#1673 This Is Happening
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Sydney recounts her toddler’s type 1 diagnosis, ER scramble, management, Omnipod 5 realities, marriage roles, faith, and homeschooling—plus practical tips on carb counting, resets, and keeping perspective through chaos.
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Scott Benner 0:00
Here we are back together again, friends for another episode of The Juicebox podcast.
Sydney 0:14
My name is Sydney. I am a mom of a two year old type one diabetic, and we're 10 months into our diabetes journey.
Scott Benner 0:25
If your loved one is newly diagnosed with type one diabetes and you're seeking a clear, practical perspective, check out the bold beginning series on the Juicebox podcast. It's hosted by myself and Jenny Smith, an experienced diabetes educator with over 35 years of personal insight into type one. Our series cuts through the medical jargon and delivers straightforward answers to your most pressing questions. You'll gain insight from real patients and caregivers and find practical advice to help you confidently navigate life with type one. You can start your journey informed and empowered with the Juicebox podcast, the bold beginning series, and all of the collections in the Juicebox podcast are available in your audio app and at Juicebox podcast.com in the menu while you're listening. Please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox podcast should be considered advice medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. The episode you're about to listen to was sponsored by touched by type one. Go check them out right now on Facebook, Instagram and of course, at touched by type one.org. Check out that Programs tab when you get to the website to see all the great things that they're doing for people living with type one diabetes touched by type one.org. Today's episode is sponsored by the tandem mobi system with control iq plus technology. If you are looking for the only system with auto Bolus multiple wear options and full control from your personal iPhone you're looking for tandems, newest pump and algorithm. Use my link to support the podcast tandem diabetes.com/juicebox, check it out. The show you're about to listen to is sponsored by the ever since 365 the ever since 365 has exceptional accuracy over one year, and is the most accurate CGM in the low range that you can get ever since cgm.com/juicebox
Sydney 2:28
My name is Sydney. I am a mom of a two year old type one diabetic, and we're 10 months into our diabetes
Scott Benner 2:36
journey, 10 months I'm sorry your son or your daughter son, he's two. Yes, he's two. How old was he when he was diagnosed? So he was 16
Sydney 2:47
months we were diagnosed last November,
Scott Benner 2:49
wow. My goodness, that must have been shocking. It was, yeah, yeah. How many other children do you have? Or no, I have one daughter who's four, four year old and a two year old. Two year olds had type one since they were 16 months old. Yep. And you're here to tell me that you figured the whole thing out, and it's super simple, and you just want to tell everybody what the secret
Sydney 3:09
was, right, good. Oh yeah, that's me. Now, what made
Scott Benner 3:12
you want to come on the podcast while I've been listening to
Sydney 3:15
you since we were diagnosed, actually? Well, my diabetes educator in the hospital gave me your podcast. Just listen to Scott, and he's got some really, like, great things to say. And I've definitely been a faithful listener to you, and I definitely saw a difference once I started, like, implementing some of the things, the bold beginnings series and your intro to diabetes series. So yeah, I actually went. We were a couple months in, and I had started listening to you, like, religiously, and I got on my diabetes educator, and she was like, something's changed, like, his numbers are crazy compared to what they've been like. I was like, Yeah, well, I started listening to Juicebox podcast, and she was like, Oh, yes, I can tell.
Scott Benner 3:58
So, Oh, that's awesome. Very cool. Yeah. What's her name?
Sydney 4:01
Her name is Kristen. Yeah, she's from we live up in New York.
Scott Benner 4:07
Say hi, Kristen. Thank you so much. Yeah, that's awesome. I'm very happy. Thank you, yeah. Oh, wow. Tell me a little bit about how you figured out the diabetes was upon you, yeah?
Sydney 4:20
So no history anywhere in the family of type one. My grandfather is the type two. But I actually worked in the emergency room as a tech, not a nurse or anything, just as a, you know, patient assistant care tech for five years before I had kids. So I have a little bit of medical experience. And my son had, just like he had had a cold, and then after the cold, he started drinking a lot, and I thought his throat was just kind of sore, you know, the typical like the signs that you ignore and try to justify. And he was drinking a lot of water. It had gone on for about a week, and he for a few days, had started peeing through his diapers at night, and then one day during. His nap, he peed through his diaper. And I'm like, this is super weird. Like, I know he's drinking a lot of water, but super weird. So one night, I had gotten up with him and he he also was sleeping a lot too. Like, would sleep till like, nine in the morning, which is not normal for him. One night, it was a Thursday night, he woke up in the middle of the night. Had soaked through his diaper, and so I changed him, and he was just water, water, like, crying for water. So I gave him a cup of water, and he drank the whole thing. And I was like, red flag. Like, that's not normal. Like, for sure, something's up. So I like, in the back of my mind, his breath stunk too. Smelled like ketones to me and or smelled fruity to me, which I knew was a sign of type one from being in the ER, so it like flashed in my mind. But I was like, no, like, that can't be it. And there's no sign. There's no history of it on in my family. So I like, went back to bed after I had gotten him settled, and I like, Googled, what else could this be? Like, give me something else here,
Scott Benner 5:54
Google. I'm pretty sure my kid has type one diabetes, but I would love for you to tell me that it's a hang nail that I can't see, please, quickly. Yeah,
Sydney 6:02
so of course, you know the Google searches. Oh, signs of type one diabetes and toddlers excessive there's excessive urination. And so I woke my husband up. It was like, two in the morning, and I'm known to kind of be one of these, like, alarmists sometimes. And I was like, he has diabetes. And my husband was like, No, he doesn't. You need to just go back to sleep in the morning. Why don't we just call his primary and so, like, I just had to pray that night. I was like, Lord, just, please help me just go to sleep right now. There's nothing I can do about this right now. Let me just deal with this in the morning and just get a peaceful night's sleep. And hindsight, maybe I should have woken everybody up, but we Cindy,
Scott Benner 6:38
I'm picturing your husband rolling over thinking I remember her when her crazy was fun, but
Sydney 6:45
exactly yeah. So we I got up the next morning. I called our primary and told them that he was, like, just excessively thirsty. And I decided that they, they were like, Oh, let me see if we can get him in today. We'll call you back. I decided that I was going to pack him up and bring him up and bring him down to my grandfather, because I knew he had a glucometer, and he's only 10 minutes down the road from me, and I was just going to check his blood sugar, just to rule it out, because I knew that wasn't what was going on. So I brought him down to my grandfather's house, who has type two and just said, Hey, can we use your glucometer? I just want to make sure that Cody's blood sugar is normal. So he does the finger stick. And I was like, on the other side of him. So I was like, reading the glucometer upside down, and it read and it said 94 and I was like, Oh, thank you, Lord. And I was like, Oh, 94 and grandpa, like, turns it around and shows me it was 594 I had missed the five. Oh my and my heart just sank. And I was like, Okay, this is happening, like this is happening. So I called my husband. I'm like, we need to go to the emergency room right now. And I called my mother in law to get my four year old, and we packed him up. We skipped our local hospital and went straight to our Children's Hospital, which is like an hour and a half away, because I knew that he needed a line. And I was like, I don't want to mess with our emergency room trying to get an IV in him, like, he needs to just go right to the Children's Hospital. So we got there and got into triage, and he was 428 in triage, and I remember on the car ride down, I couldn't keep him awake. It was like, nap time, but I, like, couldn't keep him awake. And I was like, Oh my goodness. Like, have I What have I done if I waited too long? Like, so we get to the ER, I get to the registration desk and like, my son's blood sugar is high. We need a re like, it's, this is a new onset. So everybody comes running into triage, and yep, he's critically high. It's just a whirlwind as we're like, just getting in we need an IV. We need to figure out if he's in DKA. Yeah. So they got an IV. Figured he was in DKA, just like, kind of looking back, his a 1c diagnosis was 8.9 and everybody like, it was, of course, you know just how emotional it is, just hearing all this. But everybody, like, told me, like, this is early, like, you caught this early. Usually when a 16 month old comes in with type one, their a 1c are much higher and they're unresponsive like and he reversed that a dk, within six hours. So thankful for that.
