Another six months in the books...

As a recap since my last post - Miss Chloe Jean experienced a change in her hearing and had a case of the "whats" - I could tell that she wasn't hearing us as well as she was before.  She was asking you to repeat words and got extremely upset when you tried to cover your mouth to talk to her.  Might ask why we would do this - but it is to test to see if she is hearing us or reading lips.  Yes, even at 2 years old, Miss Chloe Jean can read lips.  Although she doesn't normally depend on reading lips in her everyday environment.  She was in tears, Mom was in tears and away we go into troubleshooting.  Did her programming change?  Is her cochlear implant(s) working properly.  Well... a long story short - it turned out that Chloe had a middle ear infection.  VERY THANKFUL for the Staff at Boys Town and Dr Lusk himself - they went above and beyond during the Christmas / end of the year rush and helped us through.

Last week Miss Chloe Jean had a fun filled day at Boys Town for her 1.5 year check up.  Time sure does go by fast - she is growing and thriving well in her hearing journey.

Chloe was scheduled for a FULL day of appointments.  First was a speech evaluation and second was a audiology appointment (testing her programming of her cochlear implants) and third was a trip to see Dr. Lusk (ENT).  I am always a nervous Mom heading into these appointments.  Don't get me wrong, I feel extremely blessed with how far she has come with her verbal language and adapting to her "normal" - I don't know how to explain the feeling...

Chloe really needed a good day in the booth - to check in on her programming - and since this appointment was in the afternoon, I was a little leery how Miss Independent would do.  But she proved of us wrong - she rocked both of her appointments.  Chloe had fun "playing" with Katie - and was eager to show them how much she knows, especially when it was for a sticker!  Chloe is doing extremely well in her hearing process - she is testing above anywhere we had dream she would be in a year and half time... she works so hard and loves to learn (reminds me of her older sister)!

After a break for lunch - off to see Jacquelyn - her audiologist.  Once again, Chloe proved me wrong and was a rockstar - sat through a TWO hour appointment for programming.  Gave them reliable information so they could make the needed programming changes.  I have always said that her right ear is her dominate ear.  It was her first ear - but by only a few weeks.  Testing proved my theory and they made changes to try to decrease the gap between the two cochlear implants.  She does well with her left side - but could she do better if programming was changed.  Time will tell...

As far as her appointment with Dr Lusk - since she had another ear infection since Christmas - we are now back on the fence about getting her third set of tubes.  Hopefully she will out grow the need - but if she needs them, I am okay with that too.  Especially since her one ear infection affected her hearing - she was so frustrated, Mom was so frustrated, tubes are worth it.  (If I can sit through two cochlear implant surgeries, another set of tubes seems like nothing)

Chloe picked up yet another word this week - reminding - she now tells me that she is just reminding me... needless to say I have to tell her that often when she informs me that "I AM" doing... whatever it maybe that I ask her to do or not to do... she's something else that is for sure!  A little more independent than her sister ... okay.. much more independent!!

That's just a little news from our house to yours - we have a team meeting coming up to discuss her upcoming goals and preschool.... sigh, can't believe she is ready for preschool... but again.. another adventure with more concerns for this mom.  Praying she can adapt once more to thrive in a different and more than likely a noisy environment....

Merry Christmas!

There are too many blessing of 2013 to say them all - but here is a recap of a few of our blessings:

*** Chloe Jean has gone from saying about two dozen different words (Feb 2013) to using 3 or 4 or 5 words in a sentence (October 2013).  She easily expresses what she is thinking or what she would like by putting words together.  She loves her big sister - and plays so much like her big sister.

*** Chloe gets so excited to tell us about all the fun activities she gets to do with her service providers, Holly and Casey.  Pictured is Chloe as a Santa Claus.  Thought I would also include a video of Chloe telling me about an activity she did with Holly.

*** We celebrated Chloe's First Hearing Birthday with awesome results from Boys Town.  Everyone is pleased and excited with how far she has come in her first year.

*** Within this short time, Chloe has learned how to also advocate for herself when a CI isn't turned on or needs a new battery.  Right now we are trying to troubleshoot with her equipment - it seems as if she has something going on with the devices and/or programming.  She is saying "what" all the time and looking at your lips to get a better understanding of what she is hearing.  So off to Boys Town we go - but very thankful that they were able to squeeze us in during this busy holiday/end of year time.

*** Can't leave out big sister Sydney.  She is loving the life of Kindergarten.  Surprisingly she enjoys most of the school lunches as well! She is excited to report what they are learning in reading, language, math and science.  Her best friend Kennadee is still at the top of her list of things to talk about - those two are just fun to be around, doesn't matter what they are doing - there is a smile on their face.

May your days be Merry & Bright - Looking forward to what 2014 may bring our family.

