It’s 3am. Do you know what your child’s blood sugar is?

Cell phones. What a great thing to have, right? Whether I am using it to follow her blood sugar over Dexcom, or just as a way for her to reach me quickly, I try to keep the phone on and nearby, even at night. Unlike most people, us T1D moms can’t really turn the phone off at night for a good night’s sleep. If you are like me, its the most convenient way to stay in touch with your kid, especially when an emergency strikes. Nobody told me what life would be like when that phone goes off regularly in the middle of the night.

The threat of the cell phone going off at night contributes to so many sleepless nights with this disease. I mean, I try to sleep. I really do. Maybe I had an exhausting day at work, and my eyes close as soon as my head hits the pillow. I promise you, its those nights when my phone rings. I’m sorry to say, the first thought going through my mind is “you have got to be kidding me”. The shear dread of dragging my lazy butt out of bed. “Mom, I..I…I…I’m low”. That’s all that needs to happen, and exhaustion be damned, I’m up. Across the house, trying to not wake the dogs – who will of course need to pee because someone is awake. Silently in the fridge, tear the straw open, poke it through, bend the top back so it doesn’t get in the way, slide into her room and put the straw in her mouth. Oh yeah, and grab a pack of fruit snacks on the way because a low means immediate hunger.

Check the number. 41. Greeaaatttt. Just take the sugar, I know its late. Take the sugar, I will be back in 15 minutes to check again. Trudge to the couch, grab a blanket, set a timer. If I could just close my eyes for a couple minutes. Alarm goes off. Check the number. 65. Better but not there yet. Turkey sandwich at 3am? Sure. I’ll make it while you finish this next juice. Set the timer, 15 more minutes. Let barking dogs out.

Check the number. 125. Should we dose for that sandwich? Maybe. Settle on dosing for half. Check again in an hour to see if correction is needed. Hit the couch. Set the timer. Just rest my eyes for a couple minutes, I just need a couple minutes. Alarm goes off. 215 and rising. Correct with insulin. Go back to bed.

8am. Alarm goes off. Check the number….