Why Kids Should Come With Owner's Manuals

I wish our children were born with owners manual in hand. Not the kind of owner's manual for common sense things like changing diapers, or feedings, but a manual of possible side effects of becoming a parent (such as becoming paranoid about every possible "symptom" said child may exhibit), and the bologne they pull to make you crazy. Now I say this because being an EMT for seven years and being married to a paramedic you's think I'd be immune to any type of alarmist thinking. WRONG.


For the past week or so little man has been pulling the "I'm sooooooooo thirsty" around bedtime, knowing full well we don't allow any drinks after tubby time as to avoid any "accidents". Just recently he's been demanding Orange Juice specifically. Now automatically I'm thinking "OH MY GOD JUVENILE DIABETES". My cousin was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes when he was three, and Michael's father has type 2 diabetes, but that's bc he doesn't take care of himself.All I kept thinking about was having to poke my poor baby with needles every day and having to give him insulin, and how much more difficult his precious little life was going to be if he had diabetes. I really almost started crying.Once we finally got him into bed I mentioned it to husband, and he thinks he's just trying to stall before bed, and then he says "Don't say the D word!". Ugh. Lets go over the symptoms boys & girls :


From http://www.jdrf.org


Warning signs of type 1 diabetes (these may occur suddenly):

* Extreme thirst
--> Only at bedtime for approximately 1 week
* Frequent urination
--> No
* Sudden vision changes
--> No
* Sugar in urine
--> I don't think so, he just had a check up and he peed in a cup so I would
assume that's what they were checking
* Fruity, sweet, or wine-like odor on breath
--> No just regular stink breath



* Increased appetite
--> No more than usual the kid always eats
* Sudden weight loss
--> Nope, he's always been a peanut
* Drowsiness, lethargy
--> ahahahahahahhahaha no seriously
* Heavy, labored breathing
--> No
* Stupor, unconsciousness
--> Only after 8:30 pm



So the check list makes me feel a little better, and it's more than likely he's just stalling because he just doesn't want to go to bed. I don't think he pulls this at his grandparent's house, so it may just be some evolutionary toddler defense mechanism to make us parents crazy.
But when its your baby acting a fool, you think of every possible problem that it could be. My friend's 9 year old sister just got diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, and no one in her family has it. So it is scarey when out of no where your child starts showing signs of something, especially when you've worked in a particular field, and have too much knowledge of what can go wrong.