T1 Parents - Dates and Get-Aways for Self-Care

It's really easy for parents of T1 kids to get caught up in this disease.  Guilty as charged!  But I'm learning that it is SO important for parents to get away every once in a while together.  We need time to focus on on each other and our marriage/relationship.  My husband and I have been trying to schedule "Date-Days" every month or two.  We drop the kids off at our friend's house around 9am and usually get back around 8pm.  We don't go too far... we stay within about 1.5 - 2 hours from home.  And there is most definitely a lot of prep that goes into it, but it's worth it.  Here is how I organize our food and insulin for our Date-Day's.

Meals for Samuel and his sister are put in containers and labeled who it's for and which meal.  Snack are labeled also.  Shots are prefilled and labeled.  We make sure extra test strips, chewable glucose, liquid glucose, prefilled correction shots, and a Glucagon is sent.  Our instructions for the Glucagon are attached to it.

We have also let the kids stay overnight at their house twice.  This is obviously more nerve-wracking.  We've only recently gotten comfortable to try this.  I send lunches, dinners and all the same items as above.  She makes them breakfast of bacon, eggs, and I send a piece of my Rustic Faux-Wheat Bread and measured yogurt or coconut cream to add to what she makes.  

Our pre-arranged instructions were to call us if she EVER felt uncomfortable or if he went lower than 50.  And you know what happened?  He ran low all night (mid to upper 50's).  She ended up sleeping right next to him so she could administer glucose and keep an eye on him periodically.  But she was comfortable with it (she watches him many hours per week and deals with glucose during the day).  I honestly felt so bad, but she was great about it.  And I think it gave more more insight to what life with T1 is like.  

My system for overnights, is similar to Date-Day's, but I use a syringe case (from Amazon), with Post-It Note label for each shot.

Close-up of the syringe case: