Arrrgh! I had a long note here and it disappeared!
Just Keep Swimming, now you've got me wondering... we met our bmom at a restaurant, where she was referred to us by the adopt. svc. She was in labor, 10% dilated and 70% effacted, and she scarfed down spaghetti and bread like a typical teenager. Her pupils didn't look dilated or anything but I'm no expert. Still, the behavior of our difficult child... the constant screaming... it's so hard to say. She and her mother are both stubborn and argumentative so I don't know how much of this is genetic, as well. Plus the bdad did grass and who knows what else, and the bio grandfather on that side was alcoholic, so there's a problem there... and the other bio grandfather isn't on speaking terms with-anyone. There's got to be something genetic there, possibly combined with-drugs or medications, or even the ever present mercury-in-immunizations argument.
I knew from birth that difficult child was different and would be difficult. But everyone around me just said he was loud and a boy. I'm an artist and writer so right away we have opposite temperaments. He used to shake the bars of his crib and roar like a wild animal. I called them his "monster noises."
He had 13 ear infections from ages 1-7 and were going to do tubes "next time." Next time never came, and the screaming stopped. I remember crying myself to sleep because it seemed he would never speak and we couldn't even take him to McDonald's with-o a scene. He did speak when he was 3, and almost got himself kicked out of day care. He argued with-the staff, and I was pretty happy about it because he used real words. They were not amused.
He's always been horrid with-transitions. We used to take my easy child daughter everywhere... she was so portable, like a make believe doll. We were so spoiled.
