about parenting.

(Connor Mallon, Smithsonian's National Zoo)

What Giant Pandas Taught Me About

Parenting
When animal keeper Nicole MacCorkle became
a parent, she looked to Bao Bao's mother for
inspiration
f you had told me years ago that I would spend my days working with giant
pandas, let alone be the senior giant panda keeper at the
Smithsonians National Zoo, I would have laughed in your face. But as recently
as 10 years ago, even more unlikely to me was the notion that I would become
a mom. My work is really exhausting, and thats why I dont have children, I
told my colleges alumni newsletter in 2006. But in 2011, my daughter, Chloe,
was born, and I realized just how much my 17 years of animal keeping and
training would come in handy. It turned out that the skills that made me a good
animal keeper, which the animals helped me develop over the years, went a
long way in learning how to care for a growing human. Below are some of the
things I've learned.
Keep Your Expectations Realistic
Even before she was born, I knew my daughter would be a rambunctious child.
A friend of mine had described pregnancy as feeling like butterflies tickling the
inside of her stomach. For me, it felt more like a hamster running on a wheel.
The Christmas before Chloe was born, she kicked me so hard that the force
sent a package that had been in my lap to the floor. After she was born and as
shes gotten older, that energy has continued, and it wouldnt be fair to expect
her to act in a way that doesnt fit with her personality. Its the same with
animals. Adult giant pandas, for example, are low-energy animals, so I wouldnt
expect them to do much more than eating and sleeping and rolling down the
hill on snowy mornings.
Hold Your Newborn as Much as Possible
During the first few weeks after giving birth to Bao Bao, Mei Xiang rarely, if
ever, put her cub down. Later, when Bao Bao was older and her mother would
leave the nest to go eat, Mei Xiang always made a hasty retreat back if she
heard her cub crying. If I hear a distress call from any of the animals in my
care, I too always go to investigate and try to remedy the situation.
I do the same with my daughter. For the first several months of her life, my
daughter was rarely put down during the day. She was almost always in direct
contact with someoneher caregiver, my husband, or me. We were fortunate
that family friends and my parents were available to care for her while my
husband and I were at work. And while critics suggested this parenting style
would make my daughter clingy, just the opposite has proven true. When
someone tries to assist her with a task, she more often than not states firmly,

No, I do it! Now nearly four years old, she is developing quite an independent
streak.
Sleep When Your Baby Sleeps
Most new parents hear this pearl of wisdom, but I had seen it firsthand at the
Zoo. Years before I became a mother, I witnessed Mandara, a gorilla, bring her
newborn to the mesh area where several keepers and I were hoping to get a
glimpse of the sleeping baby. After we admired the baby, oohing and ahhing,
Mandara returned to a favorite resting spot and fell asleep sitting up. She was
sleeping while her baby was sleeping. Now, even as my daughter gets older,
her naptime becomes my opportunity to recharge. I spend that time reading
books that arent about parenting or pandas, or catching up on TV or Facebook.
Whatever the activity, I make sure its something that I want to do, not
something I feel I need to do. It is my me time.
You Cant Prevent Every Fall
Bao Baos mother, Mei Xiang, is a wonderful example of how giant panda
moms should behave, giving all of the care and attention necessary to raise a
cub. With Bao Bao, however, her second cub, it seems that Mei Xiang is more
relaxed. My heart skips a beat when I witness Bao Bao fall from trees or rocks
in her enclosure. But I knowand Mei Xiang seems to realize toothat each fall
improves Bao Bao's climbing ability, as she learns what not to do next time. In
fact, giant panda cubs have natural padding that protects them from injury.
After a fall, Mei Xiang always goes to check on Bao Bao, and from a distance I
do as well.
Mei Xiang taught me that its better to step aside and let my daughter explore
the world at her own pace. I try to relax and stop worrying, though Ill admit
that I can be a bit of a helicopter parent. Chloe is a daredevil; she likes to play
hard and fast. Now that shes learning to ride a bike, I make sure shes wearing
her helmet and knee pads (her natural padding isnt quite as thick as Bao
Baos) and I run alongside her as she rides. Hopefully she wont have too many
falls as she transitions to two wheels, but just like it is for pandas, I know that
falling is part of the learning process, and I will be right there with her to
comfort her when she takes a tumble.
Eat Your Veggies First
Tian Tian, Bao Baos father, is not a fan of carrots. They arrive each morning as
part of his daily diet and contain important vitamins and fiber, but he doesnt
seem to care. He will only eat them at a certain time each day, and I use that
to my advantage. In between his first and second feedings of the day, when he
would lead one to believe that he is ready to expire from starvation, then and
only then will he willingly consume a carrot, and only if he is briefly under the
assumption that there is nothing more palatable available. So each
morning when he approaches the keeper area in search of his next feeding, I
present him with a carrot, while carefully making sure that any apples or other
tasty morsels are out of site. Only after hes eaten the carrot can he have a
yummy apple or even yummier sweet potato. (Interestingly, it seems that Bao
Bao may have inherited her fathers dislike for carrots.) Parents can employ the
same technique. Chloe is a good eaterlike her mother, she rarely comes
across food she doesnt likebut should I ever have to coax her into eating
something healthy, I already have a strategy in place thanks to Tian Tian.

