Keeping his "ears" on

I have been asked a few times about how we are keeping K's processors on his ears so I thought I  would make a quick post about it.

We are using Cochlear's latest Snug fit. You no longer have to use the hard removable plastic ear hook. It is now a soft plastic that is incorporated into the snug fit. The bottom portion of the Snug fit is bendable and easy to shape around the ear. I think they work great and we have not had a hard time keeping them on. Also we were able to get rid of the nasty sticky Toupee tape I hate so much.

 
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Note: if you order them do not get them to match the processor color ( like they recommend), go with your child's skin color because the bottom portion wraps around the front of the ear.

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I'm still paranoid about losing these suckers so we also use K's old hearing aid clips. That way if it falls off and he runs away, it will still be attached to him and I won't have to waste my day looking for it.

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We also switched to using the compact rechargable batteries. So far we get about a day and a half use out of them before they need to be recharged. We just recharge them every night along with the remote when he goes to bed. We also bought an extra set (when they were half-price off) so I keep the extra set in my purse and don't have to worry about having a charger around.

And because I am extra paranoid I also busted out the label maker and put our phone number on the inner sides of the processors that face his head. My thinking is that if someone finds one and they have no idea what it is they may just toss it aside, but if they see a phone number they may think it's important and see that it gets back to its owner. Call me crazy, but it helps me sleep at night!!

 If anyone else has any neat tricks or ideas please let me know!!

** the little white square on his processor ( top picture) is there for his grandmother to make it easier for her to know what ear the processor goes on ( white = right) when she watches him. ;)

Then and Now

This was K last year :

And here he is exactly one year later...

Yep it's been one year since Kemper's cochlear implant surgery and he will soon be celebrating his first hearing birthday. We couldn't have asked for a better year. His surgery went smoothly without a hitch and K took to his new hearing like a fish to water. We prayed and hoped for the best and it came true. It has been amazing!

We decided to go out and celebrate K's 1st year CI surgery anniversary at his favorite restaurant, Joe's Crab Shack . This restaurant has to be the loudest sensory overloaded restaurant out there, but K loves it. All the lights, singing, and dancing combined with chicken fingers and french fries = K heaven!  I get a lump in my throat each time I see K get down from his high chair to dance with the waiters. Someday I will get it on video.  He has been camera shy lately and stops as soon as he sees me pull the camera out. I had to sneak this video with my phone. It's not the best quality, but you get the idea. He loves to hear!!

"Hears" to many more years of hearing!!