Two appointments

This past week we made our way to Vancouver for Aedan's regular 6-month check in with the diabetes clinic. He is doing really well; his A1C came back at 5.2, which means he continues to be in a non-diabetic range. They weighed him, too...he weighs about 30 lbs now! What happened to my little baby?

The trip itself was not much fun. Travelling with two little ones is not my idea of fun. After a few rather unsuccessful attempts to eat in restaurants, we resorted to "hotel picnics". I really wanted to take Aedan to the aquarium, but it didn't happen. We managed to get him to the park,but that was it.

Vancouver was beautiful, as usual. And it hit -44 C here on the Dempster while we were gone. I am so glad we missed that!

On  our way back through Whitehorse, we saw our midwife for Colm's 6 week check-up. He is also doing really well! He weighs 11 lbs 2 ozs now. Christina was really impressed  with how he's developing: he's smiling, cooing, and very alert.

I don't have any pictures from Vancouver, because I wasn't having any fun!

All about Aedan

On our way to Ontario, we had a stopover in Vancouver, to check in with our "team" at the B.C. Women and Children's hospital. 

The appointment went really well: Aedan's A1C (a blood test that shows a 90-day average blood/glucose reading) puts him in a non-diabetic range. This means that his blood sugar is very well controlled with the 5 mg dose of Glyburide. If we continue to maintain these levels, his chances of suffering the long-term effects of diabetes are basically the same as a non-diabetic. 

He still has high readings in the mornings, though, often followed by a crash 2 hours after he takes his pill. We decided to try splitting his dosage up into 3 times a day: a 1/2 pill with breakfast, 3/4 mid-afternoon, and 3/4 before bed. Today is day 3 of this new routine: Aedan adapts so easily, but of course it's taking me some getting used to. 

It means if we're going out in the afternoon, I have to have a syringe with the dissolved pill prepared with me, plus a snack to go along with it. The morning and evening doses have been tricky, too, because he still hasn't gotten back onto a normal sleep schedule, after our travels.

I'm grateful, though, every day, that it's only this we have to deal with. In comparison to what other families go through, it seems incredibly easy. We're lucky that his particular form of diabetes is recognized and easily managed.

While we're on the topic of Aedan...he's learning so much every day! It is such a joy to be able to facilitate that learning, and to watch him practice new skills.

I mentioned in this post that he enjoys "putting" things...well, his putting has gotten quite refined just lately! He's begun to stack blocks (rather than just knocking them down), and he enjoys playing with a set of nesting cups. He's also learned to fit objects onto a peg, like these wooden rings. 

In the last 2 days, I've noticed him walking backwards: this he does (slowly and carefully) with a huge grin on his face. He's quite the stair climber, too!

Lastly, his signing just blows me away. He signs for milk and more....he uses more as a general purpose "I want" sign: he'll sign "more" and then point to something he desires. He also signs "dog", by patting his chest. It should be his leg he's patting. I read that it's common for babies to learn this sign by patting a different part of the body at first. He also signs for books. Now we're working on "hot", "eat", "drink", and "outside". 

He's also picked up a hilarious shrug from me, when something or someone disappears.

A parcel with his winter gear has arrived at the post office: we're off to town to pick it up today. I can't wait to watch him play in the snow!

Flying solo

A while back, I wrote about how Aedan's diabetes may be treatable with a pill.

Three weeks ago, we began to gradually transition him from his insulin pump to Glyburide. This week, the fourth week of the transition, he is receiving a full 5 mg dose of the medication, and is actually off the pump for the majority of the day. So amazing! He is still receiving some insulin from the pump in the evenings, because his blood-glucose levels tend to be higher then.

It's hard to believe that almost 3 months to the day that he got so ill because of high blood sugar, three months to the day that we found out about his diabetes, his body is making and releasing its own insulin again.

It's been kind of scary for me, taking him off the insulin pump. We'd gotten used to it so fast. It is such a cool piece of technology, and I can see how it must be life changing for many diabetics. Now, I have to learn to trust his body again, trust that it will know when to release insulin and in what dosage. It won't be me making those decisions for him anymore!

We're still seeing low blood sugar readings, even now that he's off the pump most of the time. One of the side effects of Glyburide is hypoglycemia. It seems to happen within two hours of taking the meds...or if he's been particularly active, like playing in the Jolly Jumper. I'm still struggling with feelings of anger and loss over this. I can't just watch him jump and giggle and fully enjoy the moment...now I'm plagued with questions and doubt. Did I feed him enough before putting him in the jumper? Has he been in there too long? Is his blood sugar getting low?

My hope is that, with time (both for me to adjust to having a diabetic child, and for his body to adjust to the new medicine), this will fade and I can focus more completely on enjoying his baby-hood. 

