Sleepover invite received - eek! help!

[angiej]

Just really asking for ANY advice here please - Alice has been invited to her best friends birthday sleepover. 4pm til 10.30am the next morning.

I am not really sure where to start on this one, other than I would love to help her go if I can ... this is Alice's bestest best friend, the family are lovely but I don't think they have the first idea what is involved - Alice has been there before (with me in tow) and they are always 'generous' with food - piniatas stuffed with sweets, homemade pizzas, lots of traditional Brazilian homemade food (they are Brazilian, but it is a nightmare to carb count), 'lets all ice cup cakes and see how many we can eat', lets bounce on the trampoline, get out the paddling pool etc - its a full on fun house... <sigh>

Anyone had a 7/8 yr old (or younger) go to a sleepover without popping in themselves?
What/how much info did you leave with parents? Should I do a 'timetable' breaking down what needs to be done? (as in, before meal - blood test, carb count etc)
How much would you expect the parents to do, esp regarding carb counting? How could I support them with this?
I am happy for someone to wake Alice at midnight and have her test / respond as required - Alice has done this with late night babysitters before. Funnily enough, the overnight thing is probably the bit that worries me the least - I seem to be scared stiff about the rest of it though

help?

[StillMamamia]

Oh gosh, no really good advice really. We have left our son sleep overnight at school last year and he was 5 at the time, but the teacher knew what to do, plus we live very close to the school. They'll be doing it again this year. Guess they like to stress me.

I would probably give a call to the parents and ask if they would be willing to supervise testing (and call you with the results)? Then I would use temp basals ad nauseaum during the party and 2 overnight BGs in, if possible.

Maybe a plan to test every 2 hours?

I really don't know, but I hope something has other advice.

[MTMomma]

We try to let DS go to as much of the party as possible when he gets those kind of invites. His cell phone has been a blessing and we have lots of calls back on forth such as "now we had the pizza and the cake is later on what should I give and by the way we will be in the bounce house before the cake." Always a guessing game for dosing and numbers but well worth it to let kids be a part of something so special. Sometimes we have decided to have a pick up time when the others are going to sleep (can be late with that age group) but has he has grown older..12 now..he has stayed over. We have had him set alarms on his phone and if he does not call us we call him and the one time he did not answer we called the host family home number. (We also tell the family not to be shocked if we arrive at their door.)If your daughter does not have a cell phone could you borrow one and use that? It is not a total answer but for us it does help in the thinking process and I suppose it would depend how much of the D care she is used to doing on her own.

My biggest thing is going into those types of situations is the expectation that numbers will most likely be wacky and things are not going to be as they would at home but they have a great time and just keep things from emergency level and ENJOY!!!

[sam1nat2]

sounds like there are too many variables with the trampoline and unknown foods.
If it were my kid, I'd let them have at it, pick them up at 11pm, then drop off the next morning bright and early for breakfast

[GaPeach]

Originally Posted by MTMomma

My biggest thing is going into those types of situations is the expectation that numbers will most likely be wacky and things are not going to be as they would at home but they have a great time and just keep things from emergency level and ENJOY!!!

Note: Running a bit higher is not an emergency. But, the bouncing around and "fun" can produce rough lows.

For us, we let DD go to these events. She must call and report BG's. She must call at bedtime. We err on the side of under-bolusing. Highs can be fixed the next morning. A few hours on the high side will not do as much harm as the emotional disappointment of limiting overnight/sleepovers.

As a matter of fact, she is visiting a friend today. I dropped her off at noon and will not see her until supper tomorrow night. (She is almost 12 and self-manages doses and carb counts fairly well.)

Try not to let D interfere. But, always go with your gut feeling. You know your child and the variables involved.

[selketine]

This is when you say "oh - I was going to wait to surprise you but I planned a BEACH HOLIDAY for those exact dates!" (or a trip to wherever you like best - Disneyland, etc).

No advice but at that age is would certainly be tough to send them off and see what happens. I think if the parents are willing to help out then you could try it - otherwise I'd go with the "half sleep over" idea.

[Mom264]

Originally Posted by sam1nat2

sounds like there are too many variables with the trampoline and unknown foods.
If it were my kid, I'd let them have at it, pick them up at 11pm, then drop off the next morning bright and early for breakfast

Yes. Ditto !

[angiej]

Thank you so much for your thoughts, it has been really helpful to realise how much I need to control and how much I need to chill out on this one... I really want her to be able to do this, but she will be 8 *that weekend*, so I also need to realise that this is a big deal for one so little ...

What are your thoughts on the following as a plan?

I could drop her at the party and stay a while (like I always have before, allows me to see the kind of activity they are getting up to ) until supper - prob about 6pm - help her carb count and dose for the food and then I can disappear and go home.

I shall ask them to get her to test about 9pm (ie 2/3 hours after supper) and again at midnight/1am, calling me with the numbers so I can tinker with corrections / temp rates as need be - then simple instructions to call with pre breakfast test (I can help her carb count over the phone) and collect her at 10.30am as per instructions ..

Does that sound like a compromise between keeping her close and letting her loose? Hopefully reduces the carb and activity variations since I can be around until supper, and can make adjustments depending on what the Mum tells me will be happening later - I can also get a feel for how crazy it is getting !

how does that sound?

[MichS]

Originally Posted by angiej

Thank you so much for your thoughts, it has been really helpful to realise how much I need to control and how much I need to chill out on this one... I really want her to be able to do this, but she will be 8 *that weekend*, so I also need to realise that this is a big deal for one so little ...

What are your thoughts on the following as a plan?

I could drop her at the party and stay a while (like I always have before, allows me to see the kind of activity they are getting up to ) until supper - prob about 6pm - help her carb count and dose for the food and then I can disappear and go home.

I shall ask them to get her to test about 9pm (ie 2/3 hours after supper) and again at midnight/1am, calling me with the numbers so I can tinker with corrections / temp rates as need be - then simple instructions to call with pre breakfast test (I can help her carb count over the phone) and collect her at 10.30am as per instructions ..

Does that sound like a compromise between keeping her close and letting her loose? Hopefully reduces the carb and activity variations since I can be around until supper, and can make adjustments depending on what the Mum tells me will be happening later - I can also get a feel for how crazy it is getting !

how does that sound?

I think that sounds like a wonderful plan! As long as YOU and your daughter are comfortable with it, it sounds like is should work great! I hope she has a great time! And I hope you get a little sleep.

[tiffanie1717]

I think it sounds great. The only thing I might change if it was me, was since the activity may cause lows I might do a check at like 8 and then 10 and then midnight. Just to avoid a low because of the bounce house, etc. IMO it's always better to check more in these situations. I also might stay longer than 6 if I felt like it was better. Even if I was just in my car. Or leave, go to a store or something, and come back again.

Let us know how it goes!