Becoming a big boy

Kevin seems to be turning the corner from baby-toddler to toddler-kid right before my eyes! The other day at his oral-deaf school, he really impressed me and made me realize that he isn't a baby anymore. They always start the day with a music session and since he only goes on the day when all the 'babies' attend, they sing baby songs. One of the songs they sing is Patty-cake and they end the song with hand movements of 'marking it with a B-B-B-B-B'. Kevin took part in this and sang right along moving his hands and saying 'B-B-B-B-B' somewhat with the right timing of the song. He also did the same thing when they sang the vowels and ended with the short sound of the 'U'. He moved his hands and sang 'uh-uh-uh'. He loved it!!!! He also ran around with the older kids and seemed to fit right in. This is a major turning point because up until then, he wanted me to hold him during song time because he felt uncomfortable with all the chaos of that time.

We started gymnastics on Monday and the coils stayed on surprisingly well. While ont the trampoline, they sometimes fell off, but not too bad. I was pretty pleased. The next thing I need to do is try to figure out a way to put a helmet on his head without the coils falling off. His big brother is getting a bike for Christmas and so Kevin will inherit the trike and I want him to wear a helmet when riding. I think I might try a skullcap, but so far, Kevin has not 'allowed' me put anything on his head yet. Reasoning with him is still pretty difficult, after all, he is only 19 months. We'll see how this goes.....!

And the scores are in....

Kevin had his first language assessment since he got his CIs last week and today I got the results. Kevin is measuring cognitively at 24 months, receptive language at 20 months, and expressive at 18-20 months. Kevin is only 19 months!!! Wooo hoooooo! Now, this isn't a speech evaluation, which would assess articulation, but his understanding and use of language is way beyond my wildest expectations at such a young hearing age. I am so proud of him. I guess this hard work from everyone, especially Kevin, is paying off.

I have a name!

Mama!!!

Yes, Kevin finally has said Mama! He has said Daddy with complete clarity for the past couple of months, but my name has always been 'bity'. Today, I finally have a real name.... Mama!!! What a wonderful day this has been! :)

Back in Stereo

Well, Kevin is back with two processors again!!! Yea! He fussed (screamed) for about 15 minutes, but once he realized what it was he was hearing, he seemed to really enjoy it again. We have him at %50 volume and will slowly turn him up over the course of the week. He was in a really good mood tonight and even ate his dinner. I wonder if hearing with one ear was just draining on him and making him fussy? He seems to be back to his good-natured self, which is a nice change to see! Hopefully he continues to like his implant again and we can move forward!

He was talking up a storm today too! He said bye-bye (instead of bye) and yo-yo. He also has the cutest growl for a lion! I can't wait to get that on tape!!!

It was a long day and I am exhausted, but at least today's outcome was much better than the visit to the Dr. last week!

LTH Conference

John and I attened the Let Them Hear Foundation conference last Friday and Saturday. It was really a great conference!  The focus was on children with cochlear implants, so much of the information pertained to us. It was also great meeting people who are in our situation. We met some really great friends whose son was just bilaterally implanted. I am looking forward to getting our kids together. I think it will be a great friendship for Kevin to have.

We go back on Tuesday to put Kevin's processor back on. I am pretty nervous about this, but I do believe that we are experiencing difficulties due to the fluid in Kevin's ear. Hopefully we won't have to use too much 'tough love' to get him to like it again. I hope he cooperates with us! Keep your fingers crossed!

His hearing is continuing to improve. I was sitting behind him tonight and asking him to point to many objects, and he did it flawlessly! His expressive language is growing, but he still doesn't have too many perfectly clear words. I know what he is saying, but others might not. Hopefully he will develop that skill set soon and start talking more and more!

Hopefully the next time I write this, Kevin will be back to being bilateral!

Happy Halloween!

Kevin had a wonderful time trick-or-treating tonight. He really got into it and ran up to ring the doorbells and held out his bag. He even said Trick-or-treat! ("tr-t-tr"). I was very impressed!

I realized my last note sounded so depressing, so I wanted to give a more positive outlook tonight. Things are still going welll here!
Happy Halloween!

Another hurdle

We have another set-back with Kevin's implant. I am so frustrated because before his fall, everything with both sides were just 'perfect'! So, when we put the implant on last week, he liked it for about an hour and then started fussing. After trying for another day to have him wear it, we noticed that his implant site was swollen. The Dr. said it might not be fully healed, so we had to wait another 2 days before putting it on. 2 days later (last Sunday) we tried it and it worked just fine for 2 days. We had the volume back up to full volume and he didn't mind it at all. Then, yesterday, when I put it back on, he screamed out in pain. I took him back to the Dr. (another 3 hour drive one way) and he said that Kevin has fluid in his ears. He has a TERRIBLE cold right now and with all the fluid in his ears compounded with his incision being a bit sore still and him still getting used to having his right side hearing back, it just was a recipe for disaster. The Dr. wants me to wait another week, go back and see him to make sure his ear is dry and then try it back on again. I am really nervous that there is more to it than just a bad cold, but all signs lead to this simple solution. After all, it DID work for 2 days! So, we are in a wait and see mode. I am sure I will have a hard time getting him used to wearing it again. He is going through a difficult phase right now where he doesn't want to do anything you ask of him, and getting the implant to stay on will be tough. I'm really not looking forward to it.

I'm ready for something to come easy for him. Let's just have the implant heal, have him like the sound and move forward again! I know this note sounds discouraging, but I too have a cold, am extremely tired from driving back and forth many times, and just want things to be back to 'normal'.

For all the anti-CI people who read this, please don't take this as an opportunity to bash CIs and say what a terrible thing it is to put your child through this. Until you see the difference in your child when they can hear compared to when they can't, you will never know what a blessing these devices are, despite some challenging times. Kevin just lights up when he puts his CIs on in the morning. Sure, he could go through life without one and be very happy and content, but he truely comes to life with the CIs on! Even after having to deal with this, I have never doubted my decision to implant Kevin!