The Two Year Old "Roller Coaster" Ride

Parenting a 2 year old definitely has its challenges.  Most people know of the "Terrible Twos", but do they really understand?  I thought I did until my darling Goosey hit that age.  To say she challenges us on a daily basis is an understatement.  Should I be surprised though?  Nah!  She has challenged us from the day she was born.  After her birth, she didn't cry for about 20 minutes.  Wow! What an easy baby we have!  Ha Ha on us.  That was just the beginning!  Shortly after that, she wouldn't stop crying and only the nurses could calm her down.  Fast forward 2 years later and we have the most wonderful, bright, loud, energetic child you could ask for.  That being said, she definitely takes us on a roller coaster ride everyday!  In an attempt to help control her wild emotions, I began looking heavily at her eating and sleeping habits.

From day 1, we have always been careful with our food choices.  No junk food for our baby.  Only homemade food and as little processed food as possible.  She loves fruit and some veggies more than anything and will choose those over other food any day.  Her favorite baby food was pureed mixed vegetables. Now, she could enter a watermelon eating contest and win!  The only challenge for us is that she doesn't like meat.  As far as her sleeping habits go....We sleep trained her at 4 months and it was the best decision we could have made.  She has slept wonderfully for naps and at night from that age until recently, when...she is REFUSING to nap!  Definitely not what a mother of a two year old and a NEWBORN wants to deal with!

To begin with, I began taking mental notes of when her happy mood would change and what caused it.  Now, most people say that being overly tired, hungry, or stimulated can cause breakdowns and tantrums.  What I found perplexed me!  Some days, she could easily solve problems and figure things out on her own.  Other days, not so much...even if it is something she is very familiar with and knows how to do.  Then I tried to figure out if it was the same time of day.  Again, that wasn't consistent either.  So, what could be causing her roller coaster of emotions from an otherwise very happy, nonstop energetic little one?

Blood sugar!  Or so I think.  Based on my highly scientific research, it seems as though a drop in blood sugar causes these daily roller coaster rides.  Although she is a super healthy eater, the foods she consumes have a lot of sugar.  Albeit, natural sugar, from foods such as watermelon, grapes, plums, carrots, and corn, but it is still sugar.  I decided at that point to make it my mission to find high protein, low sugar foods that my Goosey would eat.  

 In just the few days I have started a new food routine with her, I have seen remarkable changes.  Ensuring her meals have much more protein in them has really changed her behavior and more importantly, her ability to cope with the challenges and frustrations that come along with exploring a new world.

Under the Kiddos page, I will list food choices and meal plans designed to keep her sugar level more stable and make for a much happier little girl :)