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The Diabetic Mammy Podcast
Doing Hard Things Gently: Life, Parenting and Type 1 Diabetes (#38)
In this reflective episode of The Diabetic Mammy Podcast, I sit with the idea of choosing your hard.
Inspired by a Saint Stephen’s Day run and an honest conversation about work, home, food, movement and the everyday decisions we make, this episode explores a simple but powerful truth: life is hard, and so is living with and/or parenting type 1 diabetes. There is no easy option, only the path we choose and how gently we live inside it.
I reflect on how diabetes weaves itself into every choice, from routines and energy to expectations and self-judgement, and offer permission to release the idea that there is a “right” or superior way to manage it all.
The episode also pays tribute to a quiet, moving moment shared over Christmas with a listener who spoke about being deeply affected by the Welcome to Holland episode number 6 of this podcast (available @ https://open.acast.com/public/streams/6768991d15b96146455e80f3/episodes/683d9801708e9fc9b4394c66.mp3 ).
A conversation about emotional processing, strength, and learning to feel as adults reminds us that tenderness and resilience can exist side by side, in all of us.
A compassionate listen for anyone carrying invisible weight, navigating chronic illness, or simply doing their best inside a life that is already hard.
The Diabetic Mammy is the heartfelt, no-nonsense podcast where type 1 diabetes meets motherhood, community, and a whole lot of real talk. Hosted by Catherine, a mammy navigating the highs and lows of type 1 diabetes, each episode blends personal insight with practical wisdom, offering support for parents, carers, and anyone living with or loving someone with diabetes. From tech transitions and hospital diagnoses to school lunches and stolen sleep, this podcast embraces the messy, meaningful moments that make up life with chronic illness. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or a seasoned warrior, The Diabetic Mammy is your space to feel seen, supported, and never alone.
Connect with Catherine by email on catherine@abundantlydiabetes.com or reach her on Instagram: abundantlydiabetes
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37. After Christmas With Type 1 Diabetes:
10:15||Ep. 37For many families, the 6th of January marks the true end of Christmas. In Ireland, it is known as Nollaig na mBan, Women’s Christmas, a day that traditionally honours the invisible work carried by women and offers a long-overdue pause.In this reflective episode of The Diabetic Mammy Podcast, I explore what it means to return to diabetes routines after the holidays without guilt, rigidity, or pressure. We talk about the hidden labour of Christmas when living with or parenting type 1 diabetes, the emotional dip that often follows the festivities, and why blood sugars, energy, and routines rarely realign at the same pace.This is a gentle conversation about recalibration rather than correction. A push back against “New Year, New You” culture, and an invitation to choose kind, realistic, and sustainable intentions for the year ahead.If January feels heavy, if decision fatigue is creeping in, or if you’re finding the transition back to routine harder than expected, this episode is for you.A soft landing. A moment of recognition. And permission to move slowly.
36. Opening the Doors to a New Year with Type 1 Diabetes:
09:51||Ep. 36As this year draws to a close, this gentle episode invites you to pause before the countdown begins.Drawing on a Scottish New Year tradition of opening the back door to let the old year out, and the front door to welcome the new one in, Catherine reflects on what it truly means to live through another year with type 1 diabetes. The hard days survived. The quiet wins that often go unnoticed. The lessons learned about ourselves, our families, and diabetes itself.This episode offers space for reflection without judgement. There are no resolutions to set and no perfection to chase. Just an invitation to honour what you have carried, to recognise the resilience it has taken to get here, and to gently welcome the year ahead.Whether you are living with type 1 diabetes yourself or parenting a child with it, this episode is a calm companion as one year ends and another begins.A moment to breathe. A moment to reflect. And a reminder that you do not step into the new year alone.
35. A Nightmare Before Christmas or Just Another Day with Type 1 Diabetes? (#35)
16:50||Ep. 35In this Christmas week episode of The Diabetic Mammy Podcast, Catherine reflects on how to honour celebration while living with and parenting type 1 diabetes. Sparked by a simple comment, “Christmas must be a nightmare”, she gently challenges the idea that diabetes must dominate special days.This episode offers reassurance for anyone navigating their first festive season with type 1 diabetes, alongside validation for those further along the journey. Catherine introduces the idea of a safe minimum approach to Christmas Day, focusing on preparation, safety, and letting go of perfection in favour of presence and joy.Through lived experience, practical planning tips, and compassionate reframing, she explores the balance between diabetes care and connection. From adjusting expectations around numbers to embracing the concept of “time in happiness versus time in range”, this episode gives permission to let diabetes take a back seat, just for a day, without compromising safety.A gentle, grounding listen for parents, adults with type 1 diabetes, and anyone feeling the emotional weight of trying to do it all during the festive season. This episode invites grace, flexibility, and kindness towards yourself, reminding you that memories are made in the messy, joyful moments, not perfect blood sugar graphs.
