Just because one child is different from another…doesn’t mean that it’s a side affect of a possible condition.

My son was not “meth addicted” and he runs around like a little spaz too.

Some kids are just more active than others….

We noticed a difference at 6 months with the intensity that he did things. We called it ‘more child’ He was like a little power saw on a gyroscope. He crawled so fast, he almost blurred.

By two, he had figured out how to climb the locked gate, (6 ft) and go through the keys that he had stolen from me to try one at a time on the pad locked gate to open it. Hanging on with one hand to the fence and the other one trying out keys. Locked cabinets were a cinch.

He was impossible to redirect by offering another toy, he achieved object permanence earlier than any child I had ever seen. Omg, he was so crafty and clever. He learned things on the first try, never stumbled. Just up and walked. He mowed children down as if they were invisible, leaped over them physically to get to toys in play groups. We belonged to every Y in our city, so we could stop and burn off energy wherever we were.

I think Walter should spend the night with a severely drug-affected infant. Just for funsies.

My son didn’t come to us until he was 16 months old, but he was born SEVERELY addicted to methamphetamines. According to his foster parents, worker and doctors, he was in and out of the hospital, had open lesions, severe pain, shook constantly, had seizures, “ticks”, and serious sensitivities to light, sound, chemicals and certain foods (soy and dairy being the two most notable sensitivities that he had early on, obviously detected from formula).

He still has SOME sleep issues, and has pretty serious food and chemical sensitivites. Behaviorally, he is doing very well, so far, but we have to be VERY careful what we expose him to.

He gets NO sugar, *DEFINITELY* no artificial garbage (like artificial sweeteners or colors) and is sensitive to wheat, dairy, soy, peanuts, egg, and anything red (including tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, etc.). These things cause his skin to become wildly inflamed, and cause serious disruptions in his mood that are almost immediately detectable. He also has some tummy issues that are pretty typical of drug-affected kids, but my guess is that they will clear themselves up by the time he is 2 (at least, that’s what we hope!).

Now, as Rosie said about her little guy, he tends to be a bit on the precocious side. He has no trouble figuring anything out, and is always “on the go”. It’s almost nervous energy; we have been spending the last 3 (BEAUTIFUL!!! ) spring days outside enjoying the fresh air. He can be out there for hours and not slow down for a minute. We basically come in for lunch and naptime, and then it’s back at it again, and he doesn’t seem to fatigue at all.

I realize that “high energy” is also a toddler thing, but most people who have met my son will agree that he is quite a bit “bouncier” than the average toddler. Which is fine. He keeps me moving, but he is definitely a kid who needs very active parenting. Also, something else Rosie mentioned struck me…Distraction really doesn’t work that well with him. We do what we can, but once he has something on his mind, it’s full steam ahead, and no distraction will work! Baby proofing is key here.

I’m not sure how this will affect him in his later years, but I am being as diligent as I can, being as active a parent as possible, coupled with a pretty solid nutritional regimen. I also am religious about routine. Things in this house happen at virtually the same time every day, and I think that brings him a lot of comfort.

I wasn’t born addicted, but according to my amom, I’d just go and go and go and go until all of a sudden I just collapsed and fell and slept on the spot. I have no idea what it was due to (in me I mean), but I wanted to just add in the voice that it *may* be (at the very least, part of) a natural occurrence in the kid in question.

My cousin adopted a Meth addicted baby through foster care. Her issues were similar to Annabelle’s daughter- light sensitivity, sleep & feeding issues, tremors and physical pain, etc. It took a good 8 months for her to be completely symptom free. Now, at almost age 3, K is a “normal” 3 year old, bouncing off the wall little girl.

If your son’s f Mom stopped doing meth when she found out she was pregnant, but did it again the day he was born, then your son was NOT born addicted. It would take much more meth than that for a child to be addicted. You would definitely KNOW if he was born addicted. They would have told you at the hospital.

He sounds like a normal almost 3 year old to me. Again, I know you say you are familiar with the stages of grief, but you do not know grief from a 29 month old adoptee’s frame of mind. I would venture to say this is the underlying cause of his new found hyperactivity. That, and being almost 3.