Friday, July 30, 2010
Quick update
Just running out the door to pick up Juliana from Vacation Bible School, but wanted to let you know: Mikaela goes in for the second CI on Monday, August 2, 2010. All prayers and positive intentions are welcome!
I will let you know how it all goes next week. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
I will let you know how it all goes next week. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
She's Back
Just to update everyone...
Mikaela is home. Her stay in the ER wasn't too long. Tough on her and Daddy though! They took a few x-rays of her belly and determined that there wasn't any bells present (Thank you, God!). Along with the scans, the docs thought her temperment also supported the diagnosis of NO BLOCKAGE! Whoo Hoo!
From 5:45 - 7:10 am, she drank and kept down 9 ounces of Pedialyte, then she fell asleep. Kurt woke her up at 10 a.m. to get her dressed to come home. She ate a few graham crackers and some more apple juice and headed home. She looked exhaused when she came through the door, but wanted to play with her sister. Of course Otto continues to get the most hugs in the entire family from her!
She went up for a nap at 1 p.m. and I don't really expect to hear from her for several hours!
On another note, Thursday, her PT came out for our monthly visit and Mikaela is discharged from Physical Therapy! Her therapist is confident that she is quickly closing the gap to 'age appropriate' activities for a 26 month old! I am so happy for her!
Mikaela is home. Her stay in the ER wasn't too long. Tough on her and Daddy though! They took a few x-rays of her belly and determined that there wasn't any bells present (Thank you, God!). Along with the scans, the docs thought her temperment also supported the diagnosis of NO BLOCKAGE! Whoo Hoo!
From 5:45 - 7:10 am, she drank and kept down 9 ounces of Pedialyte, then she fell asleep. Kurt woke her up at 10 a.m. to get her dressed to come home. She ate a few graham crackers and some more apple juice and headed home. She looked exhaused when she came through the door, but wanted to play with her sister. Of course Otto continues to get the most hugs in the entire family from her!
She went up for a nap at 1 p.m. and I don't really expect to hear from her for several hours!
On another note, Thursday, her PT came out for our monthly visit and Mikaela is discharged from Physical Therapy! Her therapist is confident that she is quickly closing the gap to 'age appropriate' activities for a 26 month old! I am so happy for her!
Not Happy
So all was well today (1/9), it is my mom's birthday, we picked out the granite slab for our kitchen, had a good lunch, and put Mikaela up for her nap. Juliana had a friend over for a playdate, the Christmas lights came down and we were working on the tree. But Mikaela wasn't falling asleep for her nap. Not all that unusual. So I went up, gave her the bink. A half hour later or so, did it again and changed her diaper. I was planning to bring her down, but she was rubbing her eyes and seemed sleepy. So although it was 4:30, I decided to put her back in bed to see if she would sleep a bit.
Ten minutes later, she was calling, "MOM!!!" "MOM!!!" (Again, not unusual.) Kurt said he would bring her down as I was feeding Rebecca. He gets upstais and calls down that she had thrown up in her crib.
Well, to make a long story short....she hasn't stopped and since it is now 2:47 a.m. we are now worried about dehydration. We talked to the doctor, called our nurse line, and low and behold, Kurt left to take her to CHoP. There is also a potential bell swallowing situation that may be at play here, but we aren't sure.
This is the first time, I am not there with her for this stuff. I am filled with dread as I know what is happening. I am NOT HAPPY. But I am going to try to go up to bed and sleep. I'll need to get sleep to stay healthy for the other two. I'll keep you posted as I hear from him. Please say prayers if for some reason you are up and not sleeping at this hour! :-)
Ten minutes later, she was calling, "MOM!!!" "MOM!!!" (Again, not unusual.) Kurt said he would bring her down as I was feeding Rebecca. He gets upstais and calls down that she had thrown up in her crib.
Well, to make a long story short....she hasn't stopped and since it is now 2:47 a.m. we are now worried about dehydration. We talked to the doctor, called our nurse line, and low and behold, Kurt left to take her to CHoP. There is also a potential bell swallowing situation that may be at play here, but we aren't sure.
This is the first time, I am not there with her for this stuff. I am filled with dread as I know what is happening. I am NOT HAPPY. But I am going to try to go up to bed and sleep. I'll need to get sleep to stay healthy for the other two. I'll keep you posted as I hear from him. Please say prayers if for some reason you are up and not sleeping at this hour! :-)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Welcome Back
It sure has been a while!!! So much has happened since I posted last. Six months ago. I'm quite embarassed, but more astonished!
