Is it the genes? Not always...

Does having a kid mean you're sick all the time, or does it just seem like that? Another cold. I should be thankful that H has not had what the other kids in her daycare have had. One was hospitalized with pneumonia; H caught a cold (and so did her father and I). Another kid had strep; another cold for H (and for us). Then mono for that same kid, and just another cold for us. H has never even had an ear infection - which seems like a rite of passage for kids these days - but just one cold after another. Maybe the nursing had some effect; It'd be nice to think so. Also, I think H was so robust even from the beginning - I think she had to be, to survive being born from my diabetic self!

I've been thinking a lot about the potential risk my daughter has for type 1 diabetes. There are some knowns - like the following information from the American Diabetes Association website: For a woman with type 1, her child has a 1 in 25 chance of "getting" type 1 diabetes if the mom had the child before age 25; if the mom is older than 25, the child has a 1 in 100 chance of developing type 1 diabetes.

This clearly indicates that something other than genes are involved in a child's risk for type 1. The genes you pass to your children don't suddenly change at age 25. Yes, mutations (small changes in your DNA) become more common as a person ages; that's why pregnant women over age 35 are offered screening for Down syndrome. And it's not that age 35 is a clear cut-off, where the risk suddenly jumps; it's a somewhat arbitrary line drawn in the sand, because the risk gradually increases as the mom ages. So I imagine the same thing holds true for a child's type 1 risk as a mom's age increases (it's a gradual increase, not a sudden shift at age 25). But the risk for type 1 goes in the opposite direction from Down and most other genetic conditions. And why the change happens at all isn't clear, at least to me. It's not the same for moms and for dads, either; if you're a dad with type 1, your kid's risk is 1 in 17, no matter what your age at the child's birth. I'm going to look into this a little more. I'll let you know what I find out!

I also worry about H's risk for type 2 diabetes. I read an article recently on the New York Times site about gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes in pregnant moms and their kids' weight that irked me. The article cites research evidence that a mom's type 2 or gestational diabetes during pregnancy can make her kids bigger throughout life - because of the extra sugar the fetus gets during gestation. According to the theory, that can make a baby crave food more - basically, it creates a higher "satiety" set point- and that can lead to more weight gain throughout life.

Even though the article wasn't about type 1 diabetes, it clearly seems to apply as well: Extra sugar during development, any way you get it, could be a problem for the kid's weight. The article mentions that experts recommend breast feeding to help set kids' weight on a lower trajectory, supposedly for the long term - score one for me. But that made me wonder whether extra sugar can pass through breast milk and make the baby gain too much weight.

So I did a little of my own research. I found one study in the medical literature that suggests that the breast feeding part is not a problem; in fact, just like for other women, breast feeding helps keep our babies smaller, too. Unfortunately, birth weight also plays a role in a kid's later weight gain; so those of us with larger-than-normal babies have that to contend with.

So yes, it's basically the same for us as for women with type 2 or gestational diabetes. I'm going to keep limiting the cookie count for H! It's a good thing she increasingly likes to eat what I eat, and that means a lot of low-fat yogurt and fruit.