Juice Box Babies
When our daughter Maybel was diagnosed with type one diabetes we not only felt hopeless and helpless, but we also felt alone. We felt like we didn't have the right kind of support. We thought we needed a connection to someone or a community who had gone through this or was experiencing the same challenges. That's when I came up with the idea for Juice Box Babies.
The Idea
When Maybel was diagnosed we felt very alone. We had support from family and friends near and far. What our family and friends couldn't provide, was resources. How to keep a pump, and tubing attached to an 11-month-old. How to keep a CGM attached. What over patches to use. How to remove infusion sets, CGMs, and overlay patches without damaging her skin. How to care for her sensitive skin. How to manage a toddler with type one diabetes effectively, still letting her live her best childhood. How to live a normal life. How could we do it? What do we need? We had so many questions and found some resources over time. We had to hunt, search, make numerous phone calls, and send out more emails than I like to count. All to try and find people with T1D tips and tricks. It felt like a part-time job and when you already have two toddlers, a busy life, and a newly diagnosed family member, it easily becomes overwhelming.
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That's when I knew, I wanted to do something to help families like us. I wanted to give newly diagnosed families some real-life T1D support. I wanted to make care packages, give out samples of overlay patches we have used, and share links to online shops for items we consider T1D necessities. We send mini care packages to newly diagnosed families that I connected with on Facebook or local groups, with plans to expand our initiatives by utilizing the funds raised above and beyond those needed for a service dog. I have big dreams for it! It takes time, and as a mom, and a type one mom, time is very precious and I don't have a ton of it, ha! I have to start somewhere, so I decided to start this simultaneously as we embark on our diabetic alert dog journey. I hope this will help raise awareness, find communities that can help support newly diagnosed families, and help Maybel get the sugar dog she needs. I am in the process of setting up social media accounts to document our journey. I encourage you to explore our site for valuable information and events. Please consider sharing our efforts and if you're part of a type 1 family, stay tuned or subscribe to receive updates on shared resources as they become available.
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If you have a resource that may be helpful to our cause, please let us know below!