There are days I just have to wonder... Alivia can have some incredibly wide mood swings in a matter of a few minutes. One minute she's sad, the next she's mad, and the next she's laughing--sometimes almost manically. The roller coaster ride usually only lasts a half hour or so, but can go on for hours. It often happens right after a nap--a thing most kids find rejuvenating but which can sometimes be emotionally devastating for Alivia. So far I haven't been able to find any kind of common denominator for the episodes. Yesterday was a case in point.
I arrived at my mother's house to pick Alivia up at about 5:15. She had just awakened from a nap about ten minutes before that and, according to my mom, had been fine. As soon as I walked in the door, however, she burst into tears, and when I asked what was wrong, she couldn't tell me. Then she got mad, crossed her arms, and insisted she wanted to go home and play with her friends. A minute later she was all smiles and "mama, look at me!" as she showed off a new dance move, then a minute later crying because I was folding laundry without her. As soon as I told her she could help she was over the top laughing and hugging me. Then moments later she was crying in frustration because a shirt was inside out and she couldn't fix it.
Please understand, the timings I've given are not exaggerations! This all happened in less than five minutes time. And this is a regular occurrence for us. I could understand it better if it only happened when she was awakened prematurely. I have trouble regulating my mood when I don't get enough sleep. With Alivia, though, it can happen even after a nice long nap that she's awakened from naturally. She's plenty rested, but she's not able to regulate her emotions at all. I know it's an effect of the FASD, but it can be really challenging to deal with as a parent. And if she's like this at six, I can't imagine what she'll be like at puberty...
Yikes!
~ Jeana
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