First Trip to the Pool

  Today we took E to the YMCA to play in the pool for the first time. He played in the ocean when he was three months old and seemed to like it, so we were excited to see what he would think of the pool. He  loved it! Our local Y has an outdoor fun pool that is very shallow with fountains and other water features. It was perfect for little E. He played in the fountains, took a few trips through the water falls, and even a couple of supervised dunks. We played inside in the big people pool as well. My hopes for E turning out to be a little water baby are looking good so far!

  The bump from the other day didn't turn into a nasty bruise as we had feared, so we're good to go for party time this weekend! He ended up with a teeny scratch that is only noticeable if you know to look for it :-)

Bumps and Bruises

  Well, we have officially entered the bumps and bruises stage. E got his first cruising injury today. He is getting really great at moving and grooving, but he lost his footing this morning and landed on the edge of the TV cabinet. The result was only a tiny scratch, but it is right in the outer corner of his eye. This really scared my husband and me because of how close he came to hitting his little eye. We hope the scratch will be all, but chances are good he will develop some lovely bruising with it....just in time for his birthday pictures. I guess it's a good thing mommy is a graphic artist and can work some Photoshop magic! I am also not above dabbing a touch of concealer on my baby ;-)  We know that this is just the first of many to come, but those little sniffles and quivering lip are going to break our hearts every time.

Where's That Paci?!

  I was a little concerned that my son suddenly began showing interest in a paci. He doesn't want to sleep with it, he just wants to chew and suck on it during the day. I chalked it up to teething. He now has three teeth and an unfortunate new habit. He likes to GRIND his teeth! He does this while he is awake, but not while sleeping. OH it makes my SKIN CRAWL!!! I find myself frantically searching for the paci so he will chew on that instead of grinding his little teeth. Anyone else have any experience with this? How do you stop a baby from grinding his teeth?

It's About Time

  I emailed the pediatric audiologist at the hospital that we are considering. She emailed me back the next day. That doesn't seem all that impressive until you consider that she was out of the country at the time and will not be back in office until next Tuesday. She emailed me not once, but twice and is going to try to work with us to get an earlier meeting time than currently scheduled. This means a great deal to me since we have had NO CONTACT with our current ENT since April. When it comes to my child, I need to feel like the people that are working with him care about our family and think of us as more than a number. I am really hoping that we may have found that type of care. I am really looking forward to meeting with this audiologist soon. I do not think I should have to constantly contact someone and remind them that they are treating my child.

  When did it become our culture to do the bare minimum? When did it become acceptable to treat people as if you are doing them some grand favor by providing them the services promised? This extends far beyond doctors and hospitals. It seems I can't even get an order of fries lately without the person acting as if I highly inconvenience them by asking them to get off their butt and do a little work. If I performed the duties of my job with the apathy that I have experienced lately, I would certainly cease to be employed. I make a point to speak to someone's manager and commend them when I receive good service. I feel it very necessary to encourage those that seem to care. The unfortunate thing is, I haven't had to do this lately.

Time to Consider Cochlear

  E's hearing aids are pretty much just expensive earrings. He is not showing any signs of response to sound. Our audiologist told us that it was time to start considering whether or not we were interested in a cochlear implant. For those of you who are not familiar with what a cochlear implant is or does, this link explains a bit:

http://products.cochlearamericas.com/cochlear-implants/how-nucleus-5-works

  A cochlear implant does allow a person to receive sound input. While a CI does provide a person with hearing, it is not the same as natural hearing. A CI is NOT a "cure" for hearing loss. A person with a CI is still deaf. When the processor is not in use, the person receives no sound information. Most children implanted with a CI before the age of four do acquire spoken language skills. Not all deaf people are candidates for a CI because there are various causes of hearing loss. A CI bypasses a non-functioning inner ear and relies on a properly functioning cochlea. At this time, it is believed that E would be an excellent candidate for CI.