Scott Benner 9:07
I wonder if you heard John's story on the podcast last week. No, no, I didn't. His daughter passed away, obviously, very tragically, before they could even diagnose her. And I think that's probably contextually what the people in the hospital are trying to say when you say, Oh no, you did good. You found it early because, you know, we they told us the same thing, yeah, yeah. Meanwhile, you know, a day later, they said, Oh, Arden, probably would have slipped into a coma in another 24 hours. Yeah. They were still giving us the like, wait. Great job getting here, yeah, yeah. You struggle for context in that moment, like, Wait, so you're telling me she's 24 hours away from something terrible, and yet we did a good job. It didn't make sense. But it makes sense after you hear about all the people who you know come in in a coma, or aren't even lucky enough to come in in a coma, yeah, for sure. Well. So good job. I mean, I was impressed as you're telling the story like you picked up on a lot of stuff really quickly. Yeah, I think I'm not 100% sure you're talking so quickly. Sydney, sorry, go back to it. I apologize.
Sydney 10:15
No, that's yeah. And so we were in the ER overnight. We were originally they put in for a pick you bed for us, but then we got downgraded to just a normal peds floor, which I was thankful for. So we got to go up, and we were in on a weekend, so they didn't have any diabetes education in the hospital over the weekend. So on Monday morning, we got our diabetes education, and I got to do his injections and his checking his blood sugar over the weekend, just get familiar with all that. And of course, it was, like, really, really scary, but I felt comfortable with it because I had, I was a phlebotomist in the ER, like, I'm comfortable with needles and that kind of stuff, but it's definitely different. Doing it to your your own son, for sure.
Scott Benner 10:56
Well, do you think, I mean, is your professional life what allowed you to I mean, you said the type, I don't know if you know this, right, you've already said the title of the episode. Oh, what's my title? This is happening. This is happening. I thought that was really kind of, like, interesting, how you were hit in the face with this. And you were like, Okay, well, this is happening. And then let's keep going and do the next thing that needs to be done. Is that from your professional life? Or do you think that's just how you are? Oh,
Sydney 11:22
I think, like, I think my, that's part of my personality, which bled into, like, my professional life in the emergency room, and I think, like, just being in the, er, kind of like, kicked that fully into gear. So yeah, I think, like, my ability to just kind of put my emotions aside, which isn't, it's not like I wasn't emotional during this process, for sure, but yeah, I think it was just like, Okay, we have to get this done. Like, we have to get to the ER, we're gonna skip our closest hospital because I know he needs an IV, and they're not gonna be able to get one there, and so we'll have to go to Albany med. Like, yeah,
Scott Benner 11:56
yeah. I I remember this, if I've ever told this story before, but I had been a volunteer fireman when I was a kid, like from time I was like 16 till I was like 20, and we went to this a car accident one time, and I was told that, you know, there's an older woman, an elderly woman, in the front seat passenger side, and we had to extract her. And I walked to the car to look in, to try to assess what we were going to do. And I looked in, and she put there was no one there. So I walked back, and I was like, there's no one in the car. And the person said, you know, the guy running the scene said, No, she wasn't wearing a seat belt. She came forward, she's folded up under the dashboard, right? And I was like, Okay. And he said, we're gonna pull the door. I think we pulled the door, cut the, I forget what they're called the supports that go up the side of the windshield. We're gonna, we're gonna peel it back, pop up the dashboard, try to get her out that way. And it was something about the way he said it to me always stuck with me. Like, I mean, it was horrifying, you know? And he was just like, No, it's okay. Like, we're gonna do this, and then this, and then this. I was like, okay, like, some people just have that, like, have that. It's cool to hear you talk about that way. So this is happening. How have you applied that moving forward?
Sydney 13:09
Yeah, I'd like to say that, like, the first month was easy because of that personality, but obviously it wasn't. It was a huge life change. It was very emotional. But just like, I think one thing that I almost struggled with in the beginning was I didn't really feel like a mom, like I didn't feel like nurturing and loving and comforter, because right now I have to save his life every single day, like I have to be his pancreas. Like, that's number one, like I need to give him the injections, I need to count his carbs, I need to check his blood sugar. I need to wake him up in the middle of the night. Like, those are the things that have to happen so that he can live. And so unfortunately, like, when I'm giving him an injection, I'm holding him down because he's 16 months old, and I can't comfort him right now because he needs this. And like, I remember doing it the first time in the hospital, and I like, I know that sometimes it's like, hard for moms to like, when they're fading, you know, when they're doing their first injection, on their on their toddler, like, you can't do this. And like, I could do it. I like, had no problem doing it, but I did it, and then I sat back, and I was like, Man, did I just shut off mom like I wasn't mom right there. I was just, oh, this is just a patient. And so I struggled with that balance for a while. And I'd like to say I have it mastered, but sometimes I'm like, where I need to just, like, just tap into that mother, like I am his mom still, like, I'm not just his nurse, I'm not just his pancreas. Like, yes, these things need to be done, but I can do them in a loving way for sure.
Scott Benner 14:44
You know, I don't think a lot of people talk about that, but I have felt touched by that over the years, like, pretty deeply the what is it? It's a simple feeling that you're involved in the thing that needs to be done at the expense of the thing that you. Want to be doing, right? And then, yeah, and you put it a different way, like you're shutting off being a mom so that you can do this functional thing that's necessary. I'm with you on that. I think that's incredibly difficult actually. And I think it unchecked can kind of run wild, meaning, like your interactions can start turning into, I don't know, like they're more transactional all of a sudden, and, you know, like, yeah, it's time to do the thing. Let's do the thing. I don't want to do the thing. What you're doing the thing, like, that whole thing, that whole process there, it's a little dehumanizing for you, right? And for your relationship a little bit. Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. I'm glad you're aware of it, though.
Sydney 15:44
Yeah, yeah. Something to just work on every day for sure. Something else to worry about.
