The Bookstore - Not Such A Great Idea

Raquel has been a bit out of sorts these days. I am very curious as to what adjustments (if any) her neurologist will make with her medication once her bloodwork is complete. One of the things I've learned from the mother I've been communicating with is to be prepared for regression at any given time. She said that sometimes her son will have great days, weeks, or months, and then will slip and have a couple of bad days, weeks, or months. I guess it can be a day-to-day thing at times. And patience is a virtue, right?

I don't know how to describe her "moods" except to say she has these difficult phases throughout the day that can start up at any given time. She's getting mad a lot more, and when she's mad, she'll hit her head and kick her feet until I can break her from doing it. Sometimes that can take me 30 seconds, other times 30 minutes. She's still napping very well during the day - between 1 1/2 - 2 hours - but I've definitely noticed a change in her night-time sleep patterns. She's tossing and turning a lot more. When I check on her, I find her in different positions with the blanket usually kicked off, and she's waking up earlier and earlier in the morning, which I'm really not thrilled about.

One thing she absolutely hates - and will trigger the behaviors - is me following her around in places outside our home. Here, cabinets and doors are locked, she can play quietly in her room, and roam around the house as she pleases. That's not true elsewhere. I have to constantly stay on my guard with her, which really takes the fun out of going places for the most part. For instance, our outing to the local bookstore...

I had to make a very quick stop to pick up a book for Gabby's summer literature class. Since I knew exactly what I needed and thought the timing was good, I decided to take Raquel with us instead of waiting until Mike came home from work. Everything was fine at first - both girls were playing on the little stage and having fun - until Raquel spotted some really enticing sound books on the bottom shelf and started pushing the buttons to hear the noises. Since there were only a few people in the store, I didn't make an issue out of it. After all, a little girl is entitled to have some fun at the bookstore! But then she got up and bolted from me, taking out as many books as possible along the way. I ran after her, picking them up as quickly as possible, trying to neatly put them back while preventing her from doing more damage. When I was finally able to grab her, the lady working there quickly asked what I needed and immediately went and fetched the book for me. She then showed me where to check out. I'm thinking story time at the library is probably not in our near future.

I do realize that a lot of her behaviors are age appropriate, which is truly a good thing. But when you factor in her inability to effectively communicate or express herself, it can make a bad situation even worse. But I continue to learn and am getting better at reading her. And I'm noticing that certain times of the day are most behavior provoking: around 8:30am, 10:30am, & 3:30pm.

Next up is her bloodwork, which is happening on Friday morning. After that, I'll talk to her neurologist early next week and see what he recommends.