I'll bring you up to speed - Reader's Digest style. We'll get the GI stuff out first. We had two trips to CHOP for suspected intestinal blockages, but to our surprise, there weren't any. Thank God! She had all the tell tale signs, but the scans were clear and we were kept overnight for observation and send home the next day - both times. She still has a bit of acid reflux, but hasn't thrown up since the day after Thanksgiving.
Mikaela started walking October 22nd, four days prior to her second birthday. Physically, she is slowly catching up to a typical two year old. Although, to tell you the truth, I am not certain what she should be doing by now. She is walking faster, gaining better balance, she can jump a little while holding on to something. We only have physical therapy once a month now.
She has added weekly speech therapy to our Teacher of the Deaf coming six times per month. Her language is just booming! Her word approximations are in the hundreds now. She speaks in two - three word sentences and talks pretty much every waking minute! :-) Who knew my deaf daughter would be keeping up with her big sister?
Speaking of big sisters, I never told you all what I had....ANOTHER GIRL! Rebecca Nicole was born 9/9/09 and weighed 8 lbs 14 ounces. She is an angel of a baby. I am truly blessed. Here is a current picture of her:
As you can imagine, my New Year's resolution is to post here more! I want to share more of Mikaela's journey, but these last several months, I have been living in the moment and just enjoying my family.
Thank you for continuing to follow Mikaela's story. Until next time....
I'll bring you up to speed - Reader's Digest style. We'll get the GI stuff out first. We had two trips to CHOP for suspected intestinal blockages, but to our surprise, there weren't any. Thank God! She had all the tell tale signs, but the scans were clear and we were kept overnight for observation and send home the next day - both times. She still has a bit of acid reflux, but hasn't thrown up since the day after Thanksgiving.
Mikaela started walking October 22nd, four days prior to her second birthday. Physically, she is slowly catching up to a typical two year old. Although, to tell you the truth, I am not certain what she should be doing by now. She is walking faster, gaining better balance, she can jump a little while holding on to something. We only have physical therapy once a month now.
She has added weekly speech therapy to our Teacher of the Deaf coming six times per month. Her language is just booming! Her word approximations are in the hundreds now. She speaks in two - three word sentences and talks pretty much every waking minute! :-) Who knew my deaf daughter would be keeping up with her big sister?
Speaking of big sisters, I never told you all what I had....ANOTHER GIRL! Rebecca Nicole was born 9/9/09 and weighed 8 lbs 14 ounces. She is an angel of a baby. I am truly blessed. Here is a current picture of her:
As you can imagine, my New Year's resolution is to post here more! I want to share more of Mikaela's journey, but these last several months, I have been living in the moment and just enjoying my family.
Thank you for continuing to follow Mikaela's story. Until next time....
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
How we doin'?
Mikaela is progressing very nicely! We had our 6 month follow up appointment at CHoP yesterday. She is 'right on target' for the amount of time she's been activated. She is responding to sounds in the 35 dB loss range. She is most likely hearing softer sounds, but not consistently responding to them based on her age and interest.
Her receptive language is just wonderful. She shows lots of indication that she is learning by incidental language much like kiddos without any hearing loss. I will say a word in regular conversation with Juliana or Kurt and she signs it. She really enjoys listening to lots of different sounds. She plays with some of Juliana's old Dora books that have a speaker and has Dora saying different things in English and Spanish. The one book, in particular, has sounds like a balloon blowing up, different instruments, a ball bouncing, and she can't get enough of it.
Expressively, she is coming along. She repeats lots of intonation, duration and approximations of words. My goal this weekend, since we are on vacation at a family reunion, is to make a list of her expressive language. I would have to say we are over 20 or 30 'words'. Of course you may not know what she said, but I do! :-) We would like to see more consonants emerging over the next few months. Her audiologist made some adjustments to the program which should increase her access to some of the softer sounds of speech. I also have a speech evaluation request in with my Early Intervention team to see if speech therapy is something we should bring on board. (with the other 18 hours per month that she is already receiving.) Oh, well, I am a firm believer in 'no time like the present'. Honestly, why wait, though? If she needs it, she needs it!
Physically, she is getting closer everyday to walking. (Please, God, help her to walk by the end of this weekend!!!) Okay, maybe I'm pushing it! But I am 7 weeks from delivery and I can't carry her very far any more!! This baby is pressing on so many ligaments and ribs that I could scream. Add in the 20 plus pounds that Mikaela weighs and I am close to tears!
Today, Juliana went down the basement and brought up a doll stroller. Immediately, Mikaela had to take it from her! I was fearful that it was too light, considering I still have a 5 pound weight in the push toy she has been using. She whipped that thing around like no body's business!! She fell once, but didn't seem too shaken or daunted! That will be coming with us this weekend!!