Scott Benner 15:50
The functional stuff you're good at. You're good at the sticks and the pokes and etc. Were you good at the measuring and the counting and the other stuff? When you think of a CGM and all the good that it brings in your life, is the first thing you think about. I love that I have to change it all the time. I love the warm up period every time I have to change it. I love that when I bump into a door frame, sometimes it gets ripped off. I love that the adhesive kind of gets mushy sometimes when I sweat and falls off. No, these are not the things that you love about a CGM. Today's episode of The Juicebox podcast is sponsored by the ever since 365 the only CGM that you only have to put on once a year, and the only CGM that won't give you any of those problems. The ever since 365 is the only one year CGM designed to minimize the vice frustration it has exceptional accuracy for one year with almost no false alarms from compression lows while you're sleeping, you can manage your diabetes instead of your CGM with the ever since 365 learn more and get started today at ever since cgm.com/juicebox one year, one CGM. Let's talk about the tandem mobi insulin pump from today's sponsor tandem diabetes care. Their newest algorithm control iq plus technology and the new tandem mobi pump offer you unique opportunities to have better control. It's the only system with auto Bolus that helps with missed meals and preventing hyperglycemia, the only system with a dedicated sleep setting and the only system with off or on body wear options, tandem mobi gives you more discretion, freedom and options for how to manage your diabetes. This is their best algorithm ever, and they'd like you to check it out at tandem diabetes.com/juicebox diabetes.com/juicebox when you get to my link, you're going to see integrations with Dexcom sensors and a ton of other information that's going to help you learn about tandems, tiny pump that's big on control tandem diabetes.com/juicebox the tandem mobi system is available for people ages two and up, who want an automated delivery system to help them sleep better, wake up in range and address high blood sugars with auto Bolus. No,
Sydney 18:10
I don't give up carbs. I'm horrible. I so No, our first we, like our numbers came up very quickly, like our endo was like, We want you to see 60% in range, which I know is on the low end, but like, that's what we want to see. And we got there quickly. We we didn't get a CGM right away. We actually went home from the hospital with a glucometer, and didn't get our Dexcom until a week later. It's looking back. I'm like, How the heck did I do that without a Dexcom for a whole week? And then we got a pump. We didn't get a pump till it was one month. So we did MDI for a month. So our MDI month was scary, like we our time and range was we were just surviving. But once we got a pump, we were able to just dial him in, because, you know, he needs such small doses, like point 05, like, yeah, once we got on the pump, our numbers came up, came up fairly quickly, the carb counting. Like, obviously, I did it for a long time, and I still, I still will look at a package, but just kind of also learning from you just the glycemic index of things, and just the way that some things affect him differently than others in the time of day and all this thing. Like, I definitely start with a base number, like, for his plate that I give him, like, Oh, these. This is how many carbs are on his plate, but this is what's going on in our life. So this is how much insulin I'm going to give
Scott Benner 19:27
him. Good for you. Well, that's awesome, yeah, point oh, five is, is that? Are you telling me you got an Omnipod? Yeah, yeah. And did you go with automation? Are you using Omnipod five or dash? We
Sydney 19:38
couldn't do auto for a little bit because he needed under five units for total daily insulin, so he didn't qualify for auto mode. But eventually that our team, like, worked it so that we could use auto mode. So that's what we've been rolling with now, which I like, we've hit the last couple months have been difficult for us. I don't know if we're dealing with a growth spurt. We're coming up on an endo appointment, so I'm hoping in that we're going to be able to, like, really move some numbers around, because I think that's what we're needing right now. But for a while, for a while, he was doing pretty well in the 70 to 80% range on Omnipod in auto mode.
Scott Benner 20:12
Okay, that's awesome. I listen. I remember the drawing up the insulin and drops, and it was and then eventually somebody coming along and saying, you know, the some of these syringes come in half units. And I was like, no one, why would no one tell me that? Yeah, thank you. And that's still, it still was most of the time too much, but a lot of Arden's meal Bolus were a half a unit for a long time. And some, some of our corrections were, like, a couple of drops, Yep, yeah, it was a lot. I was trying to find, you know, some sort of an adjective to put to it, but it just, it was just a lot. It was constant and exhausting. And I love that you were able to get a pump fast enough that you didn't have to deal with that. That's really great. Yeah, yep. I think it probably ruined two years of my life thing, and I don't think it was great for her either. Being honest, have you dug any deeper in the families or other autoimmune stuff going on?
Sydney 21:11
Not, nope, not in our immediate family. We do like extended family has like, I'm talking my mother in law's second cousin has type one diabetes, but there's, yeah, no, nobody in our immediate family has autoimmune so we haven't done any testing. They recommended we test our four year old and my husband and I, but we haven't done that, and I don't think that that's something that we will do. But yeah, haven't really done any digging in that area.
Scott Benner 21:38
Will you take me through your thinking on not testing the four year old. Yeah,
Sydney 21:42
I go back and forth. I'm not set in stone, and my husband isn't either. But we I was very anxious for like, six months. I still am about my four year old, like that, this would happen. And I also, like, keep hearing even now, like, keep hearing about, oh, it was a year and then the second sibling was diagnosed, and I probably check your blood sugar at least once a month, if not more, just when she's Oh no. She asked for a second cup of water. She must be starting like but I know that like, if I were to test her and she came back positive for antibodies, that I would just every single moment I'd be waiting. I know it might not be the wisest thing, but like,
Scott Benner 22:23
why? Let me stop you saying I don't I'm not judging it. I'm just trying to understand how you're thinking about I don't know if it's not a wise thing or not sure very well, maybe for you.
Sydney 22:32
Yeah, I just think, like, we have a glucometer in the house, and if she were to ever show and she's older, which is nicer. So like, I think, like, maybe older kids sometimes are easier to recognize, because they're able to tell you when they're not feeling good and stuff. And so I don't know, I think that if I were to test her and she were to come back positive, that I would just be very anxious all the time and just always looking and I just don't want her to, like, live like I have a son who's a diabetic, and I don't want to have to have a daughter who's positive for antibodies and might be a diabetic someday, you know, I just wanted to be my four year old, you know.
Scott Benner 23:08
And it's not the same that you're testing her monthly. It's not the same
Sydney 23:12
thing, yeah, yeah, I yeah, I don't know. I think, like, yeah, I don't
Scott Benner 23:17
really know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to point out an inconsistency in what you said, I just wanted to, I just wanted to make sure, yeah, if you were going to be like, Hey, listen, out of sight, out of mind, I'm throwing it up to God. I'll wait and see what happens. I'm never going to think about it again. I would understand your but you're like, hey, I don't want to know for sure, but I am going to constantly look,
Sydney 23:39
yeah, that's a good points, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think, yeah, uh huh. I just like, don't I? It's like, a fun thing. When we check her finger, sure, you know, gets to do it. I do it. Like, she'll check me. And it's just kind of like, oh, yeah, what's my blood sugar? What's dad's blood sugar? What's your blood sugar? And like, we'll make it a fun thing. And like,
Scott Benner 24:02
Yeah, I like that. I think that's even and I think it's normalizing. And it probably is also like, nice for your son to see everybody checking their blood sugar once in a while. Yep. Is that changing how you feel or what you're worried
Sydney 24:14
about? No, I mean, yeah, it, it's usually when I'm when I'm a little bit anxious. And, like, sometimes it's like, need to just verify, yeah, like she was really thirsty today, I took her to the to the bathroom a couple extra times today, so let's just check your blood sugar. Just make sure your blood sugar's okay and and who knows, I'm maybe down the road, we will do the testing. But I just think, like, if I were to know for sure, then that glucometer would be coming out once a week, every single time. Like, I would just need to know we would be taking her to appointments. Like, okay, is she positive for any more? I don't really know exactly how all that works. Like, what do we need to do? Like, are we going to need to just set up with an endo and just wait for this shoe to drop, instead of it just being like, Oh, let me just rule this out really quickly with my glucometer at home, you know?
