My 4 year old daughter (dx at age 2) recently has not wanted to get her shots anymore. She never had a problem at diagnosis and usually went along with it pretty well. Lately she has talked more and more about a pump. I am concerned that she is still a little young to handle to day-to-day issues of the pump. She knows a few people who pump and thinks its cool. I think she sees the pump as an end to the shots. I'm just not sure how much to explore this option. Any advise would be great. Sarah
First, there is no age limit for the pump. Babies can have a pump. Second, I would make sure why she wants a pump. Does she think she won't have a needle in her anymore, because she's seen others with a pump, but hasn't seen the needles? I would ask for a demo pump and some sites and show her what it really is, and see if she's up for a trial run. BTW, my kid has been on the pump since 2 days after dx.
I do not think any age is too young. It's like anything, they learn to deal with it. And young kids learn technology much faster than us adults . . . she'll be learning to operate it faster than you think . . .
You can lock the pump. Some give you the option (like the Ping and Omnipod) to bolus from a distance. My kid has been on the ping for, I dunno, 9 months? And she's just four now. She doesn't get to push any buttons, way too young for managing a pump herself, but as long as I have all the "control" the pump works well for her. Site changes do hurt, and some folks find that for little ones you have to change more frequently. We've recently moved to changing every two days, and we use a steel set. Good luck with your decision.
My youngest son went on the pump at 23 months old and he hated shots. My older son went on at 3 years old. It worked just fine. So much easier on them.
Honestly, I think pumping makes everyday life easier for the little ones. My son started pumping just after his 4th birthday, and we've never looked back. Best decision we ever made.
Logan started on the pump at 7 months old, and we don't have any trouble with it. At first she might want to fiddle with it a little, but we fixed that by putting a clasp on his pouch that he can't open and using the lock feature of the pump. At this point I think it would be more a matter if you are ready for the change to pumping. Good luck with your decision, but I wouldn't let her age be a factor.
There is no age too young to pump. Newborn babies with neonatal diabetes have been put on pumps. From what I've heard, pumping is very helpful for little ones, with the ability to dose tiny amounts of insulin that would be impossible with syringes. There are many products available to keep the pump safe too. :cwds:
Thanks for all of the advice. We see the endo in 2 weeks and we can have a conversation about our pumping options. Thanks for the support.
