The B Word

Well that title got you thinking...didn't it?  No, I am not talking about "that" B word.  This B word is "Baby."  Now "Baby" is known around here as Lauren's naughty word.  You know you are in trouble when Baby starts coming out of her mouth.  You are in serious trouble if Baby is used more than once in a sentence.  You know how a triple dog dare is the worst dare there is, well triple Baby used in one sentence is a recipe for disaster.  All kidding aside...the last few days, the Baby has been flying out of her mouth like never before.  Add to the Baby some slapping, kicking, screaming, door slamming and overall really bad emotional outbursts and that is "out of control Lauren."  Sometimes these outbursts are triggered by something happening that she does not like or if she cannot find something that she really wants.  Other times they come out of nowhere.  Sometimes an outburst is followed by a seizure and we wonder if she is feeling something inside that she cannot communicate to us. Regardless, this has to be the most stressful part of dealing with her disease and brain injury.  Believe me, we have been very creative in trying to deal with them.  Sometimes they work, other times they don't.  It is exhausting, emotionally draining and something I wish we could find a way to stop.  Our last trip to the Neurologist left us feeling defeated as he stated that as the girls get closer to puberty, the emotional issues are going to get worse.  And unfortunately, so will the seizures.  Definitely not what we were wanting to hear.  If by chance any of you reading this have children with emotional outbursts that have found some creative ways to bring them under control, please share with me.  Time out does not work; we have tried.  It only makes her rage worse.  We have tried re-directing to another activity but she fixates on what triggered her in the first place.  The thing that has worked the best is to snuggle with her but sometimes that can't bring her back under control and she continues to scream and hit.

Now don't get me wrong, Lauren is not always the crazy girl I have just portrayed her to be.  She is also the sweetest young lady who will tell you countless times "I love you" and loves nothing more than to snuggle, especially with her daddy.  She is definitely a daddy's girl.  There was one day she came up to me and gave me the biggest hug, looked right into my eyes and said, "I love daddy."  I just smiled back at her and told her that daddy loves her too.  I will never forget that moment.  Priceless!   The person that takes a close second to daddy is my mom.  I have nicknamed her "The Lauren Whisperer."  It doesn't matter if Lauren is completely out of control when she starts talking to Grandma on the phone; by the time she is done, she is completely calm and back to her sweet self.  At least until Grandma hangs up...  Grandma Rose sings to the girls and when Grandma sings, all is well in the world.  So thankful for her and her ability to calm the raging seas around here! 

Our dear Lauren.  The girls who loves to play with her toys, watch TV and snuggle.  She could also win a belching contest, takes no prisoners while wrestling with her dad and siblings and kicks our butts at Wii bowling.  She is one of a kind and I love her to pieces.