Scott Benner 24:59
And. Okay, but you know that one blood sugar test once a month isn't telling you for sure that she doesn't have like, an onset, right? Because you could just be catching her. Yeah, yeah. I know. Listen, I'm not breaking your balls. I just, I just, it's an interesting conversation, also, for people who are thinking of starting their own podcast. Here's a tip, when you hear somebody answer no, but yeah, ask another question because, because they're not sure, and it's fun to talk through. You've done that, I'm gonna say six times in the last five minutes, perfect. That's perfect question. You've been like, Absolutely not. But, you know, maybe, but that's just an indication that you're not settled on it yet, in my in my mind, is it possible that you're not all the way to your answer on this question yet? Yes, yes. Maybe you're not in the head space right now to deal with this?
Sydney 25:50
Yeah, I think that's, for sure, a reasonable draw from that. Like, I'm still, we're not even a year in with my son, and so for now, like, since my four year old doesn't have diabetes, like I am just going to, yeah, I'm just gonna check her finger when I need to, when I think she needs it, and make sure she's not in DKA. And maybe in four years or five years, we'll do some testing and rule out that she won't ever get this, or if she does like, and I haven't even like, I've heard sibling stories, and I haven't like, I don't even know enough yet to be like, okay, so what would happen if she was just positive for one like, what do we do next?
Scott Benner 26:31
Yeah, let me share this with you. Yeah. A lot of people multiple children, and one of them has diabetes, and the other ones never get it. Yep, that happens too. Yep. I feel like you're looking at it from the perspective of it's going to happen to happen. Yeah, I would encourage you to look at it from the perspective of it's still much less likely to happen than it is likely to happen. And I'm surrounded by people with type one diabetes online, and this podcast I'm listening to, and I keep hearing stories of multiples, but maybe those are just the people who think to reach out to be on the podcast, right? Yep, I don't know that there's some, like, cute saying about causation and something I don't really know the saying I would suggest to you to like, I would chill out about it, but your husband hasn't had the nerve to say to you since he was wrong about the diabetes. Thing, that probably shut him up for a while, huh?
Sydney 27:26
Oh yeah. It's funny though, because every time I check my daughter's fingers, he's like, stop. Like, she doesn't have it. Like, yeah, it did stop him for a little bit, but he's right back to keeping me in check, which is what I need. So,
Scott Benner 27:38
oh, but no, but I don't you love though? I mean, it's just such the wrong situation, because you can't really gloat. But like, he was like, just go back to sleep. Go back to sleep. You don't know what you're talking about. And meanwhile, you were 100% right, right?
Sydney 27:51
Yeah, the first time, and probably the only time.
Scott Benner 27:54
But no stop. But it's hard to, it's hard to use this one, yeah, for sure, yank it out six months later and go, Oh, you don't think I'm right about the lawn mower, but do you remember what I was right about the diabetes? You said, No, oh my gosh. How involved have you let him be with the diabetes?
Sydney 28:13
So he is very involved. He is. I could not be more proud of him. Like my husband was a very squeamish person when we got married and does not do anything medical. Like, I remember going to one of his, like, first physicals when we had gotten married and he needed a vaccine and almost passed out on the table. Like, very squeamish could not, like one of while we were having our babies, like, had to be holding on to something. So he didn't pass out type of thing, but he jumped right in and like, it has such been a team effort between the two of us. He works full time. I'm home with our kids, so I'm naturally just the one that kind of does the day to day management, but I can walk out the door any time of day, and he I know he has it, and a lot of times, sometimes he does it better than I do. I'm like, What in the world? How did you keep him in rain for this meal? Like, I can never keep him in range
Scott Benner 29:06
for that. What's he say? What does he say? Yeah, how does he doing it differently?
Sydney 29:11
Oh, he just, oh, just gave him more. Like, sometimes it's just, and who knows what the situation is. But yeah, he pulls his emotion out of it, which just I had talked about. Sometimes I do too, but he can do that better than I can, because he's a man and so, yeah, he is great. He does pod changes and finger sticks and the whole nine and, like, also anytime we leave the house, because I'm a tend to be a forgetful person, like, always just double checks that we have, oh, do we have diabetes? Tougher code. Do we have juice? Do we have this?
Scott Benner 29:39
I think you shouldn't underestimate the power of a boy's willingness to just push harder, you know, like, I don't know, hit it. Let's see what happens then. So he's just using more insulin and having more success while you're, oh, that's interesting. Yeah, you ever tried that? You ever tried? Like, oh, let me just, I'll sprinkle a little more on here and see what happens.
Sydney 29:58
I usually it's Japan. On the day, for sure, I usually tend to be the one who uses more insulin. I use. I usually am, like, more aggressive with corrections than he is, but I don't know he's he's can be aggressive too. I think, like, I just know recognize patterns a little bit better than my husband does, because I'm with him more. Yesterday, he gave him box mac and cheese, which I hesitate to keep in the house, because I have no idea how to keep my son in range for box mac and cheese. It's just one we haven't figured out yet. And he gave it to him. And I got home and he was in the three hundreds, and I'm like, Okay, let's like, Bolus him. Let's give him some more insulin for this. So, but like, he really, he is, he is great, and he does handle, like his typical foods. He nails them every time. So can I
Scott Benner 30:42
ask how old you are? I'm 28 can I give some voice to my jealousy for a second? Oh, boy, sure. I wish I was born later, because they hear you, and not just you, but other women talk about their younger women talk about their husbands and how, like, I'm so proud of him and and like he really does, like you're giving him credit for things that my wife just expects from me, because she's from a different generation, like you are saying, I think this is awesome, by the way, and I'm I'm advocating for it, and I would like somebody, one of you who knows my wife, to somehow trick her into doing what you just heard Sydney doing. And by that, I mean being kind to her husband the way you just said it. I thought, Oh, I was born in the wrong generation, like my wife's just like, just do the thing. Jack. You know what you're supposed to do. Don't come over here looking for a fucking pat on the back for taking care of the kid. I let you have sex with me because I assumed you were going to take care of that fucking kid. Don't make me give you credit for doing it now, Ted, go do something else. I that's how I live, but nicely, by the way, she's lovely and but she actually is lovely. That's not what I'm saying, yes, but it's generational, like there's an expectation, there's no reward for it, sure, yeah, but you guys are so in touch with being kind to each other in a different in this, in a newer generation, I just found myself thinking, like that would be nice. Like I'd like, Do you think maybe behind my back, my wife says stuff like that about me?
