Six Weeks Post Activation on Right Ear - Update on Left Ear

I've been horrible at keeping up this blog and so much has been happening! I SO want to make a video, but I am SO busy what seems like ALL the time! I'm toting my older two kids to and from school everyday, which turns out to be over an hour trip two times a day, then there's AV therapy or Infants & Toddlers (Aiden's TOD and PT) or audiology or lately, back to see the surgeon. Then Aiden is such a busy, busy one year old that does not like to play by himself. I think with all the "play therapy" I've done taught him he only likes to play if mom or dad is sitting on the floor playing with him. UGH! Gotta break this habit and fast! So anyway ... here's a quick recap of what's been going on:

Aiden's left implant looks GREAT! After surgery, he had a bout with fluid build up and had to rewrap this ear. We finally got the left CI back on this past Monday (10 days after surgery) and our baby's bilateral again! Whew! He did great with reactivation and has barely tried to pull it off since! We're back to P1 (program 1) with this ear, but have two additional programs to move up to over the next two weeks. Then after these two weeks we'll go back to the sound booth to check both ears, and readjust, if needed, from there.

Aiden was also tested in the sound booth Monday. My baby is hearing at 15-20 db across all frequencies with his right CI!!! To me, this is unfreakinbelievable! 15 to 20 db!!! This is the same boy who just a year ago couldn't hear anything at all at 110db and now he's hearing at 15-20db! Are there truly any words to describe this?!?

Some very fun, amazing, just out of this world, I thought I'd never experience with him things he's doing include:

• Whenever I do the /ah/ sound - he signs airplane (well, with his pointer finger flying around) - without anything from me except the sound /ah/! No joke.



• He is turning more and more to his name! I called his name all day today and almost each time I said it, he turned, looked at me, and smiled!



• When he's in his booster seat in the kitchen and someone comes in the very squeaky front door (which he cannot see), he turns to look who's coming in!



• When he went to dump the cat water bowl today, as always I said, "Aiden, no-no", which he typically never hears and continues to dump the water all over, but today he stopped! STOPPED, looked at me, went to do it again, I repeated myself, signed no, said it again, and he crawled away! I tried it again later as he tried to rip apart an arrangement ... and he STOPPED again, looked at me and smiled, very slowly put his hand up towards it again, I repeated myself (without sign this time), and he crawled away! I almost wanted to put him in situations so I could say "no" to him just to watch him respond! I've never been so happy telling a child no before!



• He's starting to babble ... a little bit. This is my biggest concern, but like his audiologist said - he's only six weeks hearing with one CI. True. And we are finally getting some "ah's, da's, and ma's" and today I even heard a couple times of him just gibber-gabbing like a hearing baby does, but still not like he did with his aids. We'll get there though.



• Sometimes, when we say "bird" or "tweet-tweet" he will look out the window at the bird feeder and then sign bird (which he does backwards and with his full hand). And sometimes when I say "cat" he will look around for one of the cats.

I need to get some of these things on video, but again, it's been so nonstop with all three kids. I can't be more pleased with how far my little man has come this past six weeks. I hate all that he's endured, but we know the end result is worth it. He's a tough little thing with an amazing disposition. He looked at me tonight, with those big blue eyes, and as I looked back at him, he just smiled at me. Smiled a big ol' smile. And he melted his mommy's heart just one more time today.