Last time I posted was November. I got a bit behind on blogging, partly because of external events such as the tragedy in Sandy Hook, which ended up with me feeling incredibly overloaded by the media, social networking and blogging reference to it and pushed me into a bit of a hiatus from technology, and partly because of family events.
December was, of course, Christmas, which is always busy for anyone with kids. It went really well! Freyja was pretty well behaved, I was pretty well behaved, and all in all it went by happy. We had dinner at the house of Rosie's godparents, who are parents to one of Freyja's oldest friends. We laughed lots, Freyja and I shouted very little, so an improvement on years past.
January brought big changes in our home. Lee's son Daniel, my wonderful stepson, moved over to live with us along with a friend of his, hoping to get work in Canada, as it is so scarce back in the UK. We had some trepidation about it. They are young men, 21 years old, and being trapped in a house with two young kids and their parents wouldn't be much fun. Last time Dan had lived with us, he had been homesick, down and really just plain unhappy.
It has been so different this time. He seems really settled, has told us how happy he is to be living with us this time, that the time just felt right. Three months on and he is living with us, contributing to family life in a way we can barely remember a time before he joined us, working as many hours as he can get, and really interacting with his sisters. His friend, however, felt much like Dan did last time, and without the advantage of Canadian Citizenship has returned to the UK. The time was not right for him.... yet...
All of this change and upheaval could have caused a great deal of stress for me, and for Freyja, and I was truly expecting some major issues, but I needn't have feared. Since Dan's friend left especially, we have been able to settle down into the family unit we always wished we could be. Lee and I have always felt that our family would not be complete until Daniel joined it. His sisters finally have their brother with them to hug and play with, and because of that, Freyja has blossomed.
We had noticed a return of some of the old behaviours, but only slightly, and that, along with a shorter concentration span after 2pm and an increased appetite in the evening, flagged up that her medication was wearing off sooner. We arranged a visit to the doctor, and he increased her dosage of Concerta to 36mg. I was worried that it would spark problems with decreased appetite and sleep issues again, but she has been on the higher dose for a few weeks now and all is good. She even got chosen as the person in her class to win an award at school, for always being prepared for class and ready to learn. She was so proud to get it as she did not know anything about it, and she was even more surprised when she realised Lee and I were there to see her presented with it.
I also had my dosage increased and have been taking 72mg of Concerta daily. I've been on this several months now and I think I have found my correct level. I can't say I have noticed my eating that much less, but I have lost around 15 pounds and am having issues with getting to sleep. I'm not worrying though, as I had about 60 pounds that I needed to lose anyway, and the sleep thing will sort itself out with time, and if necessary, with melatonin.
This week has brought the biggest threat to Freyja's behaviour, her 8th birthday combined with the tragic death of her best friends dad, but despite the conflict of emotions that those things bring, she has been incredibly mature and controlled about it all. She is acting as companion for her friend who returns to school today, and her thoughts are not of herself, but of her friend.
Yesterday, her birthday, I forgot to give her the meds, and while she was hyper and loud as heck last night in the run up to present opening and bed, she was still way more under control of herself than the girl of last year. She was more hyper than the average kid, and it was a definite reminder to make sure she has her meds, but it was also something that showed us that she is maturing and that maybe we can decrease the dosage on weekends or holidays, when she doesn't have to concentrate on school work, but maybe just take the edge off, so I think, next weekend, instead of taking two 18mg tablets each morning, I will just give her one each day and see how the weekend plays out. If she can still keep a reign on her moods, and listen when she needs to, then we may continue that so that she can feel more hungry at the weekends and maybe help with her eating and growth.
It sure is a juggling match, all this stuff, but when I look back to last year, we have come a long way!
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