Sydney 32:12
Are you sure? Yeah, it's something that, like I had to train myself to do. Just I remember when I first got married, just like, I would just be with my, you know, girlfriends, and, oh yeah, my husband did this. Oh, mine does this. And, like, just remember, like, this isn't actually building my husband up at all, and we're a team, like, and I would hope that he would, like, speak highly of me to his friends. And so, yeah, anytime I can, like, well, one, it's not hard, because he's a wonderful man, and he is, like, my absolute best friend, and so yeah, anytime I can, I'm gonna pat him on the back, because he, for sure, works hard
Scott Benner 32:47
for us. And my son tried to tease my wife the other day, and she goes, what, Mom, you've never made a mistake. And she pauses, my wife, who has no sense, my wife is funny. It's my mistake. Okay. She pauses, looks at me and goes, but talking to him, she's looking at me, but talking to him, and says, No, I've made mistakes. I'm like, hey, thanks. It didn't come naturally. You actually, you saw a group of people and you were like, I don't think we should all be talking to each other like
Sydney 33:21
this, yeah, that's it's Yeah. And then I still struggle with it. But I just
Scott Benner 33:25
noticed that, like, say it Sydney,
Sydney 33:29
he really isn't like, and I just noticed that when I was like, talking poorly about my husband, like, I would start to, like, just see that, like, see the things that annoy me, like the pet peeves about him. Like, I just see them all the time, because that's what I'm talking about all the time.
Scott Benner 33:43
So yeah, oh, I'm talking to all of you, not just Kelly, but Kelly. Listen, I've said it to her to her face. I've said it to her in front of her mom. I'm willing to say it here too. I feel like I'm in middle school. Did you get checks and minuses? In middle school, they give you, like, little you do something good. They're like, Oh, you get a plus, and then you, like, you scream, and they're like, minus and like, at the end of the year, you can trade the I feel like my wife sheet only has minuses on it. The other day, we were sorry, sorry. I think I'm apologizing to Kelly. The other day we were cleaning up because we just had some like, painting done in the house, right? And so we were putting things away, and it was the weekend, and it sucks, like, you gotta, like, put everything back and everything. And I did a million things that day. I want to tell you that I was the kind of person that you Sydney would have gone on a podcast and been like, I'm married to a really great guy. And this Scott, and let me tell you what he did. This is what you would have said, My wife said to me, why did you do that now? And I went, what she goes, that doesn't need to be done now. This needs to be done now. Now that's not going to get done today. And I was like, did you not see and I'm pausing, and I'm thinking about like all the I did that day. And I was like, You're telling me I'm doing it. The wrong order. Like, if you got her in here right now, she would tell you, like, look, it's funny. She'd say, I didn't want to eat late, and because you did this here, dinner is going to be later. But you would say, I can't believe my husband's making dinner. He's awesome, and I didn't make, I didn't make a box, no shade on your husband, but I didn't make a box mac and cheese. I made a meatloaf from scratch. I made I made mashed potatoes from scratch. I made carrots and broccoli, broiler in the broiler, like that's what I made for dinner. And what she knows is I hung the TV back up at the wrong time in my day and messed up the time at dinner. And what I'm telling you is it's not her, I think it's generational, yeah, yeah. Because my wife is really a lovely person. This is a long way of saying, I wish I was born later, because I think I would. I think I'd be one of those husbands that you people would be like, Oh, my guy's great. Like, I think there'd be tick tocks about me. But instead, there's not that's all, and that ends the portion of Scott talks about himself in the podcast.
Sydney 36:08
So it's your podcast. Hey, look,
Scott Benner 36:12
you're even doing it for me. Oh, Sydney, thank you. That was lovely. Is that what this feels like? Yeah. Oh, gosh. Could we do what I want to do this weekend, Sydney, leave that man. Come with me. I'll take care of that kid with diabetes. For you, all you have to do is be nice to me. Okay, oh my gosh. What is the pathway here? Like, you know, your initial diagnosis is done. You're into this part now. You're still learning, you know, but you're doing better. Things are getting better. How do you think about this? Is it a day to day thing I'm just trying to stay alive? Or do you have goals that you're
Sydney 36:48
shooting for three months ago? So we're coming up on a quarterly endo appointment here in a couple weeks. So our endo appointment, so this is only our third end of appointment, because we haven't even been doing this for a year. So our second endo appointment, we hit 6.8% with his a 1c and our team was, like, super excited. Obviously, I know it could be better than that. I was super excited with that. You know, only being six months in, and we were, like, averaging around 70% in range. And I was like, we've got this. We're just gonna get better and better and better. We're going to hit 80% we're going to hit 90% we're going to get us a 1c into the fives. Like, that's what we're going to do. We're just going to get better at this. And the last three months he had a birthday, we it's been summer. We have gone backwards. And I just don't know why. Like, I don't know. I'm thinking we need to just move some numbers around, which I do every so often, but I'm just not sure, like, what it is. We haven't regressed all the way. I'm sure his a, 1c, our next appointment is going to be up
Scott Benner 37:48
a little bit. Has he gained weight? Has he put weight on?
Sydney 37:51
Yeah, yep, he's big. Yeah, he's gained weight, yeah. Okay.
Scott Benner 37:54
Are you making changes in the settings that aren't affecting the automation?
Sydney 37:59
Well, I've just adjusted his carb ratios. And the thing that I like would like to talk to his endo about is his basal. Like, I'm wondering if his basal just needs to be increased. His basal is pretty much maxed out in the settings. I almost think that does endo need to unlock it for me, because I can't make it any more than it is right now. It's that, like his Max basal rate is 0.2 an hour, and sometimes he uses that, but sometimes he doesn't. So I don't know if that's what I should move so I'm like, waiting for this next endo appointment to just chat with her, because she's, she is really great, and just kind of see, like, do you think that this is just a timing issue? We've also been dealing with a bunch of behavior things that came with him being two years old, where he just refuses to eat and like, I'll Pre-Bolus him for a meal, and he just straight up won't eat it. I feel like that kid, all he eats are pouches, because I'm having to correct him after Bolus thing because he won't eat the dinner that I bolused him for. So we actually have been dealing with some low iron too, yeah, so he's on an iron supplement, yeah? So we're just, we kind of regress a little bit in the last couple months. So right now, I'm just trying to get back to where we were okay, and then from there get better, like just every day, just trying to get better. So I
Scott Benner 39:10
have a couple of ideas based on what you just said, please.
Sydney 39:13
I love that's excited to talk to you today, Scott, if you'd like
Scott Benner 39:16
to hear them. Yes. First thing, simple thing, you set the Omnipod five up. And when you change a number of the settings in Omnipod five, if you go in and change them, they're changing your manual settings. They're not changing the automation. Yep. Okay, right. So you might need to take your total daily insulin, because I assume you're adding more insulin, okay, if you've been making extra Bolus is, but still seeing higher blood sugars that result in a higher a, 1c then I think that's a pretty basic indication that you're not using enough insulin in general, right? So you might need to just find out what that total daily is and go back and reset the system and start over again.
Sydney 39:56
So if his total daily insulin average like i. Look at what it's been giving him. So let's say it's seven units that he uses, like average on a day. So go back into the auto mode and set whatever his TDI to seven. Is that? What you're saying?
