Seven years and diaper free

Since the birth of my daughter in 2007 I have been wiping little bums and changing diapers. By the time the one child was ready to be toilet trained the next baby had already arrived. So I now find myself in the awkward situation of living in a house with three toilet trained kids. I experienced an immense sadness as I watched my son independently run to the bathroom to do his thing, he even asks me to close the door so he can have some “privacy”. The heart-wrenching loss of realising that you are no longer a mother of small babies has left me with a rather unexpected empty feeling.

It all started two weeks ago when my husband told the kindergarten teacher that my son was ready to be toilet trained. “Great”, she replied “bring him to kindergarten in underpants and let’s see how he manages.” I was so angry at my husband, “he may be ready” I moaned, “but I am not”. Needless to say after only two accidents he is successfully toilet trained and of course I had to hear the unwanted “I told you so” from my spouse.

I was so stuck in the current state of affairs that I was unable to shift into a new reality. This got me thinking about my real passion which is sleep. Often as parents we convince ourselves that our child simply can’t take the next step. My child cannot sleep through the night she has to nurse at least twice at night, my baby cannot move into a bed he will sleep in his crib until he is twenty, my child has to sleep with her pacifier and my baby does not know how to fall asleep on her own. Any of these sound familiar?

The truth is that our children are more adaptable than you think. Their primary focus is to grow and develop, constantly pushing the boundaries whereas many of us are quite content in our comfort zones sometimes immobilised by fear to move forward. Your baby can sleep through the night; they are capable of falling asleep on their own and in their own beds. Sometimes introducing this change takes a little work and sometimes it takes a monumental effort on the part of the parent. I can assure you that if you stay committed through any process of change, you will eventually reap the rewards.

I conclude by encouraging all of us (especially me) to move out of our comfort zones, take risks, be active and most importantly believe in yourself and your child.

"Sweet" Dreams

I have just come home after doing the grocery shopping with a slightly sick feeling in my stomach. This is not because Jerusalem is currently experiencing a dust storm and I must have inhaled at least a kilogram of dust by now nor is it due to the absolutely unfriendly, unhelpful staff synonymous with the Israeli shopping experience.

The amount of junk food on display enticing the consumer to buy truckloads of this sugared junk was simply overwhelming. It is as if the store-owner placed a highly sophisticated bomb in the store, filled it with chocolate and candy and set it off to explode at the precise moment when all the Jews are looking for food to place in their mishluach manot (Purim gifts). Most of the candies displayed were really gooey balls of preservatives coated with large amounts of sugar disguised as something you can actually eat.

Of course come Purim we will happily exchange your bag of sugared junk for our bag of sugared junk and watch our kids spike a sugar rush as the day continues. The connection between a diet rich in simple carbohydrates (candy, cakes and cookies) and bad sleep well documented.

High sugar foods lead to a rise in blood sugar levels. This in turn signals the pancreas to release the hormone insulin which results a significant drop in blood sugar levels. In order to try and re-stabilize blood sugar levels, the body will signal the adrenal glands to release the stress hormone adrenaline which counteracts sleep and feelings of fatigue.

Our nerve cells (neurons) continuously communicate with each other via chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters can either excite or calm the nervous system. One of the main neurotransmitters regulating sleep is called serotonin. Serotonin is made from the amino acid tryptophan. So it would be sensible to suggest that eating foods rich in tryptophan would in turn increase the production of serotonin and ultimately calm the nervous system and ready our bodies for sleep.

Foods rich in the amino acid tryptophan include turkey, chicken, milk, egg, nuts (almonds, cashews and walnuts), bananas, beans, fish, cheese and oats. However these foods should be eaten at least two hours before bedtime to allow for the proper absorption and digestion of tryptophan. If your bedtime routine is similar to mine then dinner, bath and bedtime follow in quick succession. Try giving your child these foods to eat at lunch or as an afternoon snack (oatmeal and bananas; scrambled eggs; yogurt or cheese on crackers). This will allow enough time for the tryptophan to be absorbed. Naturally avoid afternoon snacks such as sugared candy, processed juice and caffeine (e.g. soda).

I am not saying that a healthy diet will guarantee a good night’s sleep but there is a definite, measurable connection between the two.

I am sure the store-owner is not going to lose any sleep worrying about the upcoming candy induced sugar rush he helped promote. I know that Purim is a one day deviation from our normal healthy diets (actually it’s more like a three day weekend if you live in Jerusalem) but my message is clear. What we eat during the day is going to have a significant impact on our sleep. Keep it healthy!