WE LOVE MISS M!
Everytime our fabulous EI teacher comes, Christian shows off a new trick. Today, while playing with the owl, Miss M asked Christian "What does the owl say? Does the owl say WHO WHO WHO?". Christian looked at the owl, and then repeated "WHO WHO WHO".
Seriously. I teared up. 20 days POST ACTIVATION. I HAVE NEVER HEARD THAT SOUND COME OUT OF HIM. EVER.
Forget the hours and hours of listening skills that he works on with his Mommy each week. Miss M has some sort of magical listening wand that she must wave over Christian during her time with him. Last week it was "Peep Peep Peep".
I'm now realizing that each day I'm witnessing tiny little miracles with this amazing technology...it takes my breath away.
Our Family's Cochlear Implant Journey
Showing posts with label days following activation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label days following activation. Show all posts
Monday, June 16, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The Name Game
Sometimes I wonder if he would catch his name a bit easier if we named him something a bit more simple, like Ed, Bob, or Joe. How was I supposed to know I was going to have a profoundly deaf baby who, up until 2 weeks ago, didn't have access to 90 percent of the sounds in his name? What did his name sound like before his implant? Did he just hear the cadence of my voice? Was he only hearing the "N" sound?
CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIAN.
These past two weeks, I've had an opportunity to really think about his name. I've listened to it my heart, bouncing all over, twisting and turning, jumping and flying. I close my eyes and remember the day that we decided that was the name we were going to call our baby boy. We chose the name even before we met him. We believed in the name. We knew in our hearts that our boy, would be CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIAN.
Today he turned when I called his name. He was in his high chair, eating his dinner. And when he turned, I immediately remembered one of the many reasons that we chose that name. As my little boy turned, and focused his huge, beautiful, coffee brown eyes on his Mommy, I felt an amazing sense of Peace. Peace that reminds me that Christ is in everything we do, even when we least expect it.
CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIAN.
These past two weeks, I've had an opportunity to really think about his name. I've listened to it my heart, bouncing all over, twisting and turning, jumping and flying. I close my eyes and remember the day that we decided that was the name we were going to call our baby boy. We chose the name even before we met him. We believed in the name. We knew in our hearts that our boy, would be CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIAN.
Today he turned when I called his name. He was in his high chair, eating his dinner. And when he turned, I immediately remembered one of the many reasons that we chose that name. As my little boy turned, and focused his huge, beautiful, coffee brown eyes on his Mommy, I felt an amazing sense of Peace. Peace that reminds me that Christ is in everything we do, even when we least expect it.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
2 Week Check-Up
It's been 2 weeks since Christian was activated. I'm not going to lie. Other than the weeks following our initial diagnosis (which happened the week of our wedding anniversary AND my baby brother's wedding), these past two weeks have been some of the hardest. They've been emotionally draining. They've been hard. At times I've wondered "Where did my little boy go?".
This past weekend, I feel like we hit a turning point. While he's not consistently responding to his name (as he did when he was aided), he is turning to it now every so often. He's been experimenting with sound, now calling his Daddy "Dah-m" (it sounds like DUMB, which REALLY irks Chuck). He babbles and chats in a voice a bit lower, but when his implant is off, his voice is much higher than usual. Yesterday, his back was turned to me, and I asked him to find his horse, and he walked right over to his barn, grabbed the horse, and signed for me. He did the same for many of his little animals. And when I ask him to find his Daddy, he always finds a picture and points right to it. I shook my keys behind his head while we were walking, and he turned. He was incredibly startled by a horn beeping while we were in the car one day. He even sat forward with a very concerned look on his face, when he heard a baby crying at the craft store.
So, things are coming together. We're really working on having some structured listening time everyday in his high chair, which for all you parents of toddlers know is a difficult task in itself!
We go back the first week of July for our next mapping session. In the meantime, I've been immersing myself in some really cool online classes on Audiology Online, mostly about AVT and Making the Most of Your Child's MAP.
This past weekend, I feel like we hit a turning point. While he's not consistently responding to his name (as he did when he was aided), he is turning to it now every so often. He's been experimenting with sound, now calling his Daddy "Dah-m" (it sounds like DUMB, which REALLY irks Chuck). He babbles and chats in a voice a bit lower, but when his implant is off, his voice is much higher than usual. Yesterday, his back was turned to me, and I asked him to find his horse, and he walked right over to his barn, grabbed the horse, and signed for me. He did the same for many of his little animals. And when I ask him to find his Daddy, he always finds a picture and points right to it. I shook my keys behind his head while we were walking, and he turned. He was incredibly startled by a horn beeping while we were in the car one day. He even sat forward with a very concerned look on his face, when he heard a baby crying at the craft store.
So, things are coming together. We're really working on having some structured listening time everyday in his high chair, which for all you parents of toddlers know is a difficult task in itself!
We go back the first week of July for our next mapping session. In the meantime, I've been immersing myself in some really cool online classes on Audiology Online, mostly about AVT and Making the Most of Your Child's MAP.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Toddler Struggles...
When I was pregnant with Christian, I couldn't stop reading. I got my hands on every book that I possibly could regarding child care. Nursing, Attachment Parenting, Baby-Wearing, Sleep Habits, Sleep Scheduling, Baby Massage, Organic Baby-Food...you name it, I read it. Then, the monkey arrived. The books were put away, and I pretty much forgot everything that I read anyway (other than my sleeping advice from Dr. Marc Weissbluth)
Well, I'm back to reading (AND NO, WE'RE NOT PREGNANT). These days, I'm concentrating more on discipline, dealing with temper tantrums, and general toddlerisms. I picked up this great book a couple of months ago. Christian is a full-on toddler these days. Along with the adorable little aspects of his sweet little personality (like waving to everyone and saying "Hi" to complete strangers), he is also a temper-tantrum, kicking and screaming little monster at times. One of the main points of this book is that we should speak "toddlerease" with our toddlers, which is in essence, cavemen speak. For example, instead of me saying "Christian, would you please stop flinging plates across the kitchen for Mommy?", I should say "Christian, No Throw Plates".
Ok. I get it. It totally makes sense...if you have a "typically hearing" child.
This "caveman" speak totally goes against everything that I try to do with Christian regarding his spoken language and listening skills. I'm supposed to be the positive language model in his life. And now, especially in these crucial weeks after implantation, I want to enrich his little world with as much language as possible. I certainly don't think "No eat socks" is a good way to communicate with him.
So, how am I supposed to discipline him? How do you get across to a deaf kid that you're not happy with his actions? I've tried over-exaggerating my facial expressions, aggressively signing "Stop!" and "No!". And I'm not just concerned about telling him that I don't like it when he grabs things off of the grocery store shelves, I'm concerned about his safety. Will he ever get to a point with his CI when he'll be able to understand my yells to him telling him to look for cars crossing the street?
My good friend Jenny and I talked about this a couple of nights ago while we were having cocktails. She's always rethinking "the norm" when it comes to parenting a toddler. Jenny is a parapalegic, uses a wheelchair, and she happens to have one the spunkiest and sweetest little girls as a daughter I've ever met. Her little girl is almost 2, and it has been such a joy experiencing Mommyhood with her. I asked her how she has figured out her world with her little girl. Jenny put it very simply. She told me it's all just been trial and error.
I decided that I really need to take Jenny's approach and experiment. See what works for us. I'm still going to worry about the safety issues associated with a child with hearing loss. I'm definitely going to continue to work on trying to break through these temper tantrums and outbursts. Most importantly, I'm going to only do what is good for our family.
Well, I'm back to reading (AND NO, WE'RE NOT PREGNANT). These days, I'm concentrating more on discipline, dealing with temper tantrums, and general toddlerisms. I picked up this great book a couple of months ago. Christian is a full-on toddler these days. Along with the adorable little aspects of his sweet little personality (like waving to everyone and saying "Hi" to complete strangers), he is also a temper-tantrum, kicking and screaming little monster at times. One of the main points of this book is that we should speak "toddlerease" with our toddlers, which is in essence, cavemen speak. For example, instead of me saying "Christian, would you please stop flinging plates across the kitchen for Mommy?", I should say "Christian, No Throw Plates".
Ok. I get it. It totally makes sense...if you have a "typically hearing" child.
This "caveman" speak totally goes against everything that I try to do with Christian regarding his spoken language and listening skills. I'm supposed to be the positive language model in his life. And now, especially in these crucial weeks after implantation, I want to enrich his little world with as much language as possible. I certainly don't think "No eat socks" is a good way to communicate with him.
So, how am I supposed to discipline him? How do you get across to a deaf kid that you're not happy with his actions? I've tried over-exaggerating my facial expressions, aggressively signing "Stop!" and "No!". And I'm not just concerned about telling him that I don't like it when he grabs things off of the grocery store shelves, I'm concerned about his safety. Will he ever get to a point with his CI when he'll be able to understand my yells to him telling him to look for cars crossing the street?
My good friend Jenny and I talked about this a couple of nights ago while we were having cocktails. She's always rethinking "the norm" when it comes to parenting a toddler. Jenny is a parapalegic, uses a wheelchair, and she happens to have one the spunkiest and sweetest little girls as a daughter I've ever met. Her little girl is almost 2, and it has been such a joy experiencing Mommyhood with her. I asked her how she has figured out her world with her little girl. Jenny put it very simply. She told me it's all just been trial and error.
I decided that I really need to take Jenny's approach and experiment. See what works for us. I'm still going to worry about the safety issues associated with a child with hearing loss. I'm definitely going to continue to work on trying to break through these temper tantrums and outbursts. Most importantly, I'm going to only do what is good for our family.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
3rd Activation
Ok, let me start this post saying that I was fully prepared to video today's appointment, but Christian decided that today was going to be his day to test all of our patience and reflexes. The kid was a terror today! I wasn't on my A-game, either. I stayed up WAY late watching my Red Wings lose in what should've been a Stanley Cup win. I brought what I thought was our spare processor to be programmed as well, but it was just the controller. Where was my head this morning?
