The Perfect Storm

I created one this week. And it happened while Grace was at school.

You see, it's testing week this week at school, our state test - the PSSAs. Reading, Writing, Math, you name it, we test it. And they are long. And kids sit for 2 hours at a stretch. And they are stressful, even though I plead with my kids to just 'try their very best and let the chips fall where they may' - they don't quite understand that last part, so I just stick with 'try your best, that's all I ask.'
And Grace is in 3rd grade, so she gets to start the tests this year.
Can I get a Yeah!??? from the crowd?
Didn't think so.

Every day the class would have their snack at 10 am. Grace was SO responsible, she kept her OmniPod PDM with her in class (it usually resides at the nurse's office throughout the day and she stops by to check and dose with some limited supervision). She checked when we asked her to, before snack, and would dose herself for her snack. Normally a 100 calorie pack of something. She was thrilled to do it all by herself and we praised her and applauded such responsibility. She beamed with pride.

Monday comes and we see this:
107 - wake up
220 - 10 am check
95 - lunch time

Tuesday comes and we see this:
118 - wake up
247 - 10 am check
110 - lunch time

You see the pattern? Yep, me too. Stress inward much? Cool as a cucumber on the outside and sweating on the inside. Stress drives up her numbers. Gary would tell me about it and how he would raise basals by close to 100% for situations that were stressful. But really, my 8 year old didn't stress about anything, so in one ear, out the other. I did lodge it in the back of my mind, along with a zillion other things, but things in the back of my mind rarely come forward to join the working crew of brain in the front.

Here it was, stress related BG skyrocket of numbers.
So, being the gal that I am, I raised her basal by 50% for 8:30 - 11 am.
I thought all was well and was gonna see how W, Th and F played out.

I made a crucial tactical error.

We changed her Pod from her bottom, to her tummy on Tuesday night.
Can anyone tell me what that means? Anyone?
I'll give you a minute..

Minute's up.

It means better absorption rates, for my girl.
The Pod on her bottom is a slower rate of absorption than her tummy. Her tummy sites are notorious for rocking her numbers. So are her arms. As we move sites around her body, her thighs and bottom are slower and often I need to adjust basal rates based on them.

Do you think I thought of this on Tuesday night?
Nope, I made the basal change and changed the site.

Wednesday morning brought her Pod on tummy and a new basal rate to combat the stress and hit that 10 am high hard.

The Perfect Storm.
Wanna see and cry along with me?

Wednesday
89 - wake up (Hey Penny, get a clue!)
29 - 10 am check (Grace reports that she would like to sleep, in class, to her teacher)

Juice is given. Two juices. Along with glucose tabs and a snack. The teachers and nurse shove 45 grams of carbs down her. It takes about 40 minutes, but we see a 89, 109 and whew! we made it out of the storm.

The hell with the stress high. One week of 240's at 10 am, I will take it, in a heartbeat.