My very bright daughter

Hi,

I have a daughter who will be 3(jan)this month. She is very bright and will repeat every phrase,dance move or song that you ask for her to do. She can mimic almost anything. She was diagnosed with SID a year ago. First of all we she has never slept well and from the time she was born she had to be rocked to sleep. She has night terrors and we have to absolutely stick to a routine.

She does not have a weighted blanket but sleeps in a very soft bed under a sheet, blanket, and throw. It seems to help. Lately she has been waking up to three times during the night. How exhausting! There are crying tantrums it seems like an all day thing. She does not seem to understand that there is a process to follow.

She will ask for food, watch me prepare it, and cry or whine the whole time. I think my biggest mistake is not buying a kitchen timer before now. This problem is not just with food it is with everything.

Charly will say "what" all day long. When she was younger she would say "Huh" whenever she was asked anything. Conversation is hard because she doesn't seem to get that there is an end. Everything is repeated until you stop her she will go on to repeat a phrase 6,7,or 8 times. I might ask her how is she doing and she will say I'm fine seven times until I stop her. I can ask her a question and she will say, what, what, what, what, what. People would stop me and say" Wow she is just two?" and that's because of her huge vocabulary. It is frustrating to have this bright child who can't seem to have a normal conversation with me.

Charly is very social for the most part but when people (even her favorite cousin)comes into the house she will cry or scream and they just don't understand it. She also has food issues. She will eat one of two things for breakfast, PB&J or eggs and sausage with toast(new food item),no bacon or she will gag. She will not drink milk at all, we have tried all flavors. She will not eat any hot or cold cereal,no veggies but will eat spaghetti all day long. She will look at a food and decide then that she will not touch it ever. I love her but wow, she is a handful.

I think the worst of all of this is the temper tantrums that we deal with all day long. Some things are just comforting to her and I can't change that. She will watch one dvd on repeat all day( I don't recommend this)or play with one toy for long periods of time. Please tell me if your child has similar issues and if you have any suggestions. I forgot to add that she tries to bite her food using her top teeth and her tongue instead of her bottom teeth so everything has to be cut into small pieces. Thank you.