[Gossipgirl]

I have never been near these parts so bare with me and be nice :S

This is about my second child.

My son is 2 and a half from birth he had health issues with weight gain, reflux his trachea is floppy so sometimes it closes that results is loss of oxygen and we spent alot of time in and out of hospital.

In this time I was also in hospital from some issues he was with me as well and was around 9 months old.
When we were admitted a pead checked him over as he could not sit up and did not put weight on his legs so we did alot of excersises and after a while he could sit up alone so yay.
He also had a genetic testing done and came back to have 2 chromosome disorders that can bring some other health complications besides failure to thrive and his breathing issues.
We had a pead and dietitian but I got so frustrated with everything and decided to let him have some time away from specialists and let him develop alone for a while his weight is still slow and he is small for his age but he has no issue with his legs now he is a runner from hell.

Now I will explain my issue to date I know that some 2yr olds are full on and its normal but he is my second child my daughter was nothing like this.

Well he is a runner he runs from the moment he wakes to the moment he sleeps and he is always running into things and hitting his head furniture that has been the same for his whole life he runs into to and sometimes he runs into it because he is running so fast he can't stop in time.

He does not listen when you tell him off he just laughs (what a cheeky laugh he has)
In regards to danger he has no idea if we are in the kitchen he touches the stove he cries it hurt i know but he will do it again after about 20 mins even though it hurt last time and the usual he runs into traffic but some toddlers do but he doesn't even stop if you yell he doesn't turn around to acknowledge you even yelled stop. (his hearing is fine he has grommets in but doing well)

He is naughty ( I also know its normal 2 yr old stuff) biting, hitting he head buts all the time
throws his head back if he is sitting on your lap facing out and if he is sitting on your lap facing you he will headbutt your face.
You can say no all the time sometimes I feel I am only ever saying that word and only ever saying stop etc....
He is mean to anyone no matter size he will tackle a 3 yr old to the ground (my friends 3 yr old) over nothing important he will hit and throw toys at me and my husband also my 5yr old and will do it to anyone he doesn't know.

He is soooo hyper constantly running and yelling and laughing and squealing he does not sit still for anything if the wiggles are on he is jumping around (of course who doesn't do that to the wiggles) but he does not concentrate on anything for 5 mins I sit with him to play row row your boat we are not even down the stream when he starts smacking your face and screaming (not angry scream like a crazy to much sugar scream) and I can not take him anywhere that has lots of things going on in one place like the school concert he could not handle it he starting screaming and throwing himself around and than running in circles into other people and just laughing he is having a great time but I'm chasing him saying sorry to everyone around me.
We took him to the local carols the other day and we ended up leaving as he would not stop screaming and running around it was to busy for him and he just got over stimulated I think.
Today we painted mugs for Christmas I covered the whole area in sheets where we were so I could protect my carpet he painted for around 7 mins before he got off the chair ran to the lounge and started doing cartwheels and than ran back to the table painted some more than painted his face and ran outside and he was done.

There is probably more but its late so what do you suggest? could it be a diet thing I try to limit bad food but I know that its sometimes the things on the label that I don't know about.
Do you think that most boys are like this?? he is just full of energy and doesn't know boundaries but it will come as he gets older my 5 yr old was never like this though maybe I am just over thinking things.

Also the chromosome disorder he has does mention that kids with this disorder sometimes have ADD, Anxiety issues, OCD or autism or psychiatric disorders ( turns out I also have this genetic disorder and I
have bipolar disorder) but I don't think he has any of these or that if he did he is to young to know (I could be wrong who knows) But if anyone has any help in dealing with him or any ideas I would appreciate it if its a diet thing I will try anything.

PS He is beautiful i love him to pieces and he is so cheeky so please don't think I am just looking at the worst he is very loving as well and loves to be hugged if he feels like it and keeps us on his toes.

[fancie]

OP, I really have no real experience with the difficulties you are experiencing, but I think a return to see the paediatrician and maybe the dietician would be the best action you could take.

[Princess.cranky....]

OP I have to be honest and say I don't think this is normal 2 year behaviour.

Have you had any assessments done? What is his speech like? I think it's always better to get any doubts you have checked out. And I think an assessment would be important to get done because of the link between chromosonal disorder and autism spectrum. Don't assume he will grow out of it. He might but it would be better to get something done now because early intervention is so important.

