Challenge #1: Feeling Sick (for both types
of women – nursing/pregnant and non)
Fasting tends to cause discomfort;
things like headaches dizziness nausea etc. These side effects are not isolated
random symptoms of fasting per se, but rather are mostly the symptoms of
dehydration and low blood sugar levels. So to avoid feeling sick from fasting,
one needs to avoid getting dehydrated and keep blood sugar level normal. But
how is that possible during fasting?!
If you are pregnant or nursing it's
hard, but not impossible. That said, if you are neither one of those, then it
IS doable. As with almost everything, it's all about advance planning and
preparation. My former neighbor who's a nutritionist taught me this trick
almost 20 years ago and it has been working like a charm since then puhpuhpuh.
Tip: At least 3 days before a fast,
purchase some type of non-acidic juice or juice concentrate, like grape or
apple. (Please note: before Tisha B'Av, grape juice is not an option because of
the prohibition of drinking wine or grape juice during the 9 days.) Then, 48
hours before the fast, start drinking 1 cup (I don't mean the baking
measurement but just a cup) of diluted juice every 1-2 hours. If you can remember
to drink 1 cup every hour – great! If not, and you only do it every 2 hours,
this trick still works. So if using apple juice, for example, pour yourself 1/2
cup of juice and the rest = water. Doing this for 48 hours before a fast raises
your blood sugar levels (but not extremely) so that they don't plummet on the
day of the fast. Through this regimen, you go into the fast adequately
hydrated.
Challenge #2: (for nursing women)
Decrease in breast milk production.
Tip: Pump and freeze in advance or buy formula.
Just be prepared that because you are not eating or drinking, your milk levels
will drop.
Challenge #3: (for pregnant women) Braxton
hicks contractions
Tip: Have a glass of wine! No, it will
not hurt the baby. Let me explain: when i was 7 months pregnant with my
daughter, I started getting these weird contractions on Tisha B'av (my doctor
said there was no reason for me not to fast). I had never had Braxton Hicks
before and called my ob-gyn immediately. He listened and said that the best way
to tell if labour has legit begun or if it's a false alarm, is by drinking
wine. After all, the uterus is a muscle and contractions are the muscles
flexing in order to push the baby out; alcohol is a muscle relaxant, so… He
told me to start with ½ a glass and see if the contractions stop. If 30 minutes
later the contractions haven't stopped - to drink another ½ glass of wine. If
the contractions continue after a full glass - then it is not Braxton Hicks but
the real deal and to get to the hospital asap. (Post-script: sure enough the
wine worked and my daughter was born on Succot.)
(i do not know why this paragraph is a lighter than the other 😞)
Challenge #4: Being out of it and the kids needing
attention
Tip: in Israel there are Tisha
B'Av camps. Industrious teens get a mommy to volunteer her home for a couple of
hours and said teens keeps your munchkins (and others from the neighbourhood)
busy. We had it at our house a few times and it was great. Sometimes the teens
clean up and sometimes you gotta clean up later (like if they do arts and
crafts at your house or after a snack). Still, it's worth to have someone take
them to the park so I could conserve my energy and rest. (P.S. If anyone wants
Tisha B'Av camp ideas for toddlers – drop me a line.)
If I think of anymore - I still have time to write them
up and post them.
Next Series of Installments Be"H: the laws of the 3 weeks and the 9 days
when you're a mommy…
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