PT wouldn't leave on Monday until Mikaela stood - by herself! I told her the bed upstairs was clean and I could make room in the drawers....BUT Mikaela did stand for a few seconds! We had to distract her with bubbles, but she stood! Once she realized she wasn't supported, she lowered herself to a sit. This has been the trend since Monday.
Today at Juliana's ballet class, I wouldn't let Mikaela crawl at all. Where ever she wanted to go, I said, "stand, please" and walked with her holding one hand. That will be the theme this weekend. No one carries her or lets her crawl! We will grab a hand and walk her to her destination! I am determined to show her that she CAN. We have to believe in her until she believes in herself!
Her receptive language is just wonderful. She shows lots of indication that she is learning by incidental language much like kiddos without any hearing loss. I will say a word in regular conversation with Juliana or Kurt and she signs it. She really enjoys listening to lots of different sounds. She plays with some of Juliana's old Dora books that have a speaker and has Dora saying different things in English and Spanish. The one book, in particular, has sounds like a balloon blowing up, different instruments, a ball bouncing, and she can't get enough of it.
Expressively, she is coming along. She repeats lots of intonation, duration and approximations of words. My goal this weekend, since we are on vacation at a family reunion, is to make a list of her expressive language. I would have to say we are over 20 or 30 'words'. Of course you may not know what she said, but I do! :-) We would like to see more consonants emerging over the next few months. Her audiologist made some adjustments to the program which should increase her access to some of the softer sounds of speech. I also have a speech evaluation request in with my Early Intervention team to see if speech therapy is something we should bring on board. (with the other 18 hours per month that she is already receiving.) Oh, well, I am a firm believer in 'no time like the present'. Honestly, why wait, though? If she needs it, she needs it!
Physically, she is getting closer everyday to walking. (Please, God, help her to walk by the end of this weekend!!!) Okay, maybe I'm pushing it! But I am 7 weeks from delivery and I can't carry her very far any more!! This baby is pressing on so many ligaments and ribs that I could scream. Add in the 20 plus pounds that Mikaela weighs and I am close to tears!
Today, Juliana went down the basement and brought up a doll stroller. Immediately, Mikaela had to take it from her! I was fearful that it was too light, considering I still have a 5 pound weight in the push toy she has been using. She whipped that thing around like no body's business!! She fell once, but didn't seem too shaken or daunted! That will be coming with us this weekend!!
PT wouldn't leave on Monday until Mikaela stood - by herself! I told her the bed upstairs was clean and I could make room in the drawers....BUT Mikaela did stand for a few seconds! We had to distract her with bubbles, but she stood! Once she realized she wasn't supported, she lowered herself to a sit. This has been the trend since Monday.
Today at Juliana's ballet class, I wouldn't let Mikaela crawl at all. Where ever she wanted to go, I said, "stand, please" and walked with her holding one hand. That will be the theme this weekend. No one carries her or lets her crawl! We will grab a hand and walk her to her destination! I am determined to show her that she CAN. We have to believe in her until she believes in herself!
Monday, June 22, 2009
CI's and Music
http://tinyurl.com/mdykek
Above is an article posted on a few of the CI loops to which I belong. I found it really interesting and worth noting here. (I will also copy and paste it for reference once Mikaela starts school.) The article notes how CI users benefit in quiet environments, but how noisy environments are a huge challenge, particularly background music. Good to note for parties and just whenever we are in noisy situations.
Ever since I learned of Mikaela's hearing loss, I have listened to music less and less in the car. I know that it is a challenge to hear us talking over the road noise let alone adding in music!! If there is silence in the car, she is more likely to keep the processor on for the entire trip. Add too many potholes or background music and she is much more likely to pull it off. Subsequently, she prefers windows closed as well. The wind is too much and she will take it off.
Just sharing this here for those of you still learning about CI limitations and special considerations for CI recipients. Please take the time to read the entire article and I would love to read any comments or thoughts you have. Thanks!
Above is an article posted on a few of the CI loops to which I belong. I found it really interesting and worth noting here. (I will also copy and paste it for reference once Mikaela starts school.) The article notes how CI users benefit in quiet environments, but how noisy environments are a huge challenge, particularly background music. Good to note for parties and just whenever we are in noisy situations.
Ever since I learned of Mikaela's hearing loss, I have listened to music less and less in the car. I know that it is a challenge to hear us talking over the road noise let alone adding in music!! If there is silence in the car, she is more likely to keep the processor on for the entire trip. Add too many potholes or background music and she is much more likely to pull it off. Subsequently, she prefers windows closed as well. The wind is too much and she will take it off.
Just sharing this here for those of you still learning about CI limitations and special considerations for CI recipients. Please take the time to read the entire article and I would love to read any comments or thoughts you have. Thanks!
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