[vitaechel]

OP - A lot of that behaviour sounds similiar to what we were experiencing with our DS. I really feel for you as it is incredibly upsetting and stressful . Dr's and Midwives would pass it off as normal if slightly hyper behaviour. His Daycare were concerned tho and mentioned a few incidents. He is usually not mean to other kids, but would sometimes just not even notice kids in front of him and barge right through. Our DS also had real issues with sleep (from birth to recently) and had a slight speech delay. He is very defiant and would have massive tantrums. He would bite, kick and hit too, but our main worry was/is his impulsive behaviour. We had locks on every door and gate and he would still find ways out and onto the road DH and I were at our wits end. DS had a difficult birth and first 3 months, but nothing that should have seriously impacted him. He has eczema & refuses food a lot (although he is thriving). We managed to get a referral to speech therapists, who said they were not sure how to help as he would be great for them, but they could see he wasn't talking properly. They referred us to Paed. Paed said that yes he was displaying some unusual behaviours and it's probably a "pre-curser" to ADD (which I do have in the family). As he was only almost 3 he could not do any testing etc as ADD cannot be diagnosed until later. He sent us on our way basically saying - just cope. On little sleep, pregnant with DD and having tried numerous parenting workshops and "experts" DH suggested we try a Naturopath (i am not really a fan of Naturopaths, but agreed). She said she believes he is Gluten Intolerant and possibly has a few other intolerance's. She was actually SUPER helpful. She also suggested trying fish oil to help him with the speech issue.
We went Gluten Free straight away and the change was noticeable within days. Within a couple of months he was talking much better, sleeping better and far fewer tantrums. If he would eat something with gluten he would have a meltdown. It was REALLY obvious (even other parents at playgroup noticed). We saw our new GP (who was much better than previous Drs) and asked whether he should have more comprehensive testing and she said seen as it had helped already she didn't see any point for now (considering I was pregnant and moving OS). We will stay GF and when he gets older we will see if we can do testing to ensure we have covered all bases. He still has behaviour issues, but compared to before it is almost normal 3yo behaviour.

I am not suggesting this is what is wrong with your DS by any means, just saying that we left no stone unturned. Neither of us ever thought Gluten would have that affect on our child. I was the parent who never let him have junk food, grew my own veggies, limited his sugar intake and was careful about food colourings/flavours etc. It's so frustrating when people say "He is just a boy" or "It's terrible 2's/3's etc" or worse they assume you give him Junk food and red cordial . Our instincts told us it wasn't normal and we fought until someone listened. It wasn't normal and we now have a much happier little boy. I really hope you can find they help you need too.

[baddmammajamma]

Hi OP:

What a stressful situation.

As mother of a complicated kid to another, I strongly suggest that you book in with a good developmental paediatrician as soon as posslble (your GP can refer you). These are specialist paeds who are experts in child development and are qualified to look across all aspects of a child's development to see if there are any issues.

While you are waiting to see the developmental paed (because there is likely to be a wait regardless of public/private), you might want to consider consulting a good psychologist who has specific experience with kids who have ADD, ASD, other common developmental issues, as they might be able to help you start to put a behavioral plan in place at home.

Good luck -- I hope you are able to help bring out the best in your cheeky son.

xx

[30bt]

I agree you need to see a developmental paediatrician. Do not remove any food from your child's diet just because if something you read in a forum or on a website! Most developmental issues have nothing to do with what we feed our children!
Can you go back to the original paed. Until you get an appointment with the developmental one?

[vitaechel]

Just to add - I agree with PP's above. See a specialist. We didn't have the opportunity to see a developmental Paed due to leaving Australia and not being able to wait 6months (It took 4 months to see the nearest Paed as we were in Rural area). We will be doing our next check up with a Paed here in US for further help.

[Gossipgirl]

Thank you for your replies and information its really appreciated

I am seeing my GP on Thursday so will talk to him about a referral but I think I may be able to contact a few of the specialist myself as all the things that were sent out to me last year have written if there is any changes or you become worried to give them a call but not sure how long that offer would stand.

In regards to speech its not to bad we can understand him pretty well others can a little bit but he doesn't really talk to strangers he tends to go quite but a lot of kids do.

His sleep is great he sleeps 6:30 to 7 but you need to wake up before him or he gets into everything but I am looking for a safety gate now as I'm worried one day I won't be awake before him but I have locked my cupboards and fridge so he can't open them.

[soontobegran]

Bless you BMJ.
I was just going to suggest the OP has a chat with you x

[Gossipgirl]

Just thought I would update quickly I spoke to the reception lady for my sons Pead and they have made a appointment for march for her however they said that they will call me back because they have another pead who will see him earlier to review him and go from there.
I am happy that I have manged to get in but a bit freaked out that something may be wrong I always put his genetic disorder in the back of my head because it was to hard to think about.

Thank you all so much for giving the push to go review him and that maybe his behavior is not just a two yr old.