New baby-struggling with blood sugars

[Serenede]

Hi,

Firstly to let you know i had a baby boy on the 18th May weighing 8lb, he didnt have any problems with his blood sugars after the birth and I Breastfed him for 10 days but found it all very difficult so have been expressing and giving some formula. My question is that I am really struggling with the lack of sleep and being up and down all night that my blood sugars are all over the place. Having previously had excellent control i Am finding this difficult and dont know if there is anyway of rectifying it?

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @Serenede Congratulations on the birth of your son, good to hear you are both well.

It's very much early days for you both, so establishing sleep patterns will happen in time, it does have an adverse affect on your control though, as hard as it is, try not to compare your control to how it was, as your hormones levels and lack of sleep will both affect how your BG levels. The best solution I can suggest at this stage is to keep testing lots and correcting where you can, but try not to put yourself under stress or pressure with getting back to normal. Are you getting much support from your DSN at the moment ? Might be a good idea to have a chat and see if they can help you tweak your insulin to manage through this period. Don't despair your control will get better again in time, but have lots of fun being a mum and try not to worry too much

 

[azure]

@Serenede Congratulations on the birth of your son!

Firstly, don't be hard on yourself. It's very early days.myou'll find your sugars - and life! - starts to settle down around the 3 month mark. Just keep testing and reacting - so correct carefully if high or eat if dropping.

That level of control is totally normal with a young baby. You're reacting as needed No one expects you to get perfect control with a baby.

My son is a toddler now and the time seems to have gone far too fast. Give yourself some leeway and cut yourself some slack. You do t have to be perfect - just good enough

Breastfeeding can help with control. If you refer to express or pump, then that's ok. There are plenty of breastfeeding and pumping/expressing tips online. LA Leche is good and also Kelly's Mom.

You're doing great - don't do yourself down

Type 1 and a baby - fantastic

 

[marie85]

Hi Serenede, could have written post myself, my baby is now 3weeks also, breastfeeding and am utterly exhausted. I too am struggling with control. Just before the birth my endo gave me my doses for breastfeeding but I've def had to jiggle them around myself....I'm either 2 or 20! I was hypo a lot over the second week, found it too stressful to be hypo and trying to correct mid BF etc and afraid of being hypo carrying baby that I've been running on higher side-trying to aim for 5-10 however many mornings for whatever reason I'm waking up I can be 5 or 16!...after being so tightly controlled I'm very symptomatic at the higher end and afraid of getting UTI/thrush etc when I'm still healing from a tear/stitches. Anyway I don't have much advice given I'm in the same situation but you have my support!... I'll be following this thread also x

 

[Robinredbreast]

Congratulations on the birth of your baby boy, honestly, you are doing really well, but you may not feel like you are. I went through similar 16 years ago, but had many low's with the breast feeding, in time it will get better and settle down, your body has been through a lot, but it may be better to run your sugar's a little higher whilst breastfeeding( that's what I was told) but please pick up the phone or email your dsn to get proper advice, help and support
It's hard going with type 1 and a new baby, it takes it out of you ( I was nearly 43 at the time, but that was the best thing that has happened to me with diabetes) and I wouldn't change a thing.
Take care of yourself, count to 10, relax and take lots of deep breaths, remember, you can only do the best you can, be kind to your self and rest when baby does, stress and anxiousness can put sugars up, X

 

[azure]

Just to add that I reduced my basal when breastfeeding. I also often needed more than the recommended 15g carbs as a 'feeding snack'. Those first few weeks I topped up with flapjacks (a good combination of fast and slow sugars) and still kept Lucozade all around the house.

Remember too that looking after a baby is hard - for everyone diabetic or not. Non-diabetic mums don't have the hassle of controlling BS but they do struggle with all the rest like lack of sleep.

Make things easy for yourselves. Don't stress about chores. Gradually build little routines that work for you, and count each day as a success.

A good tip I had was to make a 'feeding station' - put glucose, water, snacks, meter, muslin cloths, etc all by a chair so anything you need is in reach when you're feeding baby.

 

[azure]

I also had two meters - one for upstairs, one downstairs.

I ran my sugars a little higher than normal and I was cautious about correcting.

I got in quick meals and snacks to make life easier. I ordered food shopping online. I lowered my expectations for sleep. Remember very young babies can wake every hour or two as their tummies are so tiny.

I know it can all feel chaotic early on, but I promise you'll get back to your normal level of control. Give yourself time and don't be hard on yourself.

 

[kitty55]

@Serenede Congratulations on the birth of your little boy! I can second what everyone else already said - I have had a son in August last year and struggled big time with sugar levels after having near perfect control throughout pregnancy.
It will get better and easier for both of you! Give yourself some time and try not to stress about it. I too breastfed but it was unfortunately never easy for us and in the end I had to give up at 3.5 months due to low supply and baby being constantly hungry and refusing boob eventually.
What I'd like to advise is try and enjoy those first few months even if it is mega hard work and stressful. Enjoy your baby as long as it's so tiny cos it goes so incredibly fast. I sort of missed the first few months cos I was stressed out from bf, controlling sugar levels, never having time to tidy and stuff like that. It was stupid and I regret it. Now our baby is almost a year and I get emotional thinking about it. Try and follow the advice of everyone else and make life as easy as possible and forget about chores. xx

 

[Serenede]

Thanks for all your advice everyone! Glad to hear im not the only one who feels like this and that it does get better.
Marie85 congratulations on the birth of your baby, im sure things will settle down for us both soon and as kitty55 says they grow up quickly so we must try and enjoy this time.