Intervention

My 3 1/2 year old, as most babies, has been unwittingly orally-fixated since she was born to #1 breastfeeding, #2 the pacifier, #3 the bottle (milk that is), and then finally, #4, her sippy cup. For some reason, I don't remember why, instead of filling her sippy cup with milk, I decided on juice.

I have prided myself on breastfeeding her, her 1st 11 months of life, her loving fruits and veggies, not giving her candy, making sure she gets enough protein, carbs, fat in every meal if possible. Oh, and giving her as much juice - diluted with water of course - as her little palate pleased. "Juice juice - more juice" she would cry out in her little cartoon voice we thought was just "so cute"! And would happily refill her sippy cup 8, maybe 10 times a day! Like good bartenders, keeping her cup filled to the rim at all times never letting our little juiceaholic go thirsty. Slightly reminiscent of my "college" days that lasted a bit longer than college and made my college years last a bit longer;-/ Sometimes, not even diluting it! ahem Mr. Restless... Oh what great parents we are! NOT. While making sure she wasn't eating too much candy, fast-food, & desserts, we were loading up our 26 pound little girl with a mind-boggling amount of sugar. The funny part is, is that I didn't even have a little voice inside my head - nothing - I literally was just - not - thinking.

Since she was 2 about the time we got her hooked & sunk into her sugar-induced world...o.k., going a little overboard on the drug/alcohol references... she's been a little spit-fire to say the least. Sweet, intelligent, kind, funny...but a little fire-cracker. Always on the go, constantly on the move, needing activity, attention, going from one thing to another, not being able to sit still: in our society people call it: ADHD. On top of being "this way", just recently she's been on an emotional roller-coaster, up and down, bursting out in tantrums for no reason, saying that we're not "loving" her...seriously, a teenager in a 3 year old's body.

So, it all occurred to me when I was researching hyperactivity in kids on the internet & came across an extremely informative article talking about SUGAR - duh!!!! - influencing behavior etc. DING DING DING - Holy crap! We were going through 1/2 gallon sized bottles of juice every 2-3 days, keeping her on a steady supply of fructose, and blindly enabling an actual ADDICTION TO SUGAR. Our daughter might as well have been hooked up to an IV connected to a bottle of syrup! In that moment, I threw away her juice and replaced it w/a bit of Sugar-Free Kool Aid and water. I know, the artificial sweetener is probably not a great idea either, but one thing at a time.

Overnight, a different kid. Happy, calm, focused - don't get me wrong, she still a little firecracker & has her moments, but nowhere NEAR what was going on pre-intervention. Not only has her behavior changed, she's eating more & sleeping better.

Who knew this "nutritious" beverage heavily marketed to parents in a variety of flavors, fusions, and concoctions with added calcium, Vit A, B, C, & D; loading up shelves at the stores; in convenient little boxes stamped with our childrens' favorite characters & perfectly sized straws for their tiny little mouths; in heavy doses was silently altering our child's personality. Forgive me for being dramatic, but when you think about it, & from what I've read, it's a bit disturbing.

Anyway, I'm just glad we caught it and will be able to avoid this problem with Restless Baby #2. It sucks that the 1st is always the guinnea pig & has to endure all our mistakes and inexperience. Sorry RB#1.

Let's just hope this is the first and last time we'll need to perform any sort of "intervention" involving mind-altering substances.

UPDATE: I might've spoken too soon. Our little "firecracker" is back. We're still refraining from the juice, and there is a slight difference, but I have to admit, it's not AS much as I had thought. I'm finding that it could be a perfect balance of sugar instead. I don't know...it's always a guessing game.