I was 17 when Type 1 diabetes became part of my life. At the time, I had no idea how much that diagnosis would shape the years ahead.
Nearly two decades later, diabetes has been there through some of the biggest chapters of my life: growing up, pregnancy, becoming a mom, navigating different insulin technologies, and learning to take better care of myself.
The Early Years
Being diagnosed at 17 was overwhelming. I was old enough to understand that something serious had changed, but still young enough that I didn’t really know what living with Type 1 diabetes would mean for the rest of my life.
At first, there was a lot to learn. Insulin became part of my everyday routine, and I had to learn how food, activity, stress, and so many other things could affect my blood sugar.
I was still in high school when I was diagnosed, and I had to learn how to manage diabetes while continuing with school and everything that came with being a young adult. Over the years, I went on to complete both my undergraduate and graduate education while living with Type 1 diabetes.
There were days when managing diabetes felt like one more thing I had to think about while keeping up with school, responsibilities, and everyday life. But gradually, carrying insulin, planning ahead, dealing with unexpected highs and lows, and taking care of myself became part of my routine.
Looking back, that period taught me that diabetes would have to fit into my life—not become the whole of my life.
I didn’t become an expert overnight. I simply learned one day at a time.
Learning to Live With Diabetes
As the years passed, Type 1 diabetes became less about the diagnosis itself and more about learning how to live a full life alongside it.
There were good days and frustrating days. There were times when I felt completely in control and other times when diabetes reminded me that I couldn’t predict everything.
I learned that managing diabetes isn’t about getting everything right. It’s about adjusting, learning from what happens, and moving forward.
Eventually, I stopped thinking of diabetes as something that completely changed who I was. It became something I carried with me while I built the life I wanted.
Marriage, Pregnancy & a New Chapter
By the time I got married, Type 1 diabetes had already been part of my life for many years. I had grown up with it, learned how to manage the everyday challenges, and figured out how to make diabetes fit into my life.
Four years after getting married, I became a mom.
I first found out I was pregnant in 2022. After years of living with Type 1 diabetes, pregnancy brought a completely new perspective. I was no longer thinking only about managing my own health. I was preparing for one of the biggest changes of my life and, eventually, becoming responsible for a little person who depended on me.
Pregnancy meant paying closer attention to my blood sugar, making adjustments, and learning to be patient with myself when things didn’t go exactly as planned. There was so much excitement, but there was also uncertainty because I knew diabetes would be part of the journey.
My pregnancy became one of the most closely monitored and meaningful periods of my diabetes journey. It taught me that I could prepare as much as possible and still have days that didn’t go according to plan.
I learned to adapt, give myself some grace, and keep moving forward one day at a time.
Becoming a Mom
In 2023, I became a mom.
After everything I had experienced with Type 1 diabetes, becoming a mother felt like the beginning of an entirely new chapter. Suddenly, a little person needed me, and my days looked very different.
Motherhood brought so much joy, but it also meant learning how to care for myself while caring for someone else. Diabetes didn’t pause just because I had a baby. There were still blood sugar checks, insulin decisions, unexpected highs and lows, and all the everyday things that come with managing Type 1 diabetes.
I learned that I couldn’t keep putting self-care off. If I wanted to be there for my son, I also needed to make space for my own health and well-being.
Becoming a mom changed the way I thought about taking care of myself. It wasn’t about being perfect. It was about learning to show up for both of us, one day at a time.
When Everything Changed After Birth
The months after giving birth were much more intense than I had imagined.
About two months after my son was born, we discovered that he was having a reaction to formula containing casein. We had to stop giving him formula, which meant that I became his only source of milk.
For the next several months, I fed him about every two hours. At the same time, I had to avoid foods containing casein, including milk and many dairy products, as well as other foods that contained milk ingredients.
I was already following a relatively low-carb diet because of Type 1 diabetes, and suddenly my food choices became even more limited. Between breastfeeding so frequently, eating a restricted diet, recovering from childbirth, and caring for a newborn, there wasn’t much time left to think about taking care of myself.
My mom stayed with us during those first three months, and having her there made an enormous difference. After she left, it was just me, my husband, and our baby, and we were figuring everything out on our own.
Around five months, we started introducing solid foods, which slowly changed our routine. But by then, those first months had taken a lot out of me.
I had planned to return to work after maternity leave, but the reality of caring for my baby and managing everything at home made that impossible then. I became a stay-at-home mom, not because that was necessarily the plan, but because it was what our family needed then.
It was a difficult season. Looking back, I can see how much of myself I had put
Breastfeeding for Two Years
Despite how difficult those early months were, I continued breastfeeding my son for two years.
Breastfeeding became such a central part of our daily life. I committed to it for him, even while I was still learning how to care for myself as a new mother.
Those two years were beautiful in many ways, but they were also physically and emotionally demanding. There were countless days when my own needs came second because my focus was simply on making sure my baby was cared for.
Looking back, breastfeeding was one of the biggest chapters of my early motherhood experience. It shaped my days, my routines, my relationship with my body, and eventually my decision to start taking better care of myself again.
Finding My Way Back to Myself
After two years of breastfeeding and spending so much of my time caring for my son, I realized how much my own body had changed.
I had lost quite a bit of weight, and I was feeling more aches than I expected. For a long time, taking care of myself simply wasn’t a priority.
By 2025, I knew I wanted to start feeling like myself again. I began with Zumba twice a week and eventually added strength training.
What started as a small attempt to get moving again became the beginning of a new chapter for me. I gradually gained weight, rebuilt my strength, and became more comfortable in my body.
That experience changed how I think about wellness. It isn’t about becoming someone else. For me, it’s about feeling healthy, capable, and at home in my own body.
Nearly Two Decades Later
Nearly two decades after my diagnosis, Type 1 diabetes is still part of my everyday life, but it isn’t the only thing that defines me.
I’ve gone from being a teenager trying to understand a new diagnosis to becoming a woman, a wife, a mother, and someone who is still figuring out what I want the next chapter of my life to look like.
I’ve gone through school, built a life, experienced pregnancy and motherhood, learned to navigate different diabetes technologies, and found my way back to taking care of my own body.
There have been difficult seasons, unexpected turns, and plenty of days when I didn’t have everything figured out. But there have also been so many ordinary, meaningful moments that have made up a life alongside diabetes.
That’s what I want Lady Clay to be about.
Not just Type 1 diabetes. Not just motherhood. Not just health or fitness.
My life, with all of those things woven into it.
And if sharing my experiences helps someone else with Type 1 diabetes feel a little less alone or gives them something useful to take away, then I’m happy to have this little corner of the internet.
A note from Lady Clay:
Everything shared on Lady Clay is based on my personal experiences and is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not replace guidance from your doctor or diabetes care team. Everyone’s experience with Type 1 diabetes is different.