @ionajc

It gets easier. You'll gradually learn the carbs for his favourite meals. What I do to make things simple is have the same amount of pasta, etc most of the time. So then I just have to weigh out the 'right' amount for me once it's cooked and I'll know how much carbs that is. Again, cereal I stick to the same weight most days.

For recipes, I make a note of the carbs in pencil in my recipe books so when I go back to make a recipe again, the carbs are helpfully already there for me.

 

[himtoo]

as a 5 year old your child will thrive on routine -- whether diabetic or not -- the boundaries help in development.
routine becomes a big part of eating with D -- eating the same sort of meals develop a pattern in dosing of insulin.

it is tough at first to get your head round it all -- but it will get easier

 

[Kristin251]

I completely agree with himtoo. Routine is important and makes it easier. If he has the same BF and lunch you can find the right insulin. As a child I always had the same BF. No problem and I wasn't diabetic until 50. Now I eat the same macros at each given meal and I know how much insulin to take. Mixing up my meals is always a **** shoot. If I eat the same things I stay very close. I also believe if BF messes things up the rest of the day is messed up.

Thoughts are with you. Hard enough as an adult...

Edited by a mod