Meet T1D Momma, Stephanie R.
I am lucky to be the first member of The T1D Sugar Mommas.
This group is my second family. I was diagnosed at age 6, and grew up in Southern California with a sister who is also T1D. I am a High School Educator in San Jose, California and balance supporting teachers utilizing Educational Technology with being a wife and mom to three children.
My family planning journey began just after getting married in June of 2009. I became pregnant a few months later and had my first daughter just after turning 30 in July 2010. I became pregnant 4 months after giving birth to our first and had our second daughter in August of 2011. Our third daughter was born in March of 2016. Each of my pregnancies and experiences were different but each one taught her something about the journey of motherhood with T1D.
Excited and nervous
I still remember finding out I was pregnant for the first time. I was excited and nervous. How would I ensure that I was best taking care of myself for my baby? I had booked an appointment with the high risk obgyn team to review needs before we started trying officially. I found out after that appointment that I already was pregnant. My A1C was 6.5 and I managed to lower it and keep my A1C at 5.3 during that first pregnancy. Each change was something that brought me questions. With each trimester I found that some foods necessitated more and more insulin and for my own sanity, I ended up cutting out foods like rice, potatoes, and pasta. I never ate much of them anyway, but did love a burrito. We nicknamed our first daughter burrito after she was born because I was waiting to be delivered a burrito as my reward. I was induced for this pregnancy during my 37th week. My strong willed girl had flipped over and after a long labor, ended up in a c-section because I would not fully dilate.
For my next two pregnancies, I found myself more calm. I was busier, with one or two kids at home and was working full time. I still worked hard to take care of myself and pay attention to my body but having been through my first pregnancy allowed me to trust myself more through my next two pregnancies. I had scheduled c-sections because my first two pregnancies were so close together. The areas that were new for these pregnancies became finding locations for my pump site. It did become more challenging. With the support of the other Sugar Mommas, I started on a CGM during my third pregnancy. In December of 2017, I began running my own closed loop using a Riley Link. This was only possible because of a small group of Sugar Mommas who all wanted to help one another make this happen.
The Sugar Mommas have become my family.
We have watched children grow up together, learned about ourselves and parenthood, and been there to support one another. I am so grateful to this group and marvel at the community we have built.