Scott Benner 40:10
What I'm saying is that when he went on the system, at first, he weighed a certain amount and he had a certain daily insulin that he needed, okay? And now that's changed, okay? He weighs more and he needs more insulin, and you're, I mean, I guess the way people are thinking about it is the Omnipod five is just going to keep up and keep changing and changing and changing. But it's possible that his variables changed faster than the algorithm is going to Gotcha. So maybe you just like, I'm talking about, like a clean reset. Okay, just reset the system start over again. Yep, with your new needs, okay, you might be right back where you where you need. That's crazy. Yeah, that's a great idea. I would talk to the doctor about that. Okay? Because I think there's a, I mean, there's a misnomer. I hear people all the time like, well, it learns. And I'm like, That's not. First of all, they don't say that. That's a very futuristic way of thinking about it that is not accurate for the moment. For the moment, it is not like looking and going like, oh, you know, it's saying. It's saying, Gosh, how do they talk about this? You know, in the last 24 hours, you needed a little more insulin, like, so we're going to do a little more here. But it's not saying, Hey, you used to, you know, you used to have five total units a day, and now we're using 15 a day, and I'm just gonna, like, massively change all your settings over it. Yeah, it's not doing that. You can do that. And the doctor, I also heard you say that right now, his Max basal is set at something, and I have to wait for the doctor to unlock it. Yeah, I'm gonna give you two thoughts on that. Okay, first one is, you like your doctor. Your doctor saying you to me, they must be reasonably forward thinking. I like you talking to your doctor about that, but I can do in the future, moving forward, when you get more and more comfortable, I don't want you waiting for stuff like one of the hallmarks of people's success is their ability to change their settings. Okay, I'm going to tell you that that is one of the things that people who are successful long term with diabetes have. It's the autonomy to change their their settings. Okay, that's going to be incredibly important
Sydney 42:17
moving forward. Yeah, I'm, yeah, thankful for all those things you said. One, yeah, I didn't realize that, like, resetting the whole system might give us that kickback.
Scott Benner 42:25
Oh, Sydney, that's my thought. Because while I don't have a list of them off the top of my head, I think people can believe that, oh, I'll go into the Omnipod and I'll tell it like my basal used to be this, but I I need it to be this now, and that that changes it. That does not change the basal rate. The algorithm doesn't go, Oh, she just said was point two, but now point five, I'll start magically giving point three more an hour. That's not what the algorithm is going to do, but what it is doing is changing the settings. So if you ever flip back into manual mode, that's what it that's where they'll be. So what I like is just start over again, and especially with a little growing kid like that. I'm gonna say to anybody who's using Omnipod five who's experienced a big change in body mass or how sedentary or active they are, things that impact your insulin needs, I don't think there's anything wrong with doing a reset on that system once one, yeah, I don't think they'd love that. I said that honestly, but like, I think that's just the case. And I've interviewed enough people who've done it and had, like, really good success with it. Like, sometimes you just need to leap forward, not slowly,
Sydney 43:33
matriculate, yeah, yeah, every Yeah. That makes sense.
Scott Benner 43:36
That's what you got to do. Okay, I'm not a doctor. This is not advice, I don't know, etc, and so on. I find that this is always an interesting question. I don't know there's a good answer to it, but at the age your child is now, what do you think his understanding is of his situation, and what is it you're trying to teach him about his life? He
Sydney 43:59
obviously is only two. He's a very young too, too, like, I don't know he's much different than my daughter. He talks quite a bit, but I think, like she, at this age, would probably have a more of a grip of what's going on. Obviously, he does not enjoy pod changes or Dexcom changes, but he like, a couple like, times that he's just absolutely broken my heart is like, when I asked him, like, okay, bio, do you want your pot on your leg or your belly today? And and he looked at me and he said, have Mama's arm. I'm like, I wish I could wear this for you, but I would do it in a heartbeat if I could put this on mom's arm, but it's got to go on you. And so I don't know. Like, he knows. Like, we've done the whole like, what do you have pipeline diabetes like? So he knows he has diabetes, and he knows that sis doesn't, you know, sometimes he gets juice and sis doesn't, and sis isn't really a big fan of those times. But yeah, we just honestly, our faith is a really big part of our life. So when I put him to bed every single night. I I just pray with him that the Lord would just cure him from this, because I know that I serve a big God, and I know that he's capable of doing that, and whether that comes through medical breakthrough or just through a miracle, like I just am going to continue to pray in faith every single day that he would somehow be cured from this, whether in that he wouldn't need to wear an Omnipod, and he wouldn't need to wear a Dexcom. But I don't want him growing up thinking, like, okay, like, that's the goal, because we also will just trust God every single day that like this is who God created him to be as a person with diabetes and through his strength, like he can get through this every single day. Actually, I wanted to just share this too. Ever since the kids have been like brushing their teeth at night, like that's been a part of their bedtime routine. I just have a little verse that they say in the mirror. And so my daughter will just say every every night at bed, she'll say, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. And my son says, My help comes from the Lord. And we've been doing this since before he was diagnosed. And I just remember when we were diagnosed, getting in the car and just I had a chance to just go take a shower while we were still in hospital, and it was my first time just being alone and crying and praying, and I turned on the radio, and there's actually a song that is that verse, just, I know where my help comes from. My help comes from the Lord. And so that's just something that's been a mantra in our journey, and it's something I just continue to repeat to him, like we know where our help comes from. Our help comes from the Lord, and that's just how we're going to get through every single day a chronic diagnosis is a chance to just rely on the Lord every day when we're counting carbs, doing pod changes, and so that's just what I want to instill in him as he grows, that his strength would come from the Lord, and that we would just have faith that, if it was God's will, he could cure him from
Scott Benner 46:50
this for sure. So you give him an accurate and a realistic idea of his situation, and then give him hope and support to kind of like, buoy, the the emotional side of it is that, is that the feeling? Yeah, yeah, for sure. That's wonderful. Yeah, that's really lovely. Yeah. Amy, I've seen people do that, like, thing online, where they're, they're teaching their kids really young, okay, I have diabetes and all that stuff, and that's really cool. Like, just to give them, like, you know that feeling, but again, know that the reality of it is, like, you know, when you're like, hey, where should we put this pump? He's like, how about on your lady like, like, let me leave me out of this. Yeah. Like, he's, yeah, but he doesn't fight too much. It's just sort of like that to you. Is his indication? Like, I would prefer this not be
Sydney 47:38
honest, yeah, yep, yeah. He does not like pod changes. Like, he'll he doesn't fight it too badly. We actually have a tractor. It's his pod change tractor that he only gets during pod changes. He's a tractor boy. So he gets to hold his pod change tractor. So that makes pod changes much easier. But yeah, he doesn't like it. He actually loves to have his finger poked. He loves to have his blood sugar checked. Yeah. He's always like, Sure, bud, we can check your shirt.
Scott Benner 48:03
Why not? Yeah, isn't that interesting? So what do you think it is about the device changes? Like, does he have the same problem with his CGM? Is it about ripping off the adhesive? Is it what do
Sydney 48:16
you think the actual insertion like, when the pods counting down? I think, honestly, the anticipation is probably the worst part. Like, the inject. I obviously, I've never had it injected, so I don't know. I'm sure it does hurt, but like, I think the worst part, he's just so guarded, like, during that five seconds where it's like, click, click, click, that's the worst part. So I just always like, count with him and hold it for him and but yeah, I think once it goes, then he's fine. It's just like, he kind of, like, gets all like, and then it goes, and he's like, Yay,
Scott Benner 48:44
spring, right? Like, as it's coming, you're like, actually, the the irony there is, I believe that's what the clicking is. I think it's the spring inside the Omnipod. Like, loading up the loading up the shoot the needle, yeah, and you're loading up the stage. I'm like, Oh, it's coming. It's coming there. Yeah, yeah, I will say this, and I know that there's no way to change this, but it doesn't help that there's a different amount of clicks almost every
Sydney 49:07
time. No, I'm like, Is it five seconds today? Six seconds or more?
