Need your help CI Moms and Dads

Well we have gone through all the hearing testing and the Cochlear Implant evaluation for baby K and all have decided that he is an excellent candidate for cochlear implants. Now we head into the insurance department UGH! As of right now my husband's company insurance does not cover the cost of getting CI's. His company is self insured so it is ultimately up to the company if they will cover them and that is why I need your help CI moms and dads. We need to give them a reason to cover Kemper's CI's and hopefully add it to their plan in the following year. I need help gathering information like what they are, how they work, any statistics, benefits of cochlear implants, and putting it together so that it is informative and straight to the point. If anyone has any appeal letters they could share with us so that we may have a format to plea our case they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

Helen_mayson@hotmail.com

Pumpkin Patch Kid

My own little Pumpkin


Warning He's spoiled Rotten!!


With my true loves


Having the best time


Pumpkin Patch Kid


Going for a ride


I call this Where's Waldo?


Spending time with Daddy


Feeding the goats with Grandma and cousin Nolan

Pilot Cap

The pilot cap I bought Kemper to help keep his hearing aids on came in. He can't quite get to his ears now but he has figured out that if unties the the strings under his chin he can pull the cap off. I tried double knotting it but then he pulls on the strings so hard it pulls on the cap causing his HA's to dislodge under the cap. Smart boy! My husband is not a huge fan his first reaction was " You know he's a boy, right?" He also said he looks like an Amish swimmer. I think he looks pretty darn cute!!

6 Months!!

Sweet Baby K you are 6 Months old today!!




* You wear size 2-3 diapers
* You wear size 6-9 month clothing
* Go to bed 9-10ish and wake up around 6:30am with occasional middle of the night feedings
* We don't have a weight on you yet but you go to the Dr. next week, mommy thinks about 16lbs
* You LOVE to EAT EAT EAT! We don't know where it goes, must be your turbo metabolism.
* carrots, green beans, and prunes are your favorite baby foods
* You will refuse any type of formula and will ONLY drink mommy's milk(mommy is struggling to keep up!!)


* Your little personality is coming out, such a stinker! you cry when Mommy or Daddy leaves your sight.
* you love a great game of peek-a-boo
* you love to look at books, especially the touch and feel kind
* love your bonding time with Daddy two nights a week when mommy goes to work
* Still love bath time
* You grab at anything in sight, nothing is safe!
* You have become a biter :( Mommy is not pleased!
* You have discovered your hearing aids and think they make fabulous chew toys

* You are no longer my pet rock, you love to roll and move around
* You move around so much mommy had the hardest time taking your picture
* You are still my little Bear, but we hear that 6 months is usually the "magical" month and maybe your colic will come to an end. PLEASE??
* You are loved by all and we love watching you grow

Going back to work

After six long months I finally went back to work. I never intended to take that long off but after going into pre-term labor at 34 weeks I started my maternity leave early. Then after Baby K was born and we got his hearing loss diagnosis I needed time to grieve and recover from the shock so I took some extra time off. Thankfully my boss was very supportive and let me do that. In the six months I was gone my job managed to change everything. The unit I worked in for the last seven years no longer exists, a brand new one with all the bells and whistles was built in its place. They even changed the entire computer system so I had to be trained on it before I could even come back. So in all going back to work for me has been like riding a bike... with square wheels. It's the same, yet so different. It has been hard trying to concentrate at work because I'm always thinking of K, did he eat well?, is he sleeping?, are is teeth bothering him?.... Its also been a little tough getting adjusted to working nights again 7pm to 7am is quite a beating. Luckily it is only two nights a week. His daddy takes care of him at night and my mother comes over for a few hours the next day so that I can get some sleep. Oh the joys of being a working mom, which reminds me I need to pick up some lotto tickets ;)




Kemper rolled over for the first time right before I left to go to work. Bittersweet.

Wordless Wednesday

$$$ chew toys

Yep Baby K finally discovered his hearing aids and he thinks they taste great. I knew this day was coming but I think was in denial. I'm kicking myself for not ordering the Hanna Andersson pilot caps that all the other mothers suggested sooner. I ordered one but I may go crazy before it comes in. We have been using the huggie aids but he has been a pro at ripping them off in two seconds flat. I find them difficult to put back on and K usually has a fit, so they are not quite working for us.




So here we are getting our second pair of hearing aid molds done. Old reliable(what we named his paci),toy and we're good to go!



Kemper hasn't really shown us that he is getting any benefit from his HA's so it's been hard finding the motivation to keep putting them on. I find myself putting them on later and later and taking them off earlier and earlier. On October 1st we are going to one of the many cochlear implant evaluation appointments and they will test exactly how much benefit he is receiving from them.




Shortly after taking this picture he had a melt down, he was done with having his ears messed with. Or maybe pink is just not his color!