Good park snacks for new Type 1 Diabetic child

[Sprockie]

DD (12)was diagnosed in August and we are planning a 12 day trip to Florida including 4 days at Universal, Legoland, Gatorland etc. Could I hear from some diabetic Moms and Dads as to what are good ideas for snacks to pack for the parks? I know she'll likely be lower than usual due to all the activity, but I wondered if the smaller type of protein bars are a good choice to keep her more stable? Any other suggestions appreciated.

 

[buffettgirl]

DD (12)was diagnosed in August and we are planning a 12 day trip to Florida including 4 days at Universal, Legoland, Gatorland etc. Could I hear from some diabetic Moms and Dads as to what are good ideas for snacks to pack for the parks? I know she'll likely be lower than usual due to all the activity, but I wondered if the smaller type of protein bars are a good choice to keep her more stable? Any other suggestions appreciated.

Well, I"m a firm believer that Mickey Bars were put on the earth specifically for the purpose of being eaten at bedtime by kids with diabetes to prevent overnight lows from a day of walking/activity. They're the perfect fat/carb combination. Any ice cream is good though. And it's usually easy to find. Mostly, you want to look for anything in the park that is higher in fat than you'd usually eat. The fat will slow the absorption of the carbs. Obviously, protein is also good.

We generally do carry granola bars/protein bars with us for snacking during the day. They do help. We're not a big snack family so it just works well to stop, have a drink of water and a granola bar and be on our way.

 

[dsneygirl]

Food that is labelled and pre packaged was easier for me (like the little kiddie bag of grapes) so I knew the count (my DS is on a pump though). I also carried granola bars, goldfish and juice for lows. My DS was low way more than high from all the activity so he had a lot of freedom, we even shared a hot fudge sundae and I just let him have some without covering because I knew he would burn it off.

Good luck. Our first trip post dx was very hard and we were WDW veterans. Test way more than usual.

 

[ttintagel]

I'm an adult Type 1, but I always carry granola bars in the parks.

 

[buffettgirl]

I just remembered a few other things that we always travel with; my son loves cashews or peanuts, and those are really easy to find in single serve bags. The benefit is that we generally don't have to give insulin for them (unless they're honey roasted), but they're so loaded with protein they're a good snack for maintaining.

We also generally have PB crackers with us too. (or cheese crackers) but the PB crackers work better.

 

[Talking Hands]

I can't have a Mickey Bar due to allergies but usually get a scoop of Tofutti. I usually carry some peanut butter crackers or oreos with me. Occasionally I will share a lemonade with my husband. Adult type 1

 

[Sprockie]

So it sounds like a good supply of low GI foods for snacking would be a good idea - peanuts, cashews, things with more fat than usual ie chocolate covered ice cream bars (she'll be so disappointed), granola bars, fibre 1 bars, protein bars, peanut butter crackers, popcorn etc. are good ideas.
Thanks everyone.

 

[buffettgirl]

So it sounds like a good supply of low GI foods for snacking would be a good idea - peanuts, cashews, things with more fat than usual ie chocolate covered ice cream bars (she'll be so disappointed), granola bars, fibre 1 bars, protein bars, peanut butter crackers, popcorn etc. are good ideas.
Thanks everyone.

I know, the mickey bars will be so hard for her to choke down. Enjoy your trip.

 

[kt_mom]

I'm also a parent of a newly diagnosed type 1 child. DD10 was diagnosed in September and we went to Disney in December. She did great and we didn't have any serious issues all week. Except I will say, she did not run low like others have. In fact she ran higher all week, especially overnight.

We had to increase her Lantus and her mealtime ratios. The big highs were overnight but even during the day she was higher than normal. Nighttime highs were much harder to bring down too.

The buffets were my biggest fear and they worked out okay. We just did insulin for each plate of food.

She did have one bad low after dinner at Ohana. I think it was a mix of incorrect carb counts on our part and slow digestion. She ended up spiking to almost 300 later that evening.

We didn't carry anything special for snacks, just her airheads and some pb crackers for treating and we didn't really need them much. She snacked on the normal stuff she would have gotten in previous years like popcorn or icecream.

She loves those plastic tubes you fill with the flavored sugar or whatever it is and we did have her skip that this year and we've cut out regular soda. But other than that she enjoyed everything she has in the past.

 

[buffettgirl]

I'm also a parent of a newly diagnosed type 1 child. DD10 was diagnosed in September and we went to Disney in December. She did great and we didn't have any serious issues all week. Except I will say, she did not run low like others have. In fact she ran higher all week, especially overnight.

We had to increase her Lantus and her mealtime ratios. The big highs were overnight but even during the day she was higher than normal. Nighttime highs were much harder to bring down too.

The buffets were my biggest fear and they worked out okay. We just did insulin for each plate of food.

She did have one bad low after dinner at Ohana. I think it was a mix of incorrect carb counts on our part and slow digestion. She ended up spiking to almost 300 later that evening.

We didn't carry anything special for snacks, just her airheads and some pb crackers for treating and we didn't really need them much. She snacked on the normal stuff she would have gotten in previous years like popcorn or icecream.

She loves those plastic tubes you fill with the flavored sugar or whatever it is and we did have her skip that this year and we've cut out regular soda. But other than that she enjoyed everything she has in the past.

That's typical restaurant food behavior for us, even at home. Restaurant foods are generally prepared with a lot more fat than you would at home and the fat spikes blood sugars hours and hours later, and is ridiculously hard to bring down. But, sometimes I also think that works to our benefit at disney as well, (like the mickey bars) sometimes it bites us in the butt though.

