Good park snacks for new Type 1 Diabetic child

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!


My DS went on a pump at 18 months and I cannot have imagine doing WDW or the cruise last month without eat. We basically let him eat anything he wanted. It has been a game changer.


I brought my scale with me everywhere and weighed a lot especially at buffets (bread, fruit etc) Calorie King is a really good book as well.

You can longer pack light for the parks. I always had lots of supplies, juice, scale etc in the diaper bag.

Good luck and have fun!
 
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!
Well, if there is any consolation, in a year you'll feel like it's all pretty normal. Trust me on this, it won't feel as overwhelming as it does right now. It just gets easier and easier. The work is still the same, but you just get so much better at it. I can look at food now and do a pretty good WAG (wild *** guess) on carbs but it's because we've had a lot of practice. In the beginning you feel like it's always going to be such a guessing game. But you just get better. It's a skill.

My DS went on a pump at 18 months and I cannot have imagine doing WDW or the cruise last month without eat. We basically let him eat anything he wanted. It has been a game changer.


I brought my scale with me everywhere and weighed a lot especially at buffets (bread, fruit etc) Calorie King is a really good book as well.

You can longer pack light for the parks. I always had lots of supplies, juice, scale etc in the diaper bag.

Good luck and have fun!
yep, we brought a travel scale with us on our first vacations. It was so helpful. It was a PITA, but it was the only way we could do it and feel comfortable.

But the biggest thing - just go on vacation. Every time you do it, you'll be more comfortable with it. And you're teaching your child that life does go on. :)
 
My DS went on a pump at 18 months and I cannot have imagine doing WDW or the cruise last month without eat. We basically let him eat anything he wanted. It has been a game changer.


I brought my scale with me everywhere and weighed a lot especially at buffets (bread, fruit etc) Calorie King is a really good book as well.

You can longer pack light for the parks. I always had lots of supplies, juice, scale etc in the diaper bag.

Good luck and have fun!

Thank you. I just bought a pocket scale - likely bought mostly by dope dealers, but it will be great for travelling and also just bought the Calorie King book. We have a ROAM mobility card with data, so we can also look up carb counts on my phone. I also just bought a "lumbar" pack because I hear you can't bring backpacks on rides at Universal. The lumbar pack is the size of a medium sized purse with two bottles for water. It's a perfect size for all sorts of supplies and snack.
 
But the biggest thing - just go on vacation. Every time you do it, you'll be more comfortable with it. And you're teaching your child that life does go on. :)

That's exactly true.
We have a really positive spin on things and plan to continue that way. The way we see it, it could be a lot worse than diabetes. Having diabetes is sometimes a pain, but looking at the overall picture, it's just an inconvenience. It's lifelong, so we think it's kind of pointless to curse it and feel negatively about such a significant part of your life.
Thanks everyone for your advice. It's been very helpful.
 

I found this thread helpful!! My ds8 was diagnosed end of nov. we are headed to the world on sat. No pump, no monitor. Just a lot of poking! Ill have to make sure I have double my test strips after reading this!!

We are on the dining plan so I was not planning on packing a lot of snacks. should I re-think that?

Are there other threads about type 1 & disney vacations here?

I called Disney and asked for the carb counts of the food they serve. She gave me a website. I just went there and there is nothing on the site she gave me with carb counts? Surely Disney would post that some where right?
 
I found this thread helpful!! My ds8 was diagnosed end of nov. we are headed to the world on sat. No pump, no monitor. Just a lot of poking! Ill have to make sure I have double my test strips after reading this!!

We are on the dining plan so I was not planning on packing a lot of snacks. should I re-think that?

Are there other threads about type 1 & disney vacations here?

I called Disney and asked for the carb counts of the food they serve. She gave me a website. I just went there and there is nothing on the site she gave me with carb counts? Surely Disney would post that some where right?

I took the advice I've gathered from here and bought a small travel food scale and the Calorie King pocket guide. I also have data on my phone so I can look things up.
I was stressing about it and these wise words came from our diabetic educator..........."Do the best you can, don't worry about it, make sure you have lots of fun and get back on track when you return home".
Best of luck. Please report back on this thread to let us know how things went. Have a great time.
 
