i think we can, i think we can, i think we can...

so here we are on Day 2 of the meds. after having some difficulty swallowing a pill earlier in the week, we're going with Biphentin. she has no problems taking these, since i open the capsule and pour the pellet-y thingies onto a spoonful of whipped cream, and it goes down pretty easily that way. which is nice. no more early morning fights over meds.

yesterday, within half an hour of taking the med, blithe was much calmer. she was capable of carrying on a real, coherent conversation, staying on topic, and speaking in a lovely indoor voice. i don't remember when this happened before, so needless to say, it was a welcomed change.

there was even an incident in the afternoon, when my mother and i both told blithe that she couldn't do something (i forget what it was). normally, she would have flipped right out, screaming and throwing a real fit, saying that we didn't love her and nobody cares about her and she's gonna do it anyway and on and on and on. i'm sure you've heard her before. lol this time, she did get upset, but didn't yell at us, and she did go up to her room, but she didn't slam her door, and she didn't throw anything. a few minutes later, she came back downstairs, apologized for disrespecting nana and gave her a hug. mom and i were shocked! so we praised her for her self-control during the whole situation, and told her how proud of her we were. and blithe said, and i'm quoting here, "and i didn't even say any bad things to myself when i was upstairs!" she was so proud of herself, too. it was a wonderful change, and just with the first dose!

today has been a little different. not as bad as what i'm used to, mind you, but still. i think some of these behaviours may now be habit, and the only way she knows to respond. for example, just now i asked the boys to pick up the toys in the playroom, and she flipped out, because i made the kids turn off their movie so they'd get off their butts to do their work. even when i tried to reason with her, she wouldn't listen. but i managed to get her to listen, and she's occupying herself until the boys are done.

i don't know. maybe my expectations of the meds have been somewhat unrealistic. maybe i was expecting some sort of miracle drug, that would magically transform her into that "ideal" child who never argues, never disobeys, speaks only when spoken to, that sort of thing. which is odd, because that's not the kind of child i've ever wanted. i've tried to raise my children in such a way that they can be free to express themselves, so long as they do it respectfully. but maybe my expectations were unrealistic. so i think i need to adjust my own way of thinking on this. i just didn't know what to expect, and i guess that, as much as she has to learn about life with ADHD, so do i. a change of perspective, that's what i need.

we can do this, i know we can. and i'm looking forward to the next little while, while she and i adjust to this new way of life. we'll get the hang of this. it's early, we're both noobs. and just like it took me a while to figure out all of asher's heart stuff, it's gonna take some times for us to adjust and learn about this.

that being said, we went for a little trip to michaels today, and i picked up a little something that we're going to try. because she (and i, if i'm honest) tends to forget things, i bought her a weekly "to do" list, with one space per day. i figure, if we keep her assignments and chores listed where we're going to see them, we'll remember, and she can stay on top of things without becoming overwhelmed. as she gets older, i'll increase the number of things she needs to do, but for now, i'm trying to keep her to one obligation a day. we'll see how this goes.

i also plan to make sure we go for a walk every day. i remember when i was having some difficulties last year, that getting out in the sunshine, getting some exercise, soaking up the vitamin D, it all really helped to clear my head and keep me focussed on what i needed to do. so i think it will help her, as well. i think a lot of the tools i had will help her, too. at least that's my theory. lol i'll post again later in the week with an update.

so cross your crossables for us. this is a stressful time for all of us right now, as we adjust to this new life. but we can do this, i'm sure of it. :)