The important thing for the OP is to test and test and test , especially at night, because you just don't know what your child will experience.

 

[kt_mom]

That's typical restaurant food behavior for us, even at home. Restaurant foods are generally prepared with a lot more fat than you would at home and the fat spikes blood sugars hours and hours later, and is ridiculously hard to bring down. But, sometimes I also think that works to our benefit at disney as well, (like the mickey bars) sometimes it bites us in the butt though.

The important thing for the OP is to test and test and test , especially at night, because you just don't know what your child will experience.

That's definitely the key. We tested a lot and I tested extra at night since I was treating almost every night. But it was easy enough because she was right next to me. We quickly figured out that she was going to run high rather than low and were able to do our best to work around that and we had just as much fun as we always do!

 

[buffettgirl]

That's definitely the key. We tested a lot and I tested extra at night since I was treating almost every night. But it was easy enough because she was right next to me. We quickly figured out that she was going to run high rather than low and were able to do our best to work around that and
we had just as much fun as we always do!

no, THAT's the key.

 

[dsneygirl]

That's definitely the key. We tested a lot and I tested extra at night since I was treating almost every night. But it was easy enough because she was right next to me. We quickly figured out that she was going to run high rather than low and were able to do our best to work around that and we had just as much fun as we always do!

Yep! My son was dx in Feb and we were supposed to go 6 weeks later in April. That was just too soon for me (he was also only 15 months old) we went in Sept and the cruise in Dec. It was still a lot of hard work (for us) but he had a ball. It is hard to manage every day I might as well be at Disney!

OP~I see you are from Canada make sure you have lots and lots of supplies and bring everything in your carryon. You many have difficulty finding the same brands and at a huge $$$. I packed double what I normally use to be sure. We tested 10-12 times a day.

 

[Sprockie]

We'll be testing lots for sure. We test a minimum of 6 times a day now and we'll be testing more in Florida. Thankfully, we have rented a house so we will be doing some cooking and try to keep some resemblance of home life and schedule.
Buffets would be my biggest fear for sure.
I guess I will just accept the fact that if she runs high off and on through the holiday, it will be okay. I'd rather her run a bit high than over compensate and go low. Being a newbie, I over estimated her insulin a few weeks ago (I swear the nutritional info was wrong on these egg noodles and I also combined it with a correction dose to bring her down and didn't factor in the low gi of pasta) and she ended up dropping about 10 points in 45 minutes (that's in mmol). She was 5.3 when she tested, but heading lower fast. With any luck, by next family vacation she will have a pump.

 

[buffettgirl]

We'll be testing lots for sure. We test a minimum of 6 times a day now and we'll be testing more in Florida. Thankfully, we have rented a house so we will be doing some cooking and try to keep some resemblance of home life and schedule.
Buffets would be my biggest fear for sure.
I guess I will just accept the fact that if she runs high off and on through the holiday, it will be okay. I'd rather her run a bit high than over compensate and go low. Being a newbie, I over estimated her insulin a few weeks ago (I swear the nutritional info was wrong on these egg noodles and I also combined it with a correction dose to bring her down and didn't factor in the low gi of pasta) and she ended up dropping about 10 points in 45 minutes (that's in mmol). She was 5.3 when she tested, but heading lower fast. With any luck, by next family vacation she will have a pump.

Don't beat yourself up - we all do it. We've been at this since 2005 and I have days where I think, "really? why is this working this way??? It shouldn't work this way, what the eff did I do wrong???" And it's usually surrounding pasta LOL. Pumps are great for pasta, don't get me wrong, fantastic.

But it's hard and imperfect being the sole provider of a vital hormone that is influenced and has influence over so many other parts of a growing child's body.

 

[Sprockie]

You know, what I find is one of the biggest challenges is timing of insulin. I have tried giving insulin after she eats (that way I know how much of something she's had), but it usually ends up with a post meal spike that's stubborn to get down. I can imagine that younger children are even more of a challenge to match insulin to what they actually eat/drink.

 

[Couchy]

If your insurance will cover it look into a continuous glucose monitor. It is so helpful to be walking around the park and literally know every minute what your sugar level is and if it is trending up or down or holding steady

 

[Sprockie]

If your insurance will cover it look into a continuous glucose monitor. It is so helpful to be walking around the park and literally know every minute what your sugar level is and if it is trending up or down or holding steady

Not a bad idea. I have just emailed our diabetic educator to see if they supply "loaners" for such a purpose. Thanks for the tip.

 

[buffettgirl]

You know, what I find is one of the biggest challenges is timing of insulin. I have tried giving insulin after she eats (that way I know how much of something she's had), but it usually ends up with a post meal spike that's stubborn to get down. I can imagine that younger children are even more of a challenge to match insulin to what they actually eat/drink.

It's a challenge, for sure.

If your insurance will cover it look into a continuous glucose monitor. It is so helpful to be walking around the park and literally know every minute what your sugar level is and if it is trending up or down or holding steady

and I double ditto this. We've been using a Dexcom G4 for a year now, and i can honestly say that it's totally changed how we "do" diabetes.

I'm not sure that they're as easily available in Canada though. They may just have been approved.

 

[Sprockie]

Yes, I just checked - we can't get one of those at this point.
We'll have a pump by next fall with any luck though, so that's a bonus. Next winter is a cruise, so every meal will be a challenge!

It's a challenge, for sure.



and I double ditto this. We've been using a Dexcom G4 for a year now, and i can honestly say that it's totally changed how we "do" diabetes.

I'm not sure that they're as easily available in Canada though. They may just have been approved.