Be Flexible; Its Ok to Break from Routine

Animal keepers have their preferred individual routines; each brings his or her
own style and way of doing things to the job. The animals adapt to their
keepers unique styles, and can even benefit from the variations in
routine. Each day is different and may present a unique set of challenges. At
the end of the day, the animals are fed and trained and the enclosures are
clean.
Bao Baos big brother, Tai Shan, frequently had variations in his routine. The
biggest was when he moved from the National Zoo to China in 2010. He was
calm and relaxed throughout the entire flight and adapted in China almost
instantly. Tai Shan learned to be flexible from Mei Xiangs calm demeanor. She
doesn't let the crowds and camera flashes faze her, and now little Bao Bao
reacts with the same confidence.
In my experience, the same holds true in parenting. My daughters routine may
be slightly different with me than with my husband, and different altogether
when Grandma and Grandpa are caring for her. And thats ok. I recently
realized that my daughter naps at my parents house at the time she normally
eats lunch at our house. But rather than adhere to a rigid schedule, what has
worked best for us is having a child who can adjust to slight variations in her
routine. That doesnt mean that every day is a free for all; she still gets three
meals a day, a couple of snacks, the proper amount of sleep and is learning the
difference between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. But having some
wiggle room keeps Chloe from having an all-out meltdown if shes not eating
lunch precisely at noon, or napping from 1 to 3 p.m.
Letting Go is Never Easy
I had the joy of watching and caring for Tai Shan from his birth in 2005 until his
move to China. I was his primary trainer and made it my goal to teach him as
much as I could. In return, he taught me to have confidence in my training
ability. I escorted him to China, and as hard as it was to say goodbye, I knew
that he had the skills to adapt and thrive in his new environment and with his
new keepers. I knew his departure would leave a void at our Zoo, but I couldnt
help but be proud of how quickly he was adjusting to his new life. I now know
that Ill experience those feelings all over again when my Chloe leaves the
nest.
The Rewards Far Exceed the Sacrifices
It turns out that I did have something right back in 2006
parenting is exhausting! Thankfully, Im able to share my job with an animal
keeper who is also a mom, so neither of us has to make the all-ornothing decision between raising a family or caring for the animals that we love
so much. I am exhausted when I wake up at 5 a.m. to greet the animals by
6:30, and I am exhausted when I pick up my daughter in the evening, after
making sure the pandas needs have been met all day. But its nothing a quick
nap or an extra latte cant fix, and it is worth the long days and dark circles. I
really feel that I am making a differencein the life of my daughter, in the lives
of school kids whom I get to talk to in the panda house each day and in the
lives of the precious panda family, whose experiences have been so closely
intertwined with mine for over a decade. I have devoted blood, sweat, tears,
holidays, weekends and lots of overtime to them, making sure that they are
content and cared for. But as it turns out, they have given me so much more.