I found this thread helpful!! My ds8 was diagnosed end of nov. we are headed to the world on sat. No pump, no monitor. Just a lot of poking! Ill have to make sure I have double my test strips after reading this!!

We are on the dining plan so I was not planning on packing a lot of snacks. should I re-think that?

Are there other threads about type 1 & disney vacations here?

I called Disney and asked for the carb counts of the food they serve. She gave me a website. I just went there and there is nothing on the site she gave me with carb counts? Surely Disney would post that some where right?

in Sue's stickie at the top of the forum she lists lots of other threads that you might find useful. Otherwise, utilize the search feature.

Disney does not provide the carb counts of foods unless they're packaged foods and those things you can ask when you order them (but it's pretty limited) Your best bet is to get a Calorie King book, or get an app for your phone. Many new families also like to bring small travel scales with them.

I would absolutely make sure you bring some of your own snacks as emergency. You cannot guarantee that you'd get the snack you need, at the moment you need it otherwise. You can still do the dining plan if that suits you, but I would make sure you have your own items for an emergency.

Always carry your own quick acting sugar - either glucose tabs or something similar. Again, you can't guarantee you'd be able to get what you need otherwise.

Good luck. YOu'll do great.
 
/
I found this thread helpful!! My ds8 was diagnosed end of nov. we are headed to the world on sat. No pump, no monitor. Just a lot of poking! Ill have to make sure I have double my test strips after reading this!!

We are on the dining plan so I was not planning on packing a lot of snacks. should I re-think that?

Are there other threads about type 1 & disney vacations here?

I called Disney and asked for the carb counts of the food they serve. She gave me a website. I just went there and there is nothing on the site she gave me with carb counts? Surely Disney would post that some where right?

We didn't pack extra snacks. I did bring plenty of her fast acting sugar though in case she had a problem in line or on a ride. We use mini airheads or smarties depending on how low she is.

We bought her a cute Mickey cross body bag when we got there so she could carry her supplies herself. We kept having to pass my bag off if she rode a ride with DH and I stayed with DS or something.

For carb counting I used the calorie king app on my phone and tried to match up as best as possible. We didn't carry a scale or anything and did our best to eyeball things. At the buffets we counted carbs by plate as opposed to trying to do the whole meal at once. It did mean an extra shot for seconds but she is on the pens so that made it a little easier. To make things easier I looked up some of the things I knew she would want like waffles and syrup or donuts, and saved the carbs in the notes on my phone so we had it handy right away and didn't have to spend 10 minutes looking up foods.

We had a great time and it didn't really have a negative impact on our trip at all. Some things took a little extra time but overall it was pretty easy.
 
in Sue's stickie at the top of the forum she lists lots of other threads that you might find useful. Otherwise, utilize the search feature.

Disney does not provide the carb counts of foods unless they're packaged foods and those things you can ask when you order them (but it's pretty limited) Your best bet is to get a Calorie King book, or get an app for your phone. Many new families also like to bring small travel scales with them.

I would absolutely make sure you bring some of your own snacks as emergency. You cannot guarantee that you'd get the snack you need, at the moment you need it otherwise. You can still do the dining plan if that suits you, but I would make sure you have your own items for an emergency.

Always carry your own quick acting sugar - either glucose tabs or something similar. Again, you can't guarantee you'd be able to get what you need otherwise.

Good luck. YOu'll do great.

Calorie King is a great read - definitely recommend it. As many others have stated - you have to carry some snacks in case of emergencies. To counter hypoglycemia, you can use glucose tablets that fit your backpack or purse, or glucose shots. Preparation is key to enjoyment!
 
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

My husband just got a Dexcom one. Love it! They say the sensors last for 7 days but he can go for weeks still accurate as ever on one.
 
My husband just got a Dexcom one. Love it! They say the sensors last for 7 days but he can go for weeks still accurate as ever on one.

we routinely get 14 days out of one G4 sensor. LOVE that thing. Best diabetes thing ever.
 
We just started on the dexcom a few weeks ago. We reset the first sensor and were on day 9 I think and DS was messing with DD and knocked the sensor off!

The next sensor failed right away and we had to put on another one. Its been on for 9 days and going strong.

Dexcom customer service is top notch too. I called about the failed sensor on a Monday morning and they shipped a new one out. It was on my porch the next afternoon when I got home.
 
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.


How has it "changed" the way you do diabetes? You still have to prick your finger with the monitor right?
 
I took the advice I've gathered from here and bought a small travel food scale and the Calorie King pocket guide. I also have data on my phone so I can look things up.
I was stressing about it and these wise words came from our diabetic educator..........."Do the best you can, don't worry about it, make sure you have lots of fun and get back on track when you return home".
Best of luck. Please report back on this thread to let us know how things went. Have a great time.

Here is a quick report.... We had fun & it was easier than I thought. My boy ran high the entire time which surprised me. The only time it seems his insulin worked well was swimming. I did not like all the "guessing" on carb counts. I wish Disney would step up & give us some kind of guide based on each restaurant. Might be why we ran high if I was way off.... At any rate .... We made it!!! & it was great! On to planning our next trip ;)
 
How has it "changed" the way you do diabetes? You still have to prick your finger with the monitor right?

you do have to still check but not nearly as much. For us, it allows us to modify insulin on the fly, without having to recheck all the time. So tonight is a perfect example. My son went into dinner a bit on the lower side, and I tailored his dose based on that, and it was also a pasta based dish, so I picked a combo bolus that usually works for us and now I just watch the CGM to see what's happening. If I start seeing a sharp rise , or a sharp dropping soon, I will know without checking that I need to modify something - either an additional snack, a temp basal, or a correction. I can comfortably do all that without ever checking him again. At night it's fabulous too. I can let him ride much lower than I'd allow otherwise knowing that if he begins to drop too much our CGM will alarm at 90 to let me know to check..and react. Otherwise, the CGM allows me to sleep. Blissful, blissful sleep. I hadn't slept a full night in 7 years until we got this.

There are a lot more reasons why I love it, but compared to our old method of "check...wait...check....wait...react when it's too late", this is so much better.
 
you do have to still check but not nearly as much. For us, it allows us to modify insulin on the fly, without having to recheck all the time. So tonight is a perfect example. My son went into dinner a bit on the lower side, and I tailored his dose based on that, and it was also a pasta based dish, so I picked a combo bolus that usually works for us and now I just watch the CGM to see what's happening. If I start seeing a sharp rise , or a sharp dropping soon, I will know without checking that I need to modify something - either an additional snack, a temp basal, or a correction. I can comfortably do all that without ever checking him again. At night it's fabulous too. I can let him ride much lower than I'd allow otherwise knowing that if he begins to drop too much our CGM will alarm at 90 to let me know to check..and react. Otherwise, the CGM allows me to sleep. Blissful, blissful sleep. I hadn't slept a full night in 7 years until we got this.

There are a lot more reasons why I love it, but compared to our old method of "check...wait...check....wait...react when it's too late", this is so much better.


Sounds like heaven!!! I allow him to run high because we generally have no idea! He bounces high to low like a bouncy ball!!! Especially at night, if he's not high I'm up every 2 hours checking him!
 
Sounds like heaven!!! I allow him to run high because we generally have no idea! He bounces high to low like a bouncy ball!!! Especially at night, if he's not high I'm up every 2 hours checking him!

yep. That's what most of us do early on, because you just have no idea what's going on between those checks. It just gives a much more complete picture of what's happening.

There are bad parts too. (and bad, meaning, stuff you wish you didn't know but are glad you do). Meal spikes are one. It's amazing the first time you see them on the CGM. Because most of us don't/aren't trained to check BG 60 or 90 min after eating because it's just too soon to get a handle on insulin, yet, there they are. It then gives you a tool to figure out how to stop those.
 