We did booth testing, and he did manage to sit still and have some great repeatable responses. Prior to the implant, he was hearing at 45db in low to mid, and then had a drastic drop in the highs, only getting about 75db aided. Today, he was at 35db across the board. WOW!!! We're making progress, and I'm amazed that he can now hear all these high frequency sounds that he has NEVER had access to. No wonder he is having a hard time recognizing his name. I can only imagine what "Christian" sounded like with his aids.
Our audi also gave us 4 new MAPs, 2 for normal listening environments, and 2 for noisy environments. We'll go back in a month (hooray, a month off!). Until then, we're talking non-stop, which isn't that hard for me, working on our Ling Sounds, and just trying to get him acclimated with the new and strange sounds he is probably hearing.
We did booth testing, and he did manage to sit still and have some great repeatable responses. Prior to the implant, he was hearing at 45db in low to mid, and then had a drastic drop in the highs, only getting about 75db aided. Today, he was at 35db across the board. WOW!!! We're making progress, and I'm amazed that he can now hear all these high frequency sounds that he has NEVER had access to. No wonder he is having a hard time recognizing his name. I can only imagine what "Christian" sounded like with his aids.
Our audi also gave us 4 new MAPs, 2 for normal listening environments, and 2 for noisy environments. We'll go back in a month (hooray, a month off!). Until then, we're talking non-stop, which isn't that hard for me, working on our Ling Sounds, and just trying to get him acclimated with the new and strange sounds he is probably hearing.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Practice makes perfect.
Every morning, Christian and I take a really long walk on a beautiful trail right near our house. It's always one of my favorite times of the day, as it's just the two of us. We walk 3 or so miles together, and we watch all the birds, come across an occasional deer (which he always calls a horse with his signs and words), and sometimes stop at the side of the creek to watch the water.
Though serene, this trail is also packed with runners, commuters on bikes trying to make it to the METRO station, and other Moms walking with their munchkins. Today, I was practicing our Ling Sounds while we stopped to watch a beautiful heron fish in the creek.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Christian, LISTEN".
"Shhh Shhhh Shhh. Buddy, Listen".
This Mom (who I've never seen before, so I'm assuming she's either a working Mom, or not from our 'hood), was behind me. I turned around when I heard her toddler cough, and she had this look of pure wonder. Actually, it was a look of "What the Eff are you saying to your kid?"
So, there's definitely another person out there thinking I'm a complete nutjob.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Hey Baby, Can You Hear Me?
Hmmm....
I have been prepared for this. It's not like I didn't know that things would be *different* once he was activated and the hearing aid was taken off the other ear. I just didn't expect what we are going through. I've noticed a couple of BIG differences immediately following Christian's activation, and it's taking a couple of days for me to get used to it too.
He's not responding to his name, which is REALLY hard for us. We've been so blessed that Christian was a fantastic hearing user, and he would turn to his name at the drop of a hat. Our EI teacher, the lovely Mrs. M reminded me that the way his name sounds to him with his implant is TOTALLY different then what he heard aided. Who knew what "Christian" sounded like to him. He didn't even have access to the "Ch" sound. Additionally, I've noticed that his voice now sounds a bit deeper and muffled when he babbles. Yet, at the same time, he's also ALOT louder than he was prior to activation. I remember right when he was aided that he was a loud little monkey for a couple of days.
Whenever people ask me how we're doing with all of this, I say we're taking it one day at a time with this. I feel like I literally JUST got the hang of dealing with Christian and his aids and his therapy. Now, things are completely different, and it's a totally different road. Don't get me wrong...I'm ready for this road trip. Especially since this road trip has a really cool destination.
I have been prepared for this. It's not like I didn't know that things would be *different* once he was activated and the hearing aid was taken off the other ear. I just didn't expect what we are going through. I've noticed a couple of BIG differences immediately following Christian's activation, and it's taking a couple of days for me to get used to it too.
He's not responding to his name, which is REALLY hard for us. We've been so blessed that Christian was a fantastic hearing user, and he would turn to his name at the drop of a hat. Our EI teacher, the lovely Mrs. M reminded me that the way his name sounds to him with his implant is TOTALLY different then what he heard aided. Who knew what "Christian" sounded like to him. He didn't even have access to the "Ch" sound. Additionally, I've noticed that his voice now sounds a bit deeper and muffled when he babbles. Yet, at the same time, he's also ALOT louder than he was prior to activation. I remember right when he was aided that he was a loud little monkey for a couple of days.
Whenever people ask me how we're doing with all of this, I say we're taking it one day at a time with this. I feel like I literally JUST got the hang of dealing with Christian and his aids and his therapy. Now, things are completely different, and it's a totally different road. Don't get me wrong...I'm ready for this road trip. Especially since this road trip has a really cool destination.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
HOP, HOP, HOP
Ok, so technically these aren't Ling sounds, but today Christian repeated me saying Hop, Hop, Hop, and then pointed to the counter where his Annie's Cheddar Bunnies were.
We're on our way...
We're on our way...
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