When my husband and I decided to start a family, we knew my diabetes would be an issue. As a health writer, I spent months researching the topic before actually getting down to work. I read every book on the subject and followed every internet link. I figured I know just about everything there is to know to be prepared for the nine months ahead.

For the most part, I take great care of myself-too good if you ask some of my doctors-yet all of my research and obsessive control could never prepare me for the challenges of a diabetic pregnancy.

That's why I'm so grateful to have found a website devote entirely to women like me. On the forums at Diabetic Mommy, women of all types of diabetes in all stages of motherhood from all over the world share wisdom, advice, laughter and tears with one another.

Log on at almost any time of the day or night and you'll find someone there to answer your questions, share their experiences or celebrate your successes. The discussions center around so much more than just disease management. There are chats about feeding a finicky toddler, vents about pump sites gone bad and props for a great a1c.

And, of course, there are threads on all aspects of pregnancy and diabetes. The real life stuff that you can't find in books, like what weeks to expect lows and when insulin resistance will kick in or the extra tests pregnant diabetic women undergo and reasons why the doctor might insist on a C-section at 38 weeks.

No matter what I am going through on any given day with my pregnancy and my disease, I am able to get through it with the help of my Diabetic Mommy friends. To me, they are priceless.