You may have heard of Type One Together’s T1D babysitter list. Raquel shares how it all came to be and why she is so passionate about helping T1D families get a night off!
Hi friends! My name is Raquel and I am the founder of Type One Together & the T1D babysitter list. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 5 and to this day, I remember the impact my T1D babysitter had on me. I was the girl who was TERRIFIED of needles and truly anything related to my diabetes diagnosis. On the days that my T1D babysitter came over to hang out with me, I felt stronger and more capable to handle diabetes because I was no longer in it alone! I had someone to look up to and it is now my mission to create this experience for thousands of other families.
How did it begin? Well, the truth is that I didn’t really want much to do with the diabetes community growing up other than attending local JDRF walks yearly and attending a one week summer camp. It wasn’t until I joined the College Diabetes Network (now known as the Diabetes Link) at the University of Texas at Austin in college, when everything changed.
I had a huge epiphany moment walking out of my first CDN meeting realizing that it WAS in fact the best thing ever to have others around me who understood what I was going through. It didn’t have to be this weird, “un-cool” thing to have T1D friends (aka Diabuddies). From that day on, I dove head first into the T1D community and soon after began interning at the JDRF chapter in Austin.
While working there, I was connected to T1D families who were in need of T1D babysitters. These families needed a night out for their own mental health and marriage which was so hard to accomplish! This became the perfect college gig for me to not only make some side money, but also give back to T1D families. Eventually, I had so many requests that I could no longer keep up, so I began connecting my CDN friends to all the Austin T1D families in search of sitters. It wasn’t long until my name was circulating through the city as THE Austin T1D babysitter connector and it became clear to me how much of a need this was in our community!
Why is it great to have a type 1 diabetic babysitter?
1. The most obvious reason - it can be hard to trust your T1D child with a sitter who doesn’t understand how to properly care for type 1 diabetes. Having someone who has been doing this for a while can allow you as a parent to take a true night off and leave the care to them. Yes, that can even mean not checking your child's CGM readings every 5 seconds once you get comfortable with your sitter ;)
2. It gives your child living with type 1 diabetes someone to look up to and bond with. T1D can feel isolating as a child and when there is a “big kid” for them to look up to, it doesn’t feel quite as bad.
3. They are in it together! There have been countless times where I have done a site change or finger prick with a child I was babysitting. Maybe they were nervous about getting on an insulin pump and I was able to give them a little insight or they were nervous about a new dexcom site location that I was able to show them isn’t so bad after all!
Over the years, Type One Together has become SO much more than just a T1D babysitter list. Type One Together gets T1D families through their first year of diabetes and beyond through community, products and resources. I am so excited for all the things to come, but the T1D babysitter list will always have my heart.
On the day that I am writing this (July 12, 2023) we have 1,150 T1D sitters on the list and counting. The list grows every single day and it is my dream to give parents across the country a night off so that they can fill up their own cup too!
How does it work?
1. Sign up to access the list for 1 year here: https://stan.store/typeonetogether/p/t1d-babysitter-resource
2. If we don’t have anyone within 1 hour of your home after 3 months of purchasing access, money back guaranteed! The list is growing daily, so if we don’t have anyone near you now, continue to check back and we hope to soon!
3. Once you have access to the list, you can use the tabs at the bottom to find someone in your area or access other states when you are traveling! We update the list at least every other week with new additions.
Please note that this is simply a list and Type One Together and myself are NOT responsible for any interactions made through this resource. All we do is share sitter’s emails and it is up to you to determine who you are comfortable with.
ENJOY and please share your stories of how our sitter list has been helpful to you by sending us a message on instagram @typeonetogether or emailing me: raquel@typeonetogether.com.
Love,
Raquel