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy-Jig

Last night we got home after two weeks of visiting family in Ontario. It was a wonderful vacation, and so great to introduce Aedan to everyone. He is such a happy, social little baby. And a great traveler, too!

It's so nice to be home again. It was a great visit but I am definitely not a city gal! I missed the woodstove, the snow, the silence, the woods...even the outhouse!

We had a stop over in Vancouver to visit the doctor's, and got some good news. Aedan's specific form of diabetes is related to a mutation of the gene that controls his "potassium channels". These channels are in the pancreas, and sense when the body needs insulin, telling the pancreas to get to work, and then they release the insulin into the bloodstream. Basically, his channels are blocked. So, his body is able to produce insulin, it just isn't getting the message to do so. The doctors are confident that Aedan's diabetes can be controlled with an oral medication that will allow those channels to start working again. Over the next couple of months, we will be transitioning him from the insulin pump to the oral meds, and if the transition is successful...no more insulin! His body will be making its own! This also means we won't have to test his blood as often as we have been. From 8 times daily down to 2 or 3. So exciting!

The solstice has just passed...so while we'll slowly begin to gain the daylight back, for now, it's pretty dark out there. According to the Government Canada website, sunrise is 11:12 am and sunset is at 3:22 pm. So I've got some time to kill before I can head into town to run errands! I'm sad we missed the actual solstice. Next year I want to make a bunch of lanterns for the yard and the trails around the house, decorate a tree outside, and have a big bonfire.

I've been thinking a lot about writing, this blog, and what I want it to be. I really want to offer a window into life up north. I think that is the unique perspective I've got to offer in the blog-sphere...in the coming year I'd like to focus on making a couple of focused and directed posts each week, with pictures! I bought us a fancy new camera while in Vancouver (Canon Rebel T2i) and I can't wait to start playing with it!

Little Feets

This week at "Healthy Families, Healthy Babies", we did foot-castings. We made play dough and smoothed it into empty card boxes, and then pressed our babies' feet into the dough. Then, we poured plaster on top, to make a positive print.

I love how Aedan curled his toes a little as we made his imprint. I'll always treasure those plaster prints.

And yet, they'll always remind me of what his little feets have been through just lately.

I debated blogging about this, but in the end, I feel like I can't avoid some mention of it.

Just over two weeks ago, Aedan suddenly became very ill. We were med-evac'd to B.C. Women and Children's Hospital in Vancouver, where we learned that Aedan is diabetic. This came as a total shock to both P and I, as there is no diabetes in either of our families. We learned, though, that 40% of the population carries the gene for Type 1 Diabetes, and that some unknown environmental trigger can switch the gene on. So it's possible one of us has been carrying that gene, silent and waiting to spring into action, causing a body to attack the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Or, it's possible that a mutation occurred, and Aedan has "neo-natal Diabetes", which means the insulin-producing cells in his pancreas haven't matured properly. They will mature and begin producing insulin within the year, and then he'll no longer need insulin...but there is a 50/50 chance that he'll need insulin again once he hits his teens.

At B.C. Children's, after 3 days in the pediatric ICU, they set Aedan up with an insulin pump, which is a really amazing piece of technology that basically functions like a pancreas, delivering a continuous stream of insulin to his body. We have the ability to deliver an additional burst of insulin when I nurse him, or if his blood-glucose levels get too high for some other (unknown) reason.

So when I look at these tiny feet cast in plaster, I see his feet kicking and squirming, his toes curling and flexing, but I also see heels marked with a week's worth of hourly blood tests. I see the toes curling not in joy but in fear of the nurse gripping his foot in her hand for another draw. In my mind's eye, I'll always see a little bead of bright blood welling up on his big toe, ready for the glucose-test I must give him before each feeding. Thankfully, these tests are much easier to administer than those done in the hospital--he doesn't even flinch.

In years to come, I'll look at those tiny feet and reflect on the resilience of infants. His ordeal would have likely killed an adult. But his brand new heart and lungs are amazingly strong. Today, he smiles and burbles like nothing happened. He's even started to smile through the glucose readings, because he knows I'm about to nurse him. He's already forgotten the trauma of the hourly heel pricks in the hospital, and he no longer cries out when I grip his tiny feet in my hands.

His little feets will grow into big feets, and they might help him climb a mountain, or trek through a muggy jungle, or walk along a sandy beach. They might carry him through the halls of a college or university somewhere, and then walk him up to a podium to receive his diploma. I hope they might take him to places I've never been, but that they'll always bring him home to tell me all about it, and I'll look at those tiny plaster-cast feet and, despite all the challenges and scary bits, feel totally thankful they were given the chance to grow.