DIY Gift for a Type 1 Diabetic Child

Faith and Fingersticks had a strong start with five posts in my first month of blogging, but I have since taken a long break. My hiatus from blogging was by choice at first. December was packed with Christmas traditions that needed my attention, and Ada also got a pump in early December. The pump has been a blessing, but a huge learning curve as well so it took a lot of my attention at first.

As December came to a close we were thrown into a season of illness, and with it many, many nights of high blood sugars. Sleep was illusive for several weeks, and we are just now getting back to a more normal routine. Thus, as much as I love writing and sharing about our journey, I love Christmas and sleep more, so the blog has taken a back seat for much longer than intended.

That being said, I’m excited to get back to blogging. Illness and transitioning to a pump has given me a lot of new material to write about, but today I am sharing about a very special Christmas project. You see, I had an idea for a DIY Christmas gift for Ada, and I am excited to finally share how it turned out as well as her reaction.

First, a little backstory: a few months after Ada was diagnosed, she wrote a story called Ellie, the Llama which essentially was the story of her diagnosis. She worked so hard on it, and even wrote multiple drafts, edited, and redid pages to perfect her project. The final draft was created for Illustory, and we can’t wait to see the hard cover book sent back to us! I love that writing has been therapeutic for her (like mother, like daughter,) and I love that we have a written record of her diagnosis from her perspective. It is going to be a treasured possession for years to come. Here’s a little sneak peak at a couple of my favorite pages:

For Christmas, I wanted to get Ada a stuffed animal that was diabetic like her. We got a “Rufus” bear in the hospital which is cute, but definitely geared towards younger kids with its primary colors to indicate injection sites. Also, like a lot of young kids, she already has stuffed animals she feels attached to, and I originally thought about attaching a continuous glucose monitor to one of her existing plush pals. However, after she wrote her beautiful story, I decided a huggable version of Ellie, the Llama was the perfect idea for a Christmas gift.

While it probably wasn’t her favorite Christmas gift this year, she loves to make personal and homemade gifts, so she definitely appreciated getting a homemade gift as well. I am happy to report that Ellie has taken one of the coveted spots in her bed with a couple of other favorite stuffed animals, and she made the trip to Texas and back with us, so Ellie is already very loved. So without further ado, let me introduce to you Ellie, the Llama:

I love how my little project turned out, and it was so simple to create! If you are a T1D mama interested in creating your own diabetic plush pal, keep reading for the materials and instructions.

Materials:

• Stuffed animal: I got mine at amazon, but if you want to order one that is personalized with a bandanna already, I suggest stuffedsafari.com. And like I said, I think it would be great to use an already loved stuffed animal as long as you are pretty confident that there will be a favorable reaction to making the stuffed animal “diabetic.”
• Accessories like bandanna, collar with name tag, etc. Be creative!
• Old Dexcom transmitter and sensor (thoroughly sanitized with alcohol wipes
• Hot glue or super glue
• Scissors
• Needle/thread

Instructions for Attaching a Dexcom to a Stuffed Animal:

1. There are two holes towards the end of the larger half of the sensor. Use these holes to attach the sensor to the stuffed animal with needle and thread, looping the thread through the sensor and stuffed animal several times before tying it off. This gives you a chance to anchor it down and check the placement before making it permanent with hot glue. It also gives some added reinforcement to secure the sensor.
2. Take the section of the sensor that you just finished sewing and tilt it up so that you can glue the bottom of it to the stuffed animal. Now it is secured in two ways.
3. Put some hot glue on the bottom of the transmitter, and insert it into the sensor just as you would when applied to an arm or leg. When I did it, I heard it click in place even though the other half of the sensor wasn’t on yet.
4. Put glue on the inside edge of the second half of the sensor and attach it tightly against the transmitter. Glue the bottom of the sensor down, and reinforce any spots that appear loose.

This made a great Christmas gift for Ada, but there are a lot of occasions in which a gift like this would be appropriate including a new diagnosis, a “diaversary” (anniversary of the diagnosis,) or to celebrate a child getting a cgm for the first time.

We just saved Ada’s last transmitter and sensor to create another diabetic lovey to gift to someone else. It has been so fun because Ada was able to be part of the creative process. She picked out the stuffed animal and made it a necklace. We both hope that the recipient will love it and that it can comfort her during cgm changes which can be painful.

Ada is such an empathetic kid, and she loves gift giving more than just about anything else. When she takes on a project like this, she lights up. There is healing in helping. It is absolutely a huge reason that I started Faith and Fingersticks. Although my blog’s following is small, I have been blessed to hear of a couple instances in which it has helped someone which makes me eager to continue. I can’t wait to share more with you in the near future. I have a lot of ideas for posts in 2020. As always, thanks for following along.