Scott Benner 49:10
Yeah, I've seen Arden Get the eight. She's like, Oh, come on, that. It clicks on. It's very fun. Yeah? I mean, it's, I mean, I'd love to say to you that he'll get used to it, or it'll just become normal to him. And I think for some people, it does, and I think some people maybe will never feel okay with it completely, like I had experience the other day telling somebody, like, I didn't give myself my GLP. And it's just, it's like, a it's a quick injector, right? And I was, like, running around the house doing something, I'm like, and it was sitting on the island, like, was sitting on the island, like, looking at me, and I'm like, You know what? I got to do this. I got to do it. And I grabbed it and just found a spot to do it, and I held up, and it hit me for a second. I was like, Oh, I hope this doesn't hurt, because sometimes it does, like, sometimes it'll hit something or whatnot, or, you know, and I'm just like, uh, and then you just take it. Breath, and you're like, I mean, it's gonna hurt, or it's not, yep, I can think through that. But a two year old is like, Hey, Mommy, why don't you put it on you, on your arm. Gosh, do you have any guilt about that at all, that it's not you?
Sydney 50:14
Yeah, oh yeah, yes. Like, I, I wish it was me. Yes, yeah. I like, why does it have to be my two year old? And, like, I also said, like, in the beginning, like, he's so tough compared to my four year old, like, who's a girl? I don't know if it's just a boy and he's a girl, but, and she's a girl, but I he's been the tough kid. Like, he always like, would he like, wouldn't cry at the things my four year old would have cried at, like, and he's like, just seems to have higher pain tolerance and just a tough kid. And so I was like, I mean, like, I'm thankful that he's tough, because, like, this is something you got to be tough for. But it's also like, I hope that's not like, I don't know, you know, just like, Oh, why he got it? Yeah, I
Scott Benner 50:56
want to share something with you. Yeah, I've been married for 30 years. Oh, my son is 25 my daughter's 21 and I just heard you say he's always been my tough kid. And I thought, Oh, he's only two years old. That's so lovely. It's so It's so lovely that you're like, you know, for the entire time we've all been alive these past 24 months,
Sydney 51:19
like this tiny blip on, yes,
Scott Benner 51:22
my son, I'll tell you what. I'll tell you who he is. I don't know what I was taken from. It was, I mean, that is who he is, right? Because that's the entirety of his experience. But I, I would suggest to you that you try not to look at them as this thing that they are, and more as this thing that they're becoming, because he's not gonna, like, a year from now, you won't remember this year. Yep, that's true. They keep growing. Like, just keep growing with them. Yeah, yeah. I see people do sometimes where they're like, oh, you know how you like that. The kids are like, I haven't liked that 10 years. I don't know what you're talking about. Yeah. So sometimes you can get Not that that's what you're doing now. But yeah, anyway, that was delightful. You're like, you know, forever and always. How long have you even been married? We've been married six years. Oh, that's adorable.
Sydney 52:12
Yeah, this is the honeymoon phase. No wonder you just build your husband up wild.
Scott Benner 52:16
Oh, yeah, no, no no, yeah. Now I want to, I will keep this podcast going for 10 more years so I can come back on while Sydney goes. Let me tell you. Goes. Let me tell you about this prick that I got married to. 22 military. How'd you get married? No, no, we're just Yeah,
Sydney 52:33
21 actually, he was 20.
Scott Benner 52:35
Was he 20? Are you? Are you a Crip? What do they call that?
Sydney 52:39
Yes, I'm a cradle robber here. Where did you guys meet? We were in high school. Oh, no kidding. High school sweethearts went to college, then when we were done college, got married.
Scott Benner 52:51
So wow, what do you guys do for a living? Like, just vaguely, don't tell me where you live, sure.
Sydney 52:56
So actually, I didn't finish college. My husband finished college, and he actually owns a business now in he kind of does, like welding and fixes, like heavy equipment. And then I worked in the ER, for five years, and then once I had the kids, I stayed home, so I kind of clean Airbnb is now here and there, but just kind of a side hustle
Scott Benner 53:16
that's nice. So what's he got? Like, a is, like a rope? Was he have a truck? He goes out, like, Yeah, and just, Oh, does he like it?
Sydney 53:24
Loves it. Oh, yeah. It's sweet. He's very flexible, and which is nice, because he can, like, if I have something I have to do, like, he can kind of move things around. And it's
Scott Benner 53:32
really great. That's really cool. Did you not finish college because you weren't interested, or because you were pregnant?
Sydney 53:36
Yeah, I wasn't interested. I, like, started, hindsight, like, I actually started a nursing program, and was like, going to be a nurse, but just as, I don't know, I just felt like this wasn't what the Lord wanted for me. So I just worked in the ER, and then when I had the kids, I was like, oh, I want to stay home. I want to homeschool and be at home. And, like, now that my son has diabetes, I'm thankful that I didn't go get a nursing degree, because, like, I probably would just be working full time right now, and we'd have to deal with child care, and who knows, obviously, that might not be in this situation, but I'm just thankful that I'm home, but I also have a medical background
Scott Benner 54:09
and Yeah, well, I'll tell you. Arden had a phlebotomist when she was younger at her children's hospital, and he was, he was amazing. I wish I remembered his name. I would tell you all his name, but he, if you watched him, I videoed it one time so that I could slow it down, because I was watching one day, and I was like, is he throwing the needle into her? Like, like, Do you know what I'm talking about? Yes. Like, like, a dart. It's like a flick or something. I don't hard press to explain it to you. But, like, whereas some of them would, like, you know, hold the needle up to the skin, get to the vein, and then push it through. It almost felt like he was throwing it, I swear to you. I don't know what I'm saying right now, but like a flick of his fingers, and I one day, I said, Can I video this? And I videoed it. And I was like, Are you, like, propelling it like any he had this whole theory about it. I was like, You're so good at this. And he's like, thank you. Blah, blah. And then, like, one day you walk in, he's gone. And I'm like, Where's the guy? And they said he went to Florida to be a sheriff. I'm like, Are you kidding me? Skill, and so anyway, wherever he is, man, you were awesome. Really cool. Did you like that job? Like, the loved it, I loved it. And you did it in the hospital, yeah? And then in the emergency room, yeah. I like the ladies that do it in the lab centers, yeah, like, where you, like, quest or something, where you go to get your blood draws for doctor's appointments, stuff like that. I like how, like, I don't know how they are all over the country, but around here, they are, like, such, no, Bs, people like, you just like, get in here, sit down, wrap your thing. Bang, here's your get out of here. Oh, my God, I love that. Yeah, I love how they do all that. So you're okay. So you're, how do you homeschool before they're like, how do you decide when it's time to start, like, teaching them stuff? Or is it just constant?
