Wow! Time is flying by. Michael & I decided we needed to concentrate on our little man being a baby boy for a few. We were so caught up in doctor appointments, therapy school tours, audiology appointments that we nearly missed his first teeth coming in.
So the past few weeks we have been cuddling up and holding tight to our family.
We did visit the AVC here in Atlanta and observed a therapy appointment with a 4 year old boy who had a cochlear implant for about 8 months. It was overwhelming, encouraging and scary. We were amazed at how well he was LISTENING for only being activated for 8 months. His mom sat across a table from him, while the therapist sat next to him. He would look straight ahead and the therapist would do exercises with him and he would respond to her completely and accurately, showing that he could hear AND understand her directions. I was even more blown away when his mom started talking to the therapist about valentine's day plans (yea vday)the therapist responded and the boy just continued playing without even looking up. The therapist then very subtly changed the conversation back to the boy and he immediately looked at her and followed the directions she gave. It was incredible. 8 months earlier he couldn't hear, now he was able to discern when a conversation was directed towards him. I thought I would break down in tears of joy...except then Shiloh (who had been sitting in my lap the whole time) began cooing VERY loudly at the 7 college girls in the observation room with us. He had been smiling at them (all of them) the whole time, but then I guess he decided to make his move and he had to say something!!! What a ladies man.
Needless to say, we will be going to this therapy center. We begin April 3rd and are trying to stay grounded in today and not get ahead of ourselves (or our baby boy), but the anticipation is insane!!! We think he is definitely responding more and more ...again we think. It's incredibly hard to gauge whether he is hearing more, learning to hear, deciphering what he's hearing or just getting used to our movements.
Other than the typical 3 year old melt downs and the infant teething fun we are keeping pretty low key. We are recharging for what is ahead of us and trying to build in as much love as possible in Mikayla and Shiloh.
It's starting to become easier to be open about Shiloh's deafness. At first it was hard to get through a conversation without tearing up. Now, I can make it through the conversation and can even talk and answer questions. I just get to a point though where I start to close up...because I don't expect everyone to understand all that I am saying or even really care. Some people ask just to be nosey - they see the hearing aids on a baby and can't figure it out...some ask because they care. I'm finding comfort in answering questions of other little kids - especially in Mikayla's class. They are so innocent and purely inquisitive and accepting without pause. Isn't 3 years old grrreat?
2 comments:
Three year olds are great! I love the way they come up and say, "what's in his ears?" and I give them the short-and-straight answer. Then they say, "OK!" and run off to play with him. Adults are so much more complicated, lol.
It sounds like things are going better! Glad to hear it! I still tear up every time someone asks, especially kids. I hope that goes away someday...
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