We start pumping in a few weeks and I want to be prepared with whatever we will need to carry it around. What is your favorite thing to use for your child? Any other supplies or accessories that you feel are important or helpful?
Are you getting a tubed pump or Omnipod? We use a pump belt. Two places you can order them are pumpwearinc.com and spibelt.com . We used pump wear belts when my kids were younger. We use SPibelts now(the double pouch ones) http://www.spibelt.com/products/specialty-spibelt/double-pocket-spibelt We don't bother buying the Spitbelts made for pumps. I think they have a hole for the tubing to come out. I usually carry stuff for lows for my kids when they were younger. Now they might just put a roll of glucose tablets in their spibelt or pocket
For the younger ones these sort of pump pouches are nice. We use the spi-belt, but I think they are a bit rough for the little ones http://www.angelbearpumpstuff.com/site/department.cfm?id=6333B0C2-1066-4E2A-95B816BC374AF996
I bought a spibelt and a couple of different camera cases for my son, but most of the time he prefers to just carry it in his pants pocket. I make sure to buy him pants with pockets that are neither too deep nor too shallow. When he has pants with pockets that don't work, he carries the pump in a camera case clipped to a belt loop. For some reason, he strongly dislikes the spibelt. He is seven, by the way.
We love the pump tanks that keep the pump out of the way completely. PumpWear and Kangaroo Pump Pockets both sell them. Now that he is getting a little older, we like the Spibelt as well.
We use a clear front pump pouch from Angel Bear Pump Stuff. They work great. We can push the buttons right through the front, so the only time we take it out is for reservoir changes. He wears it when he's sleeping, when he's changing clothes, etc. I think pump pouches work best for young kids.
I bought a belt thingy with a clear front at the time we switched to the pump but my son age 6 at the time didn't like it and neither did my husband so we have gone to either putting the pump in his pocket and clipping it to the pocket or clipping it to his waistband and he has no problems with it at all.....he even clips it to his underwear at night after his shower before he puts his PJ pants on -
My son tends to just wear it clipped to his pants most all the time. He just puts it beside him when he sleeps at night. We have a spi-belt, but he doesn't really like it. He does need to use the spi-belt however when he is doing sports, like hockey.
K has used a SPIbelt for 2 years (ages 3-5). The kids' size fits him fine, and he is quite skinny. We have tried the tank pocket, but he freaks if he is not wearing a SPIbelt--it's kind of like Stockholm syndrome, I guess! If you are interested in the SPIbelt, know that you do not need to get the diabetic model (though you can if you want). The tubing goes fine through the front zipper gap.
Dd has a pump clip and its clipped to her waistband, tucked in her pants, shorts or whatever. Clips to her pjs at night too. Makes it fun when we have to play find the pump to bolus her if high at night. She tried pump belts but just figured clipping to waistband easier.
My son either uses the clip to hook it to his pants, or he puts it in a spibelt. He keeps it in the spibelt at night. He's got a plain black spibelt and wears it under his shirt.
My son keeps both his pump and his Dexcom in a tummie tote by talliegear he loves it only takes it off for me to wash it.
My son is another who uses the regular spi belt. When he first started the pump just after turning 4 he wore a tank top under his shirt with a pocket sewn on the back for the pump. I used Velcro to close the pocket. I am no seamstress but it worked great for the first couple of years. My son has always been one to explore anything and everything so I was concerned that he might not leave the pump alone if he had access to it. Would I do it again had I known of the spi belt? I honestly don't know. The spi belt works so perfectly and I probably was concerned about something that was not going to happen when I was concerned of my son playing with his pump.
Pump pouches When my son first started pumping at age three, we wore the pouches from pumptastic. They had cute thomas the Train, spiderman, and baseball pouches. This helped convince him to wear the pump. THese are worn around the waist. We began with the sidekick style and later moved to the bandit style. Now that he is 6 we used the tummitotes from tallygear. They go underneath the shirt - but they are not so decorative. Check out the websites and see what you like.
I wanted to add that it's awfully nice to have a clear front on whatever pouch you choose. We really never take his pump out of the pouch, except to change the cartridge.
Thank you everyone so much! I love to see what options are available and what has worked best, I didn't want to invest money in something and then have wasted it because he doesn't like it. It's T-1 week to pump start so I better pick something soon
