2 year old newly diagnosed Type 1. I need help with menu ideas!

My 2 yr old is an identical twin and 4 days ago was diagnosed with Type 1. He is on a 1500 calorie diabetic diet (which I thought kind of high but I am not the expert) and he is supposed to get 30-45grams of carbs per meal! 15 grams per snack!

I am probably OVER analyzing things with him being newly diagnosed but I am having a REALLY hard time planning out a menu to make sure he gets his 30-45 Grams per meal!

I am looking for QUICK or EASY ideas because I do have twins and our day stays hectic!

Also any tricks, tips or advice from someone who has been there and done that with a toddler is greatly appreciate it!

[Forum-vol-wak]

I am not a physician or a nutritionist; I would suggest you contact a nutritionist. before you go make a list of the foods that your kids like to eat.  This way the nutritionist can add them in to your meal plan.  Most insurance will cove the visit to the nutritionist for diabetics.  We had the problem of our daughter was not a big eater; she ate a variety but not a lot of food.  A nutritionist definitely helped us.

I hope this helps
.

[M]

Hi my son was diagnosed in march of 07.  He will be three on Oct. 1st.  Are you sure they told you your child has to eat 30-45 grams of food or did they tell you your child had to have so many units of insulin per 30-45 grams of food?  My son has to have 1 unit of insulin (novolog) per every 45 grams of carbs he eats. IF he does not eat the full 45 grams he does not need the unit.  I usually wait until after he eats before giving him insulin because toddlers are so finicky they may not eat all of what you have measured out.  HE is also on a slinding scale.

It is soooooooo trial and error with toddlers!!!!  Believe me your toddler will have  good days and bad days good weeks and bad weeks but YOU have to stay strong or you will get so stressed out and begin worrying about your child etc.  It is not easy but at least it is manageable.  Just make sure you have good family support and if you are married PLEASE make sure your husband is just as educated as you are about this trust me if you have a help mate put him to use!!!!  MAke sure he knows how to give your child the shots and keep him informed about the slinding scales etc because they will change!!  Your child will also go through whats called a honeymoon stage ask your endocrinologist about this.  THis stage is like HEAVEN!!  It may last months to years depending on your child.  My sons lasted about two months now the going is tough but we are managing.  
Good luck!!!  

[duped]

Carbs are what everyone in America is used to eating. The problem is usually restricting carbs, not finding them.  Anything with grain, starch, or fructose will have carbs -- that is all breads and starchy veggies like potatoes (usually the effect of spuds is a high a spike on blood glucose so take care) and fruits of all types.  I find that blackberries will send me sky high where a certain type of cookie or candy will not.  Trial and error is in order -- but pasta (like spaghetti or mac & cheese) and sandwiches and chili and milk all provide lots of carbs - and amount of carbs depends on size of portion.  I think most pastas are 40 grams of carbs and breads are about 20 per slice and chili is definitely 60 grams for a cup/bowl and milk is 18 grams per cup.  Get a carb counter -- carb dieting has resulted in lots of counters on the market.  The amount of fat will affect blood sugar too - for every 20 grams of fat you need to add a little insulin to the formula probably, but you can basically just concentrate on carbs (fruit, breads/cereals/peas/milk/ice cream) and make sure to provide lots of protein and the rest of the good diet stuff like veggies.  Hope this helps.    

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

I personally would ask the doctor why she is putting him on NPH instead of on Lantus. I was on NPH for over 20 years as I grew up, and the odd peak times of this kind of insulin force you to feed the peaks. When the newer 24-hour Lantus was made available to diabetics, I switched and life is much easier now. The Lantus offers a base dose for about a day, with minimal peaks. The child then has to take a shot before every meal but the shot can be given immediately after he eats -- the mom watches carefully to see how many carbs he consumed and then figures the dosage out based on what he ate. The reasoning for using NPH instead of Lantus may be because more shots are needed with the Lantus. Maybe the doctor feels that it is easier for the mom and the toddler to not have to deal with more shots. But having to force-feed him may be harder for you than to deal with a few more quick injections.

If your doctor can't give you a good reason for using this older type of insulin, I truly would go to another endocrinologist for a second opinion just to weigh the options.

[OneTwinwithJD]

He is not on the isulin to carb dosing.

He currently gets with breakfast 4 units of NPH and 2 units of Novolog plus the sliding scale.

He gets with Dinner 1 unit of Novolog plus the sliding scale.

At bedime he gets 1 unit of NPH

If his sugar is above 250 at the 4am check he gets 1 unit of Novolog.

They said that he is in the honeymoon stage now and I don't know if that has anything to do with it but the last 2 days have been HECK.

His sugars are running low. She is supposed to call this morning about changing his dosing. She said evenutally he will be able to go to the insulin to carb dosing but not now.

I have figured out if he does not eat every 2 hours his sugar goes low. Is that normal? I feel like I am over feeding him.

Also he has NO symptoms as of now of low sugar so thats REALLY scary.
Thanks for the info and all the suggestions. It is GREATLY appreciated!

[M]

HI Again!!
I agree ask your Dr. about Lantus.  My son was started on Lantus and Novolog. The Lantus helps so that if you toddler is not a big eater that day ( it will vary) then you dont feel like you have to make him eat!!
Dont worry my son is still VERY active when he is Low and VERY active when he is high.  The  best way to tell is by looking at their eyes.  His eyes will weaken and sometimes he seems like he cannot focus therefore i know something is going one whether he is high or low!!
Sound like you are going through the same thing i went through and still am!!!  
My son is running high now.  It seems there is not inbetween either low or high!! First thing this morning he was 415!!!  If you need some support or have any questions you can email me at ***@**** i know what you are going through!!!
MM