by Joilene Rasmussen

Created on: September 14, 2008   Last Updated: September 27, 2008

There and Back Againin One Piece

My four-month-old son had been up for thirteen hours. Instead of being able to listen to the speaker I had driven nine hours to hear, I had spent the last two hours walking the floor with him, quietly wishing he would just shut up and go to sleep- like I'd planned.

A few other moms had attended the business conference, and, like me, had spent the time outside the main room, trying to catch snatches of the presentation through speakers in the ceiling of the foyer. The difference between us was that, while most of their children were peacefully napping or nursing, mine was jabbering, bouncing, and screaming. He alternately froze in sleep, and awoke shrieking, because of his inability to truly rest.

Finally, in the darkness of the drive home, he crashed, and slept for several hours.

Today, I am left wondering how his life, health, and my business conference, would have been different if only I hadn't sugared him up.

It wasn't really my choice. I had been compelled by Social Services, two weeks earlier, to stop nursing my baby, and put him on formula. He was said to be experiencing failure to thrive. If only they had looked at the weight history of the family, they would have seen their mistake. He was only thin, and following in the footsteps of his forebears. He hated the formula. In order to keep him from being taken away and hospitalized, I resorted to mixing fruit juice with it, which made it palatable to him. Hence, the frustration of his road trip debut. Confined to his car seat, he simply could not figure out what to do with his system's urgent pleas for activity.

My little boy was sugared up for at least four solid months, during a prime growing period, before we shook the surveillance of Social Services enough to switch him to unadulterated goat milk.

Now, we work together to keep him balanced. He knows why I don't dare slip him much sugar, at breakfast or any other time, and, when offered a normal sized serving of something sweet, politely says it's too big. Wise, for a kindergartner. He doesn't like feeling fragmented by hyperactivity any more than I like hearing him act like he's about to vaporize.

My husband and I have therefore come up with many ideas for low-sugar, child-friendly foods, and all feel better for not relying on sugar to keep us "up", or make meals convenient. We have taken many long trips, with two children with varying tastes and opinions, and have never since experienced the level of frustration I did on

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