  My husband and I now have several big decisions to make. We must decide if we want to pursue implantation for E. We must also decide if we are going to move E's care to a different hospital system. We have had both very good and very bad experiences at our current hospital. There is a hospital in our state with a very well developed and renowned pediatric audiology program. Changing would mean a great deal of paperwork, possible further delays, and a two and a half hour ONE WAY drive to the hospital. It could potentially mean much better care for E in the long run. My brain hurts from all of the swirling information and questions!

Time for a Party!

  Thanks to my husband, we did finally manage to get E's hearing aid tube back into place. It involved needle nosed pliers and a lot of patience. E did not even fuss today when we put them in! Thanks to "Lily's Mom"for the comment left about the hearing aids stimulating the auditory nerve. It really does help to think that even if the hearing aids are not helping him to hear anything that they are at least "exercising" the nerve.

  E is about to turn ONE! I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown by! Everyone told me it would, but it seriously was just gone in a blink! I went shopping today for party supplies. We are having a beach themed party for E. I sent out some electronic invitations and printed some as well. I made the invitations myself and just took them to WalMart to be printed in the photo lab.

  We have purposely not introduced sweets like cakes or candy to E because we wanted his first big sugar adventure to be on his birthday. I can't wait to see what he thinks of it all. I am really looking forward to a messy, sugary grin. We bought his gifts today too! We got a Tonka play rug for his room and this awesome thing (that I think Daddy may be more excited about than E) :

Meetings and Evaluations

  The ball is rolling now on E's early intervention team. He has been assigned someone to come to our home once a week. She will work with E almost like a private preschool teacher geared specifically for his needs. I was thrilled to learn that she had read this blog prior to our first meeting and was already very familiar with E and with my husband and me. We were able to skip the Q and A and get right down to business mapping out our goals as a family. E also had an evaluation meeting today to assess his needs. The evaluation involved a light medical screen, questions about milestones, and play observation. The results were that E is a beautiful, healthy baby that is right on target across the board. He is 50% percentile for growth and meeting all of his developmental milestones. We were given much praise and encouragement as parents for being so very proactive and involved. It felt wonderful to feel like I got a gold star as a mommy :-)

  You know how those pats on the back go. It seems like for every one pat on the back, you get at least a dozen kicks in the butt. Well, I did something stupid. I was trying to clean E's hearing aids tonight and had been told to wash the ear molds with a mild soap and warm water. I knew that I shouldn't get moisture near the hearing aid, so I detached it from the ear mold so I could wash the ear mold without getting anything else wet. Doofus me detached the tubing from the ear mold end rather than the hearing aid end. Well, if you don't know, the tubing slides tightly through a tunnel that goes all the way through the silicone ear mold. I couldn't get the little tube back in! I got it pushed half way, but cannot for the life of me get it to push the rest of the way into the silicone tube! I gave up after a while in fear that I might damage the tube or somehow stretch or distort the ear mold. The good news is that E has another appointment with the audiologist Monday, so if he cannot wear that hearing aid, he will at least only be without it for two days. I was TRYING to be a good mommy and keep my son's hearing aids all nice and clean, but I ended up rendering one of them unwearable. Yay me. Well, lesson learned – do NOT disconnect the tube from THAT part.

  E has now worn his hearing aids for almost a week. He doesn't like having them put in, but once they are secured in place, he is a happy camper and doesn't mess with them. He goes about his merry little way completely unconcerned with his new ear accessories. Are they helping? Who knows. There is no indication that he is hearing anything. I have been told that it is a very good sign that he leaves them alone. Supposedly, if a baby seems not to mind the hearing aids or doesn't constantly try to remove them, it can indicate that the child has perceived a value in wearing them. I am hoping that we will get some information from his appointment Monday. He has to wear them for a trial period of at least three months before it can be definitively determined that they are of no use to him. I would like to believe they are doing something because I am not at all happy about the idea that I have to keep maneuvering these silicone blobs into his little ears everyday if they are not benefitting him in any way. I'm so very proud of my little guy though for putting up with it all!