Getting Dressed With a Pump

After exploring the stores for weeks in pursuit of the perfect dress, you have finally found The dress to wear to the rehearsal dinner.  You’re so excited, and you can’t wait to show your friends!  You bring it home and try it on once more.   While twirling around in front of the mirror, you stop and listen.  “Buzzz… Buzzz... Buzzz...”   You direct your attention to your pump lying on your dresser.  A wave of panic rushes through your body.   And as your heart drops to your toenails you realize, “Oh my God.  Where am I going to put my pump?”

Most everyone has been in this situation before: Whether it’s your prom dress, your wedding dress, or even just a cute outfit for Saturday night’s date.  It’s that sinking feeling when you realize your caboose (aka insulin pump) is not going to fit anywhere, and ultimately is going to ruin a good outfit.  As this has happened to me a lot, I decided to post some pictures of my handmade pump cases that have helped me out of some very sticky situations.

Ol' Faithful

 
First of all, when I wear a dress I usually stick with Ol’ Faithful.  The leg strap my mother made out of an elastic band, a bra clasp, and some fabric.  With just a few easy sewing steps, you have a leg strap to use for nearly 10 years (and longer!).  This works great for loose/flowy dresses like my blue and white polka dot dress in the picture.  However, if your dress is tight around your legs, you can often clip it to your bra and it be hidden (It's just extremely uncomfortable!). Try to avoid a bulge if at all possible, the idea is to hide the pump, not draw attention to it.

With my prom dress, I had a little more trouble.  After searching for the midnight blue dress I so desperately desired for my senior prom, I had no idea I’d have so much trouble with my pump.  Because I chose a mermaid fit, it was too tight around my legs to wear my handy dandy leg strap.  Also, because it was a one-shoulder, I was not planning on wearing a bra (so I had nothing to clip my pump to).  This is when my mother decided it would be easiest to just sew a pocket into my dress!  It turned out great, and no one could see it when I had my dress on. The inside liner allowed my mother to sew the pocket to it, without ruining the dress.

                 

If you’re more active, a band like this may work better for you than the traditional clip that comes with your pump.  When I played basketball and tennis in my youth, I used this band a lot.  It’s made like the leg strap, but the elastic band is thinner and longer.  As you can see, it is made from a bra clasp as well (which can be found at most craft stores).  However, it also has a small patch of Velcro sewn inside, to prevent the pump from coming out of the pocket.

Remember, you should not be embarrassed by your pump!  I for one understand that it’s annoying when it’s bulging out from an outfit.  It makes me feel like everyone is looking at it.  According to Joe, that’s not the case.  However, with pumps like the Animas Ping, you can hide your pump anywhere you’d like because you can control it with the remote/meter.  Therefore, if you hide it by clipping it to your bra, you don’t have to go around digging in your top when you’re about to eat dinner and have to deal with the mortifying look on your date’s face.   Just remember, if you are going to clip it to your bra, make sure you double check in the mirror to see that it is 100% hidden!  Haha, because absolutely no one wants to deal with this embarrassment: