Over the past month or so, Bob and I noticed that Rachel seems to soak her diaper up about two times faster than Sophia and Morgan. She also drinks more juice and milk than they do. It's not unusual for her to finish her sippy of juice and then go looking to steal one of her sister's. She will often finish theirs once they've put it down for a moment.
I didn't really think anything of this until a friend of mine was talking about the symptoms of type 1 diabetes because her daughter has it. Frequent urination and thirst were just a couple of the symptoms that caught my attention. Bob's brother has diabetes and was diagnosed when he was 3 years old. So knowing that it's in our family and then learning some of the early signs, we decided to have Rachel screened for it. Her pediatrician agreed, but also wasn't very worried about it since children with diabetes tend to have a big appetite, and we all know Rachel does not!
So yesterday was the day for the test. It was supposed to be a simple urine test. It turned out to be anything but simple. Imagine collecting a urine sample from an active toddler still in diapers! They have these toddler urine collection bags that stick onto them under their diaper. It's supposed to catch all the pee pee!
I decided that since my sister was coming over to help me yesterday morning, I'd go ahead and attach a bag to Rachel and take it in while my sister watched the girls. That plan failed because when I went to remove the bag, it had leaked out all over her diaper. I decided to put another bag on her and then load everyone up in the van while giving them juice sippy cups to drink. I figured Rachel would pee again by the time we got to the lab. My plan was to have my sister sit in the van with the girls while I ran the um, sample, inside. I didn't want to just take Rachel alone with me because I didn't want to have to deal with strollers or carrying them and such.
Rachel downed about 10 ounces of juice by the time we took the ten minute drive to the lab, but she still hadn't gone pee. I decided to make a Starbucks run while we waited, so off we went. At least another 20 minutes went by.......and Rachel was still dry. I picked up more juice while I was at Starbucks, so the girls were drinking a lot. Sophia and Morgan both needed their diapers changed....but not Rachel! We sat around in the parking lot at the lab just waiting, and waiting.....and waiting. 11:30 starts to roll around and the girls were getting hungry. I didn't plan the morning well at all. I thought we'd for sure be home in time for lunch. I didn't have any food for the girls other than some bunny graham crackers. So off we went to the nearest drive thru and picked up some very healthy nuggets and fries. Oh and milk. At least milk is healthy! Rachel only ate the crackers. I felt bad, but she loves those crackers and was a happy camper.
I can't say the same for me. I tend to get all freaked out when we are off schedule, and we were certainly off schedule. I was winging it for sure. I couldn't believe that it had turned into such an ordeal just to get a urine sample. Rachel simply would not pee!
I knew the lab closed at 1pm for lunch. By about 12:15, I got into desperate mode. We had made it so far, and I wasn't about to give up. I was out of juice and almost out of my sanity.......We took one last little trip to a grocery store to get some more to drink and to pick up some "Rachel approved" food. It was all pretty much pointless though. We got back over to the lab about 10 minutes before 1pm and Rachel still was dry as can be. She probably drank over 18 ounces of juice and water too. I decided to just give up. I went into the lab and picked up a couple more urine bags so that I could keep trying. I figured that if I actually got anything that day, I'd just run it back over to the lab after the girls' nap. They were all in serious meltdown mode anyway since they are usually in bed by 12:30 every afternoon. It was so frustrating.
Wouldn't you know that Rachel peed on the way home, but most of that leaked out too! UGH! I ended up putting yet another bag on her (this time attached it WAY too far up her poor little behind) and sending her to bed like that. I was determined for it not to leak. When she woke up from nap, I finally got a good enough sample to take in. I learned a good lesson. Only put one of these things on an active toddler when they are going to be SLEEPING! My sister had gone home when the girls went down for nap, so I was on my own getting this sample back to the lab.
It was just one of those crazy days where I felt so stressed out just trying to get this done. When you add three toddlers to the mix, it's never simple! At least the lab techs got a good laugh at/with me. I came in pushing this giant stroller, three toddlers, and holding a bag of pee! The girls looked like hot little messes too. I was in such a hurry to get out of the house that I didn't bother to brush their bed head hair and none of them had shoes. We looked a little bit ghetto. lol.....
It was all worth it. About an hour after we got back home, I got an email from Rachel's doctor. The test for diabetes came back negative! She's as healthy as can be! I'm glad we went through the trouble of getting her tested though. Now I can breathe a little easier and I don't have to worry about why she soaks her diapers so quickly. I think she drinks a lot because the girl doesn't like food!
So yeah..... It was a definitely a wine day!
Rachel downed about 10 ounces of juice by the time we took the ten minute drive to the lab, but she still hadn't gone pee. I decided to make a Starbucks run while we waited, so off we went. At least another 20 minutes went by.......and Rachel was still dry. I picked up more juice while I was at Starbucks, so the girls were drinking a lot. Sophia and Morgan both needed their diapers changed....but not Rachel! We sat around in the parking lot at the lab just waiting, and waiting.....and waiting. 11:30 starts to roll around and the girls were getting hungry. I didn't plan the morning well at all. I thought we'd for sure be home in time for lunch. I didn't have any food for the girls other than some bunny graham crackers. So off we went to the nearest drive thru and picked up some very healthy nuggets and fries. Oh and milk. At least milk is healthy! Rachel only ate the crackers. I felt bad, but she loves those crackers and was a happy camper.
I can't say the same for me. I tend to get all freaked out when we are off schedule, and we were certainly off schedule. I was winging it for sure. I couldn't believe that it had turned into such an ordeal just to get a urine sample. Rachel simply would not pee!
I knew the lab closed at 1pm for lunch. By about 12:15, I got into desperate mode. We had made it so far, and I wasn't about to give up. I was out of juice and almost out of my sanity.......We took one last little trip to a grocery store to get some more to drink and to pick up some "Rachel approved" food. It was all pretty much pointless though. We got back over to the lab about 10 minutes before 1pm and Rachel still was dry as can be. She probably drank over 18 ounces of juice and water too. I decided to just give up. I went into the lab and picked up a couple more urine bags so that I could keep trying. I figured that if I actually got anything that day, I'd just run it back over to the lab after the girls' nap. They were all in serious meltdown mode anyway since they are usually in bed by 12:30 every afternoon. It was so frustrating.
Wouldn't you know that Rachel peed on the way home, but most of that leaked out too! UGH! I ended up putting yet another bag on her (this time attached it WAY too far up her poor little behind) and sending her to bed like that. I was determined for it not to leak. When she woke up from nap, I finally got a good enough sample to take in. I learned a good lesson. Only put one of these things on an active toddler when they are going to be SLEEPING! My sister had gone home when the girls went down for nap, so I was on my own getting this sample back to the lab.
It was just one of those crazy days where I felt so stressed out just trying to get this done. When you add three toddlers to the mix, it's never simple! At least the lab techs got a good laugh at/with me. I came in pushing this giant stroller, three toddlers, and holding a bag of pee! The girls looked like hot little messes too. I was in such a hurry to get out of the house that I didn't bother to brush their bed head hair and none of them had shoes. We looked a little bit ghetto. lol.....
It was all worth it. About an hour after we got back home, I got an email from Rachel's doctor. The test for diabetes came back negative! She's as healthy as can be! I'm glad we went through the trouble of getting her tested though. Now I can breathe a little easier and I don't have to worry about why she soaks her diapers so quickly. I think she drinks a lot because the girl doesn't like food!
So yeah..... It was a definitely a wine day!
You're obsessed with pee, I'm obsessed with poop. This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
ReplyDelete