Questions for CI Parents

Kemper is now a full time walkin' talkin' boy. We never thought we would get here, but we are loving every minute of it! So now that he's a "big boy", we have been thinking of moving K's C.I. processors, that we keep pinned to his clothes near his shoulders, on his ears. We planned on doing this sooner, but he was primarily crawling up until about 15 months, making it almost impossible to keep the processors on his ears. He is doing pretty well at localizing to sounds, but we think that he could do even better with them on his ears. Only problem is that we are not quite sure how to go about it. There are many different aids but what do you think would work best for an active 16 month old boy? What does your child use? Here are some options that I have found, but I'd love to hear other's opinions on them...

Ear Gear

These may help them from getting lost, but how can we keep them on his ears?

Lite wear   

Thees cables allow him to wear the processors on his ears, but the battery portion still remains pinned to his clothing.

Huggies

May work better for hearing aids, but I hear they are an option?

Joy Bands

Great idea but I'm not sure we like the idea of headbands on boys ;)

Snug fit

Any others?

Nucleus 5 users:

Have you tried the new rechargable batteries?

Do you like them?
How many hours are you getting out of them?

What about he compact batteries, anyone use them yet?
Are they worth buying?

Painting with a Twist

Painting with a Twist: bring your friends, your favorite beverage, snacks, and get ready to paint!

The walls were lined with different paintings that we could pick from. We decided on the peacock.

It was so much fun! They provided the paint, brushes and canvas and a local artist guided us through painting our one-of-a-kind masterpiece.


Yes, mine started out looking like a turkey! The AR side of me was stressing out at first but the instructor made it so easy and encouraged you to make it your own. It was like follow-the-leader with paint and wine!

Here's the original and my final creation (on the right) Let's just say he's a well fed peacock!

It was neat seeing how they all came out so differently and all so good!


And No, you don't have to be an artist to do it. I think the last time I painted something was in the 6th grade! We can't wait to do it again!

And because I can't have a post without my Baby K...

My sister turned my munchkin into a little Picasso!


He had a great time getting dirty!

Taking a break to get a drink and reflect.

His final masterpiece!! Kemper says he will be offering a friends and family discount on all his paintings, so grandmas get your orders in!

Staying positive...

very cute, I think I should try this each morning. Happy weekend!!

It's a Paci Miracle!!

We found it! We thought it was long lost at the mall, but it was at home the entire time. I had gone grocery shopping and while I was taking the groceries inside it magically appeared in the middle of the garage. The place we had looked several times! I had not planned to give it back to him, but before I knew it his dad had sanitized it and given it back to him. I think his daddy missed it just as much as he did! All is right in the world now ;)
Here are some old "Paci" videos Enjoy!


K could always tell the difference between his original paci and the replacements.


One of his first signs "paci"

A tribute to K's paci

We had you for 16 months and one day. Then after one small trip to the mall you were gone...


I had never seen this type of pacifier before. Little did we know it was a NICU paci and could not be bought anywhere else and no other hospital carried them.


Baby K was hooked on it right from the start, and he wanted no other.


Ol' Reliable as we called it, traveled with us to all of the doctor and audiologist visits and helped them run smoothly.



It was our sanity lifesaver for K's cochlear implant surgery. It helped him  get through the hours of not being able to eat or drink. When they took K back to the OR to have his surgery we gave him a kiss and begged the OR staff not to lose his paci.


And when K could finally eat,  the paci was waiting at his side.



In fact it was always by his side, if not in his mouth.




We feared that some day we might lose the paci, so K's Daddy went back to the hospital and begged the maternity ward nurses for one more. I think they thought it was sweet for a Daddy to come back so they gave him two.


K would often wake up in the night crying because he could not find his paci, so we put all three in the bed to help the odds. He always managed to find the original and keep it in his mouth ,while the others stayed in his hands.



 Some mornings we would find the two extras tossed outside his crib on the floor.


He ALWAYS knew the difference.



We had been so good about keeping track of it. When we were out and about, we would  have our "paci & CI check" and make sure we had all three before getting into our car. As you can tell that day we didn't :(
Each night we even had a ritual of washing and inspecting his paci while he drank his bedtime bottle.





That day we all headed out to the mall, to get K some shoes.  K began to get a little fussy while we were shopping so we gave it to him and got ready to leave. That was the last time we remember seeing it. We didn't even notice it missing until we got home and got ready him ready for bed. We searched everywhere.  We got the flashlight out and looked in the cars and garage. My husband even went back to search the mall parking lot. It was gone.You may call us crazy but we like to think of ourselves as sentimental ;)


Last picture taken with Ol' Reliable. He wasn't a "happy camper" for long.

 So long paci, you served us well.

Dear Terrible Two's:

You have arrived way to early at our home. We do not find hitting or throwing things entertaining. Your tantrums and fits are not impressive either. Please go away.

Sincerely,
Baby K's Toddler K's Mommy and Daddy

Here is a video of K's new words  " all done" and "open it " This was taken almost two weeks ago when he first started saying them, so they were not as clear. This video also shows a tame version of his "Stinker" side. 

Blame it on Mexico!!

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This is where we spent a lot of time on our vacation, taking naps along the beach.



We took a few naps here too...


This was our friend Coco Loco, he always had a way of showing up to help cool us off.



Most vacations you don't want to spend time in your room, but we kinda liked ours. We didn't even have to leave to go to the pool.



Don't worry we didn't spend too much time napping and resting. We went for a few walks along the beach...



...and got a massage.


The accommodations we really nice, and so were the views.



Like I said, not too shabby ;)


Time to rest again.


Date night, every night!


My two Coco Loco's



Our favorite lunchtime spot.

Our friend is back.

Checking up on the munchkin back home.

We came home to this little devil angel and he loved helping us unpack. My velcro rollers were a hit.


As you can tell we took a little time away from baby little K to celebrate our third year wedding anniversary. We spent 5days and 4 nights in Riviera Maya, Mexico. It was the first time since K was born to leave him overnight. I was very nervous about leaving him. In the nights prior to our departure I would wake up with horrible anxiety attacks. I knew he would be safe with my parents and family but his cochlear implants were my main concern. Would they notice right way when his batteries went out?. Would they make sure he was on the right settings? Would they know when to adjust them if he was uncomfortable? What if they lost one? So many what ifs.  I  then realized that I was making myself crazy and I really needed this vacation! We both needed a little regrouping time. I know becoming first time parents is not an easy thing, but wow we definitely did not get the "easy" baby for sure. First came the hearing loss diagnosis, then the colic, the reflux, teething, sleeping problems, sensory integration issues, cochlear implants, his consistent clinginess, I could go on and on. K and I pretty much cried all day and night for the first nine months of his life. Now at 15 mo we still deal with the whining and crying ( much better after implants) but we are now finally able to have our heads above water. We love that boy, but we needed a break!


Our vacation was great and just what we needed. We did exactly as we planned, nothing.  We ate lots of food and lounged around the pool and beach. Our internal clocks are set to "K time"so we slept in until 8am, but stayed in bed until 9 because we could. We are so thankful that we were able to spend some time alone  to say I love you and remember why we married each other. It's something we often forget in the hustle and bustle of daily life.

We returned home to find our son safe and sound. He had a wonderful time being spoiled rotten. He was so happy... until he saw his parents. He apparently was very angry at us for leaving him. He wanted nothing to do with us at first. He cried on and off for about five hours, until he went to bed. The next day and since then he won't leave my side and his stranger anxiety is at an all time peak.  I can't even get up from a sitting to standing position with him going into panic mode. Yikes! we're in trouble now. Blame it on Mexico!