This Device Tracks Your Sleep Without Ever Touching You

The ResMed S+ monitors your Zzzs from the

comfortable distance of your nightstand and
offers tips for getting a better rest

more than one in three American adults, on average, get less than seven hours
of sleep per night, according to a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease
Control. But sleep problems, in general, are even more prevalent, says ResMed,
a maker of sleep-apnea treatment solutions.
By ResMed's count, upwards of 60 percent of adults have mild to moderate
trouble sleeping. That, according to its director of sales and marketing Matt
Norton, includes people who have difficulty sleeping anywhere from one to five
nights a week.
This month, the company introduced its solution: the ResMed S+, the first sleep
monitor that guides users to a better nights sleep without ever touching them.
By logging hours slept, as well as the type of sleeplight, heavy, restlessthe
device can offer coaching tips to help users sleep longer and more soundly.
Standing about eight inches tall on a nightstand, the device uses a set of
onboard sensors to monitor a sleeper's respiration and heart rate as well as the
conditions in the room. At the heart of the S+ is a highly-tuned motion sensor,
sensitive enough to detect a persons heart rate and breathing patterns
through a heavy down comforter and as far as four feet away. The device also
has an ambient light sensor and a thermometer.
Users pair the S+ with their smartphone over Bluetooth and sync it with
a ResMed app. Once paired, the system uses the phones microphone to track
the rooms decibel level, without recording audio. At bedtime, users log the
time when they lay down to sleep and that days activities in the app. For
example, they would record whether or not they exercised that day or had a
couple cocktails. Users can then opt to activate a feature called Relax to Sleep,
which syncs soothing soundssay, ocean waves crashingwith their breathing
rate; gradually, the S+ decreases the frequency of the sounds, which, in turn,
cues respiration to slow.
In the morning, the app sends sleep data to ResMeds cloud server, which
handles the heavy processing load. The app then displays a timeline of the
nights sleep, notes periods of deep or REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep and
tallies how many disturbances users had throughout the night. All that data
generates a sleep score (from 0 to 100).

Over time, the S+ finds patterns in a person's sleep and can help isolate
factors that might be causing restlessness. Armed with that information, it
offers tips to help improve the quality and duration of sleep. For instance, if
someone didnt have enough deep sleepa time when the body recharges
physicallyand had little physical activity during the day, the app might
recommend a walk 90 minutes before bedtime. If the person didnt have
enough mind-recharging REM sleep and had a couple of beers, the app might
suggest refraining from alcohol for several hours before bed. Or, it will simply
tell a user that its too hot, too loud or too bright in the bedroom.
Our technology is clinically proven; weve been using it in medical devices for
a number of years, Norton says. The S+s results match up with those
of polysomnogram (PSG) tests, commonly used to monitor a patients
respiration, heart rate and other factors during overnight clinical sleep studies.
In fact, some medical institutions are already using ResMed's sensor for
monitoring these types of vitals noninvasively, and the company believes it
could be adapted further in the future.
Unfortunately, there are a couple concessions to be made. Although the S+ is
smart enough to sense when a person lies down for bed, developers chose to
have users manually enter their to sleep time; this tactic, says Norton,
eliminates false positives, such as a pet hopping on the bed for an afternoon
nap. Co-sleepers will also need to make allowances. Two S+ units in the same
room can have crosstalk that may cause inaccurate results, so partners must
either focus on one person or trade off nights.
ResMed S+ is a consumer device, so it wont diagnose medical sleep disorders,
such as apnea. But an upcoming software update will tell users when they
should see a doctor about sleep troubles. If, after a number of weeks, you
dont see your sleep improving, well prompt [you] to download a sleep report
and take it to a physician, Norton explains.
The S+ is part of a recent glut of sleep monitorsthe natural evolution of the
fitness tracker market, says Norton. The Withings Aura, for example, uses colorchanging light to influence the bodys level of melatonin production. It tracks
sleep patterns through a motion-sensing pad between a mattress and bedding.
Other devices, such as the Basis Band and the Jawbone UP, monitor vitals
through a watch or wristband. The SleepRate app requires a user to wear a
heart rate monitor around his or her chest.
Although the S+ has been undergoing in-home trials for about two years,
ResMed hasnt released any hard data on how much sleep users can expect to
gain. The device is available now for $150.

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/device-tracks-yoursleep-without-ever-touching-you-180953060/#5oXyI88X3R2KtgB7.99

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