Yesterday I received a package from Medtronic Minimed who is the manufacturer of my insulin pump. Minimed offers these sweet Pump Skins that are basically stickers that fit around your pump to give it some "style" and "personalization." (READ MORE)

I was talking recently with a friend of ours whose twelve year old daughter was just diagnosed with type 1. As much as I love my friend, her attitude toward her daughter and her daughter's diabetes scared me a little. She uses the phrase "It's that simple," quite a bit. For example, she recently informed me that she told her daughter 'Sit your butt in the chair and test your bloodsugar. You have to do it - it's that simple.' She continued by telling me that crying about diabetes is not tolerated in her house. (READ MORE)

With a few weeks to go still until the baby gets here, I feel like I'm really starting to get some parts of motherhood down. Particularly the worry part.

I worry when my blood sugar is high, I worry if it's low. I worry if he's not moving around much and if he's moving around too much, I worry that he'll be a hyperactive little boy and I won't be able to handle it.

In addition to the concerns surrounding the effect my diabetes could have on the baby, I encounter the regular mommy worries, too. I want him to be healthy and happy. And to grow up to make a difference in this crazy world.

But like many of my diabetic mommy friends, one thing I worry about most is passing diabetes on to my child. Sure, there are a lot worse things that could happen to him out in the world, but living with diabetes day in and day out is something I'd rather not have for my son. (READ MORE)

In honor of National Diabetes Month, Abbott Diabetes Care is running a special series of web-based chat sessions with parents of kids with diabetes in mind. Children With Diabetes founder Jeff Hitchcock and Caring for a Child with Diabetes author Brenda Novak are featured guests You can pre-register for these November events over at the Abbott website. (READ MORE)

Because I was diagnosed at age 14, I can only speak about not having diabetes from the perspective of a child. I lived 14 years free of diabetes. As a young kid, I did experience a few random episodes of hypoglycemia, but never did I imagine myself becoming a person with diabetes. I didn't even know what the word was. I remember one distinct conversation that I had with a friend's mom. She was talking to me about a guy that we both knew named Curtis. Curtis was a soccer referee and before I knew about my diagnosis, I remember her telling me that he was, "a diabetic and that he had to take shots everyday". Looking back I can remember my exact feelings and reaction to this. (READ MORE)

Sometimes I lose sight of Charlie, the 5-year-old. I see Sir Charles the Brave, a courageous warrior whose calloused fingers have shed blood across many a battlefield. The boy who fears nothing.

Like many of our young children with diabetes, checking blood sugars is just a brief pit stop. It's no big deal. Nary a wince or a whine.

In the few times I've checked my own blood sugar, I didn't show nearly the same nonchalance as Charlie does. I jerk my finger back after the pop of the pricker like I'm pulling it from a fire. I contortion my hand oddly like I'm practicing to throw a knuckle ball. Neighboring fingers spread away from the bloody one like it's contagious. Then I nurse my finger. A couple tender kisses, a tightly compressed tissue and close inspection of the prick mark several minutes later. I'm a grown man. How is it possible that my 5-year-old handles it better than me? (READ MORE)