Sydney 55:56
My four year old loves to learn. So she's just been learning since she was two. I've tried to do like, a little bit of formal table work the last couple years, like, oh, like when she was three, let's sit down and do table work. And it's like, oh, this is not realistic for a three year old. So we actually, she's four this year, and I was like, Okay, we're gonna just do a simple English language arts program, a little bit of Bible, and that'll be our homeschool day. So we do that a couple times a week, but it's nothing to it's nothing where I'm, like, rigid about it, like, she's only four, so, but she is, yeah, she loves to learn, so she's usually asking me if we can do it,
Scott Benner 56:32
yeah. How do you imagine that? Do you imagine that straight through graduation? Or do you imagine it, like, until they go off the height? Like, is there a point where you think
Sydney 56:40
Yeah, I think that we'll, I mean, obviously we'll see what what they want, but yeah, at this point, home is where we want them, where we want them learning. So, and we have a lot of we have a good community around us where there's a lot of kids that are homeschooled, so it'll probably be something that we do with other people, like, oh, but you guys are going to go over to this house today. My sister in law is going to be homes. So, oh, you can go school with your cousins today. So they're not, it's not like an anti social thing. Oh,
Scott Benner 57:05
that's a nice idea. Yeah, for sure. What if she comes to you and goes, I want to go to high school? You go, all right, yeah. Well, that's something we can talk about. Yeah, yeah. Okay, nice. How do you make that decision? Like, because you went through school, like, you childhood sweethearts, you didn't meet your husband at your aunt's house, so, like, when that wasn't your situation growing up, what makes you think about
Sydney 57:25
it? I was homeschooled for part of school. Yeah, I did. I went to high school in like, 10th grade and then graduated. I think our faith has a big part of it. We I just want to be really intentional about what our children are learning, and just the public school vibe isn't really what our family needs right now. And obviously, you know, there's a lot going on in the world that, yeah, so just kind of just controlling what our children learn and just being involved also, I just really believe that, like I if I'm able to be home with them and teaching them, I think that's the best spot for me to be and for them to be, like, just learning from their mom. And obviously I'll learn with them as we go, and obviously we'll do standardized testing. They make sure that they're like, learning at the right level and just getting all the things they need. I enjoyed being homeschooled. I enjoyed being flexible. We like going on vacations and being spontaneous, so I think that's just an easier route for us. Yeah, so
Scott Benner 58:15
explain the last bit of it to me that I don't understand. Like, how do you at the end when your kids get a diploma after being homeschooled, like, how is that moderated? What's the word I'm looking for? Like, how do I how do I know that you actually did the thing you're supposed to do?
Sydney 58:29
It's a great question. I actually don't I've been thinking that I'm like, I wonder what, like the actual diploma part, how that goes in? I know people that have graduated, like in our district, like they would, they walked with people, like, at our public school or my private school, I had a homeschooler walk down with us. So I don't know exactly how the recording goes into play with that, but I know, like, once she starts next year, when she's five, our state requires us to start reporting, so every single quarter, we just have to submit a summary of the things that she's learned. And like, sometimes they, like, kick it back and like, Oh, that's not good enough. You need to be a little bit more detailed. And then I believe I like, it's every state's different. We're in a pretty strict state, so I don't know what, like, I said. We haven't really even started, so I don't know everything about it, but I think there are testing that she will have to do when she gets to high school to graduate, like, a standardized test maybe once a year. I'm not I could be wrong about that though, okay, but yes, it is. It's regulated by the state
Scott Benner 59:24
you're learning about it still as well. Yeah, yeah, and they're young enough you have time to do that. Yeah, very, very cool. All right, is there anything that we haven't talked about that we should have, anything I forgot to bring up, or that I missed? No, I don't think so. I did okay. Yeah, you did great. Oh, thank you. See. You did it again. That was very nice. I appreciate that. It makes me uncomfortable when you say nice things to me. I'm gonna run downstairs and tell my wife about this immediately. I'm gonna be like, there was a lady, and she was very nice to me. And you know what she'll say, she doesn't know that you hung the TV before making dinner. I. Know, and I'll say No, I told her that. And she'll be like, Oh, well, then she just doesn't know what it's like to live with you. And I'm like, Okay, I just really think maybe I'm wrong, Sydney, but I really think that in this day and age, I'd be a real catch. I'm being serious. You're laughing, but I'm being but I'm being very serious.
Sydney 1:00:18
Never know, well,
Scott Benner 1:00:20
I never will know. You know what I mean? Because, like, it's, you can't. What am I gonna do push her in a river I can't get, like, she's here, you know what I mean? Yeah, and I love her and all that stuff. So, I mean, it would be weird if I just, like, left.
Sydney 1:00:32
Have you tried talking nicely about her?
Scott Benner 1:00:35
I talk nicely about her all the time. Oh, okay, if I do, she'll say, I don't. I think that's because she's Irish or Catholic. I'm not sure exactly. I'm not sure exactly what happened to her when she was younger, because I wasn't there, but something happened. There's something in there, like, she's very good. I know she speaks very well of me behind my back. I actually should say that, because sometimes I'll hear her, she'll be like, Oh, I saw this person at work, and we're talking about this, and we're talking about this, and I was telling about what you were doing this and this, and I'm like, what you were telling about me? She's like, Yeah. I'm like, Oh, I've never heard you say that before. Like, so that's interesting. And then she'll say, well, Don't push your luck out, and I'm okay. And there it goes. Seriously, I guess maybe you made a good point earlier, long time ago. Now I wrote, I wrote a book, right? And I ended up on this television show, like I was, I was pimping my book, is what I was doing. And I was on a panel with other stay at home dads, and they were younger guys. And the one guy down down there, there's like four of us, I think we were like, on like, kind of high, like, high chairs and and in a line in front of a big studio, it's like 600 people in that studio, and it's crazy. And this one guy starts talking about, like, Well, I think my wife really appreciates me because I do this and blah, blah, blah, and, and he's just being so, like, effusive about, like, how wonderful everything was. And I guess, like, I laughed and not on purpose, and I laughed and, the person interviewing us was Katie Couric, and she turned to me and she goes something like, Is that funny? Or like, what? And I said, I mean, that guy's been married for like, two years. He doesn't even know what he's talking about. I was like, he hasn't even gotten yelled at yet. I was like, two years in, nobody had yelled at me. You're still floating. Wait till she figures out that the fun part's over, and then that she picked that boy. I was like, He's gonna get yelled I wish I knew where he was right now. I'd love to talk to him. Nevertheless, he's not a stay at home dad anymore. I'll tell you that much. Yeah, I still am. I'm not a quitter. You understand? My gosh, all right, Sydney, you were terrific for doing this. I really do appreciate your time. I wish you a ton of success. I want to tell you this, over the years, you're going to get better and better and better at this diabetes thing, and where you are now is nowhere near where you're going to end up. So I want, I want you to keep focusing on what you're doing and learning, because that's important, but try hard not to worry about this stuff and keep seeing that bigger picture stuff that you're talking about, about how your son feels, and you know, like, I think that stuff ends up being just as important as the numbers. Yep, you know for sure. Yeah, thank you. You're welcome. Just keep doing your best to strike a balance, and I'm sure you guys will be fine, awesome. Well, thank you, Scott, so much. No, it's my pleasure. I hope you had a good time. Yeah, I did excellent. Hold on one second, all right.
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