On one of the days we were in Chicago Ayden Jane accidentally got a pretty big dose of sugar. She accidentally drank a sugared drink that she thought was not sugared. She was playing and came over and said, "I don't feel good. My head hurts and I'm freezing." When I put my hand on her she was a puddle of sweat! Something had changed drastically in a short time. We discovered where the mistake was and knew that it was going to be a long afternoon...
It has been two or three years since Ayden Jane had a heavy sugar load. Yep, it crashed her system then but she was only 3 or 4 and I had no idea how it would effect her now.
So first there was a headache and a cold sweat. Then her stuttering took over as she could not think clearly. Next up? A bit of slurring and then sound asleep for 2 hours. She woke up and struggled through the evening. Lots of stuttering, not much energy, a headache ....
The surprise came the next morning. She woke a bit grumpy and impatient but I didn't think too much about that. We had breakfast and within an hour she was complaining she was hungry! I realized it was from the day before and made sure Ayden Jane understood that the hunger she was feeling was caused by the sugar. I made her wait for a snack because I knew she did not really need it but also, because I wanted to be sure that she felt the hunger and connected it.
It is so hard watching her just crash like that. Her description pretty much sums it up. "I get a headache and feel awful. All my energy is sucked up and then I feel hungry." On my side, I watch and bright eyed, active, articulate, energetic kiddo turn into a glassy-eyed, unable to put thoughts into words exhausted kiddo.
I am both horribly sad for her that this happens and incredibly happy that it does. I felt like it had been so long since we had experienced this that I wondered. Would it still be such a problem? Was it as big a problem as my memory tells me? If she decided to willfully try something would she have a consequence? Would she try something and not have that sort of reaction causing her to question all that she knows about her nutrition?
So, although I would not choose to go over a bump in the road like this, it was a great thing in the end. Now if I could just get through the thousand questions about sugar it has spurred on!
It has been two or three years since Ayden Jane had a heavy sugar load. Yep, it crashed her system then but she was only 3 or 4 and I had no idea how it would effect her now.
So first there was a headache and a cold sweat. Then her stuttering took over as she could not think clearly. Next up? A bit of slurring and then sound asleep for 2 hours. She woke up and struggled through the evening. Lots of stuttering, not much energy, a headache ....
The surprise came the next morning. She woke a bit grumpy and impatient but I didn't think too much about that. We had breakfast and within an hour she was complaining she was hungry! I realized it was from the day before and made sure Ayden Jane understood that the hunger she was feeling was caused by the sugar. I made her wait for a snack because I knew she did not really need it but also, because I wanted to be sure that she felt the hunger and connected it.
It is so hard watching her just crash like that. Her description pretty much sums it up. "I get a headache and feel awful. All my energy is sucked up and then I feel hungry." On my side, I watch and bright eyed, active, articulate, energetic kiddo turn into a glassy-eyed, unable to put thoughts into words exhausted kiddo.
I am both horribly sad for her that this happens and incredibly happy that it does. I felt like it had been so long since we had experienced this that I wondered. Would it still be such a problem? Was it as big a problem as my memory tells me? If she decided to willfully try something would she have a consequence? Would she try something and not have that sort of reaction causing her to question all that she knows about her nutrition?
So, although I would not choose to go over a bump in the road like this, it was a great thing in the end. Now if I could just get through the thousand questions about sugar it has spurred on!
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