To Carb or Not to Carb?

Day 4 in the Diabetes Blog Week is all about carbs.

My son is quite matter-of-fact about food. I'm thankful he's not emotional about food like I am, and I'm thankful he's not picky and stubborn about food like his little sister. Even before he was diagnosed, I had started cutting out processed foods and sugars. He's super sensitive to caffeine, so he already knew and understood about restrictions - only decaf soda and no chocolate. A year earlier, he had to have oral "surgery" - he had to have two root canals/silver caps and two small fillings under anesthesia. He can't have chewy candy or gum. So when we explained that we needed to make some more adjustments, he was fine with it.

When Little Boy was diagnosed, we met with a nutritionist, the pediatric endo and the diabetic educator. They told us what his caloric intake should be each day. And they converted that into his carb intake. He gets 45 grams of carbs at breakfast, 60 at lunch and 60 at supper. He is supposed to get a morning snack and an afternoon snack (15 cg eac), and then his bedtime snack that depends on his bg. We cut out the afternoon snack because he naps right after lunch. And last month we cut out his morning snack when he was sick. His numbers were way too high. We need to reincorporate the morning snack since his bg has been low at lunch consistently.

I guess since this is what we've been instructed to do it hasn't been a controversy for us. With his current insulin dosage and keeping strict count on his carbs, he seems to be pretty regulated. KNOCK ON WOOD. I include some "empty" carbs in his diet occasionally. He's a kid. He likes to be part of the group. But like I said, he's ok with not getting everything everyone else has. We might let him have a cheeseburger from McDs and some fries, but then I add applesauce or other fruit. He really is a sweet little guy who has adjusted better to this than I would.