Four Year Well Visit

Today was Gigi's four year well visit to the pediatrician.

My "big" girl is now 24 pounds and 35" tall. She is still tiny, but she is steadily growing at her own pace so the pediatrician says she is doing great.

Her blood pressure was checked as well as her hearing and her eyesight. Everything was great - her eyesight was checked WITH glasses.

My poor baby was due for immunizations. I felt terrible for her, this was the first year she actually cared about getting shots. Every time before she would actually sit up and watch and just barely flinch. This year she wailed! MY poor baby!

The pediatrician says that health wise, she is doing fabulous!

So then I brought up Gigi's behavior to the pediatrician, (whici is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with) hoping to get some tips on discipline or at the very least, be reassured that this is all typical four year old behavior.

Well, this was not to be the case. Being that Gigi decided to have one of her tantrums right there in the exam room, the pediatrician had us stick around for nearly two hours, asking me questions, then asking others to Gigi. giving Gigi objects to play with just to see what she would do with them. Taking Gigi into different rooms of the building to give her a change of settings. Simply observing as she played on the floor.

In the end, this is what I was told;

Some of her behavior IS that of a typical four year old. However, much is not. The pediatrician sees signs and symptoms in Gigi that suggest the presence of

1. Gifted
2. ADHD
3. ODD

Now, she didn't mean that she thinks Gigi may have one of these, but that she has ALL of these. Further testing is needed to officially diagnose any/all of these theories, but thi the opinion at the moment. The pediatrician also made certain things very clear to me;

1. She dislikes labeling children, but to help her we need to have a written diagnosis
2. The combination of these three factors is not as common as having only one or even two
3. Due to the complexity of the combination, it WILL require professional intervention
4. Standard discipline of time outs, loss of privileges etc will not (and have not) work for her
5. Medication is an absolute last resort
6. If we do not intervene early, she will be labeled and probably kicked out of public schools

A few things I am certain of;

1. I WILL gain control of my child and give her the tools necessary to control herself
2. This is NOT an excuse for continued poor behavior
3. I will do whatever it takes; parenting classes, family therapy etc. to deal with this
4. I will NOT medicate my child
5. We will turn these "factors" into something positive that can work to her advantage in the future
6. This will NOT define my child
   

So, first thing we are doing is changing her diet. We are to keep her on an ADHD diet for two weeks, then slowly add back the forbidden foods one item at a time.

The pediatrician will be out of town next week, but I will follow up with her the week of the 14th. I wil keep everyone updated.