34. I Don’t Know, Calm Down, Don’t Worry: Living Type 1 as a Triplex (#34º
11:18||Ep. 34In this reflective episode of The Diabetic Mammy Podcast, I explore life with type 1 diabetes through a triplex identity: living as a person with T1D, a healthcare professional, and a parent raising children with type 1 diabetes. These three perspectives shape how language, advice, and reassurance land in everyday life.We sit with familiar phrases often heard in diabetes care, such as “I don’t know,” instructional comments like “calm down” or “be careful,” and the well-intended but complex reassurance of “don’t worry.” Spoken with good intent, these words can comfort or quietly undermine confidence. Drawing on lived experience, clinical insight, and parenting, this episode invites more compassionate language, deeper self-trust, and permission to pause.A gentle listen for anyone living with, caring for, or supporting someone with type 1 diabetes.
33. Diabetes in December: Saving Spoons in the Silliest Season (#33)
13:21||Ep. 33In this comforting episode of The Diabetic Mammy, we explore the emotional reality of living with a chronic condition through the lens of the Christine Miserandino's Spoon Theory (see link below) and my own gentle twist on it: the Spoons of Sugar Theory. Together we look at how type 1 diabetes quietly drains our daily energy, why so many of us wake up already short on spoons, and how this constant effort shapes our emotional wellbeing.We then move towards something softer. I share how pairing the hard diabetes tasks with small, intentional moments of sweetness can help prevent burnout, soothe the nervous system, and make diabetes care more sustainable.Whether you’re a parent of a child with type 1 diabetes or an adult managing your own condition, this episode offers compassion, understanding, and practical ideas for restoring balance on the days when the work feels heavy.Join me as we talk about energy, resilience, diabetes fatigue, and the importance of emotional sugar in a life lived abundantly with chronic illness. May this episode feel like a little exhale in a busy week.(More info about The Spoon Theory @ www.butyoudontlooksick.com )
32. Breaking Diabetes Stigma: Why Our Words and Visibility Count (#32)
12:58||Ep. 32In this week’s episode of The Diabetic Mammy, we explore what happens after we start noticing the language used around diabetes. Because once we tune in to our words, we can’t help but notice something else sitting quietly beneath them: stigma.I talk about the subtle, often invisible ways stigma has shaped how many of us live with diabetes – the hiding of injections, the quick tucking away of sensors, the apologising for alarms, and the belief that we shouldn’t be “seen” managing our condition. I share my own journey from discreetly checking numbers in toilet cubicles to openly, proudly creating a well-organised diabetes kit at home, shaped by my pharmacist’s training and years of living overseas. We look at how stigma shows up in clinics, in family life and in the words we hand down to our children. And, most importantly, we talk about how visibility builds confidence: how checking glucose at the table, wearing tech with pride and speaking kindly to ourselves can slowly, gently dismantle shame.This episode is an invitation to notice the quiet places where stigma still lives in our routines and to make one small shift towards being seen. Because visibility is not weakness - it’s strength, safety and self-respect.
31. Language Matters: Why Words Shape our Daily Experience (#31)
11:35||Ep. 31In this episode, Catherine opens up a gentle but powerful conversation about the words we use in diabetes care, why they matter so deeply, and how they shape the way we see ourselves and our children. Inspired by the global #LanguageMatters movement championed by advocates like Renza Scibilia, the episode explores how everyday phrases can either uplift or undermine, connect or isolate.Catherine shares examples from clinic life, home life, and her own experiences as a pharmacist and a mammy living with type 1. She invites listeners to reflect on the tone and labels that often slip into conversations about diabetes and challenges us all to pause, listen, and choose words that support rather than shame.The episode also looks at how the language we use around our children becomes the language they use with themselves, and how tiny shifts in phrasing can model self-grace, resilience, and emotional literacy.Ultimately, this episode is an invitation to speak with more kindness, more accuracy, and more humanity. Because when it comes to diabetes, language isn’t neutral. It’s powerful. And it truly, genuinely matters.
30. Running a Day Late: Diabetes Parenting, Big Questions, and Real-Life Hope (#30)
10:47||Ep. 30This week’s episode arrives a day late: thank-you for your patience and for the time you give this podcast each week. Life with type 1 diabetes, parenting, and real-world responsibilities sometimes shift the timetable, especially in a one-woman project like this.In this gentle check-in, I share what the past fortnight has looked like: busy, emotional, full of diabetes events, and equal parts inspiring and exhausting. I also highlight a powerful insight from a passionate diabetes researcher who believes the full human genome may be mapped within three and a half years, opening the door to early identification and even prevention of diabetes. A hopeful thought for all families living with type 1 or type 2.We touch on upcoming conversations around diabetes education for parents, language and stigma, decision fatigue, and how to rest in a condition that never takes a break.If you can, please leave a rating or share this episode. It helps more parents and families find support, connection, and comfort.Thank you for being here. You don’t have to do diabetes perfectly to do it well.