A life of love

A life of love
Everyone should have a Great Pyrenees

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Diabetes log books!

Life with type 1 diabetes is a family affair.  It affects everyone, and as the parent of a child with type 1 diabetes, we are always looking to make the kids invested in their health care and also to always remember that they are KIDS!

We have struggled with log books (for recording their blood sugars, food logs, insulin dosages and other notes that are crucial for them to have in order to make good decisions about their cares).  Most log books don't have all the spots for the information we want, or are too large to really be easily portable for kids, and basically are just plain boring.  We have struggled to really find a way to get the kids more positively involved in their cares, as they keep getting older and we need to be teaching them each step of the way, and also, their needs are constantly changing as they grow, and the information in the logbooks is priceless.

But, being kids, they are bored with them.  I don't blame them.  So, somehow it needs to be kid friendly, easy to find, durable and have all the spots for the info we really need - which we feel is more than most log books have.  So, out of frustration we designed our own log books and tried them out.  We talked with Aman and Kiley about how to lay it out, what they wanted to know and what size they wanted the log book to be so it fit into whatever they wanted to carry it in.  It needed to be used many times a day.  We did some revisions and may do one more yet to tweak a small detail we noted.  But, we have used these log books for about two months now and have seen the two kids have much better record keeping, which allows us to have enough information to make the changes that need to be made!  I am very interested to see the doctor in the next two weeks and see if their A1Cs have improved like we are sure they have.  And we have the data to prove it!  I think the pediatric endocrinologist will be thrilled.

Well, we decided to personalize or individualize each one.  So, we looked at other things.  We needed it to be easy to see (bright is great as they often get set down somewhere), more durable cover than just plain paper (gets tossed in backpacks, purses, the table, wherever), and fun for kids.  We found some great cardstock, and that is what you see on these.  Kiley and Aman are THRILLED!!!!  They each picked a color and pattern they wanted and are so happy with it.  Well, we have many, many more patterns for covers, and will be working on those as we need them. 

What we want to do, is to get these out to other families that live with Type 1 diabetes.  Diabetes for kids is tough.  We cannot take that away, but we CAN make it a bit more kid friendly in any way that we can.  This was our effort. 

We are offering these for sale for $3 each, a 30 day log book, shipping to be added, but it will be minimal as I think it can easily be sent first class and we will only charge the actual cost.  If you are interested, please contact me and we will get them out to you!  I will post new patterns as I get them printed and assembled.  We just wanted them to be fun for kids, to encourage them to use them to keep good data and take charge of their health care. 

Please feel free to spread the word and share this post with anyone you feel might be interested!

"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

6 comments:

Rebecca said...

HI,
My name is Rebecca and im interested in purchasing some of the diabetic log books. Please contact me with information about how to order from you.

Thank you!

Christy O said...

Rebecca,
Can you email me at mommyturtle@gmail.com? I can get in touch with you then to get you the details about getting the log books! My kids have done so very well with them - we saw huge changes in their A1Cs but that was mostly because they were keeping better track of things and then we could intervene better! Their endocrinologist was so pleased to see all their documentation! We have struggled with it for so long!

Anonymous said...

HI! could you sen me info about your log books? tbgolden@yahoo.com thank you!! Tara Golden

Christy O said...

Tara, I am sending you an email right now! Hope it is helpful!

TeamWinry said...

Hi can you please send me info on these log books my daughter was just diagnosised last sat she is 2yrs old and a very picky eater. The log book they gave me isn't enough room for notes or what she ate or anything. Thank you
Teamwinry@hotmail.com
megan

Unknown said...

Hi, I'm a mom of 2 diabetic girls and we would love 2! Email me at minidesi83@gmail.com