I've had type 1 since I was 5...so over 40 years now.

I use the Omnipod for my pump and the Dexcom 4 for continuous glucose monitoring.
I wasn't even on a pump until I was about 40, so 35 years on syringes. That means 5 trips to WDW while I still injected...
Let me just say, having been diagnosed when you couldn't even test your blood at home and seeing how it's so much easier to live with type 1 diabetes now (although, still such a big PITA really), just makes me thankful for modern medicine and the amazing people who have helped make advances in the treatment of this awful disease.

The only snack I bring with me is glucose tablets and Disney fruit snacks for lows.

With all the walking I usually run low at WDW, but for some reason I ran a little high during our last 2 week trip. (Except for once, arriving at our dinner at Artist Point I literally told them at the podium I needed some oj and they brought it right to me).

I guesstimate pretty well on carbs. Mickey bars are great and I can't believe that for what it is, the carbs are not outrageous.

I don't find it necessary to weigh anything, I think living with this disease successfully comes with practice. And the way insulin reacts in your body is unpredictable unfortunately. That's why CGM's are so useful.

I do have a question however....I thought we were supposed to change our Dexcoms once a week? That's what I've been doing for years, I never thought to leave it on for more than that as it wasn't FDA approved for use more than 7 days, just wondering how/why some of you use it longer?
 
I've had type 1 since I was 5...so over 40 years now.

I use the Omnipod for my pump and the Dexcom 4 for continuous glucose monitoring.
I wasn't even on a pump until I was about 40, so 35 years on syringes. That means 5 trips to WDW while I still injected...
Let me just say, having been diagnosed when you couldn't even test your blood at home and seeing how it's so much easier to live with type 1 diabetes now (although, still such a big PITA really), just makes me thankful for modern medicine and the amazing people who have helped make advances in the treatment of this awful disease.

The only snack I bring with me is glucose tablets and Disney fruit snacks for lows.

With all the walking I usually run low at WDW, but for some reason I ran a little high during our last 2 week trip. (Except for once, arriving at our dinner at Artist Point I literally told them at the podium I needed some oj and they brought it right to me).

I guesstimate pretty well on carbs. Mickey bars are great and I can't believe that for what it is, the carbs are not outrageous.

I don't find it necessary to weigh anything, I think living with this disease successfully comes with practice. And the way insulin reacts in your body is unpredictable unfortunately. That's why CGM's are so useful.

I do have a question however....I thought we were supposed to change our Dexcoms once a week? That's what I've been doing for years, I never thought to leave it on for more than that as it wasn't FDA approved for use more than 7 days, just wondering how/why some of you use it longer?
Just about everyone I knows uses the G4 longer than the 7 days. We routinely get 12-14 out of them, and then I just pull it on day 14 and start fresh. Many people are getting near 21 days out of them. A lot of the adults I know just leave them on until they're not accurate. But 12-14 seems to be when my son's start acting off.

The procedure on the Dexcom g4 : go into the menu and hit "stop sensor" then "start sensor" and you'll be back in the 2 hour warm up. At 2 hours, just calibrate as usual and you're good to go.

When we used the MM sensors it was a similar situation to restart after day 3, though, we rarely got more than 5 days out of those (pieces of crap). The new MM sesnors are better, so I hear, and they are FDA approved for 7 days, though I don't hear of anyone getting more than 7 out of them.

For us though, we've never had any sort of infection and they truly get better the longer they are in place.
 
Here is a quick report.... We had fun & it was easier than I thought. My boy ran high the entire time which surprised me. The only time it seems his insulin worked well was swimming. I did not like all the "guessing" on carb counts. I wish Disney would step up & give us some kind of guide based on each restaurant. Might be why we ran high if I was way off.... At any rate .... We made it!!! & it was great! On to planning our next trip ;)

Great to hear you had a good time and everything went well. We leave 3 weeks from today. I am prepared with lots of supplies and tools. We can't wait to get out of this cold and get some shorts on and have some Florida fun.
 

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