Little Miss Independent Chloe

Things have been running pretty smooth in our house lately - which is good to report.  Chloe is putting three to four words together to express her thoughts.  They are working with her on completing the endings on words... like ing or ed or even an s.  Also working with Chloe to understand two step directions - whether it be following two actions or getting two objects.

At the end of August - she had her 1 YEAR speech evaluation - went from barely babbling at all to hitting age appropriate milestones.  We feel blessed that Chloe is a smart little girl who wants to wear her cochlear implants and grow in her hearing journey.

Right now we are working hard on potty training - such a different child from her older sister - we are getting  closer, but really it is a matter if Chloe wants to participate or not! :D

Here are two videos from the other night.  She loves to read her books (which is exactly like her older sister) and wants to "I read to you" to show you she knows the book.

Happy "Hearing" Birthday Chloe Jean

One year ago today, again we nervously traveled to Boys Town NRH - but this time for activation of her right cochlear implant.  Not knowing what to expect - whether it be her cries from being scared of the new sounds or no response at all...

One year ago today Chloe Jean turned her head to the sound of a ringing bell and looked at it in wonder, no tears at all.  Mom had plenty of tears, joyful happy tears once the day was complete.  A day that I will always remember, a day that started Chloe's hearing journey... A day that we don't regret.

We celebrate this day - just as if it is a birthday, her hearing birthday.  As one year ago today, Chloe barely babbled at all.  And now, she talks and talks and talks...

It is hard to get her on video of her spontaneous speech - but boy is there lots of it these days.  Three or four words combinations to get her wants, needs or excitement expressed verbally.  Chloe is doing great - far above any expectations we were hoping for - the hard work is paying off!

This journey is still amazing in all aspects - amazing people are working with Chloe to make sure she is hearing sounds and speech properly  - amazing people are "playing" with her weekly to help her speech development - amazing people care and pray for Chloe and her journey - God has blessed us on this journey and continues to guide us with each new hurdle we face.  

The first of several... "It's been a year"

Chloe Jean - 8 1/2 months

It has been one year... May 22... a day that I won't forget... the day we nervously sat and waited for the results of Chloe's MRI scan.  The moment when Dr Lusk walked into the room and gave us a positive report and the news that gave us hope and started what I now call "Chloe's hearing journey."

Chloe's MRI results showed that her hearing nerve was present, her cochlea (middle ear) and vestibular system were normal - which allowed Chloe to be a candidate for the cochlear implants.  Flipping through (more actually like clicking through) pictures from that time still brings tears to my eyes, it is a reminder of - a day that both of us had had lots of joyful tears, a day that gave us hope for her future, a day that lifted weight off our shoulders...

It also brings back that painful phone call where they found the cyst - but several visits later, there is still no concern of that cyst and hopefully after one more positive check this fall, Chloe can cross that specialist off her list of routine visits.

 Recently had one of those moments where I probably should of stopped and thought before I spoke (yea, I know, it happens... ) But thinking back I don't know that I would have stopped myself... Chloe and I were out shopping and running errands, Sydney and her Dad were out and about - tball, dance, cattle, who knows... here's the story:

Chloe Jean - 20 months

So like any other outing or activity, I use shopping as a great learning and language activity with Chloe and talk to her as we go up and down the aisles - just think off all the different words you might use there that you don't at home playing on the floor and besides this keeps Chloe's attention and I don't have a fussy child - so anyways as we were in line, taking items out of the cart, we were still talking back and forth - lots of items Chloe was naming and lots of "what's that"... the cashier informed me "You know mom, you are teaching her all those words and pretty soon you are going to be telling her to shut up." And I without a pause simple and nicely said "No, I don't think so.  Chloe was born deaf and any spoken language we hear from her is a blessing to have."

May 2013 - Just checking In

Wow - it has been awhile since my last post - guess that means things are going pretty good then - and yes they are!!  Chloe has really exploded with all of her language - in fact - she is pretty good at telling you "NO" when she doesn't want to do something.  And she is quite the Little Miss Independent Chloe -- it is a hard decision to make - do you get frustrated or upset with the situation or praise her for using her words to tell you what she wants.  I found this the other day and thought - yes, that is our Chloe!!

Chloe is doing great in her hearing journey - I have discovered within the last few weeks that she can actually tell you which one (left or right side) is turned off or not on.  The CIs beep when they are not connected to the internal processor - basically they are off her head - and she does great and coming to one of us (including Sydney) to ask for help to put the CI back on.  Well, for some reason (I was rushed and out of sync with our normal routine) her right side the other Saturday morning did not get turned on, but it was physically on and as normal... but after only a few minutes, Chloe came running to me and said "Ut Oh Mommy, help Chloe" and pointed to her right side.  Well, since it was still on her head and just turned off, it wasn't beeping - she could just tell that it wasn't turned on!  How amazing is that?!?  I think for a 20 month old - that is great and shows she knows exactly what her CIs do for her!!!  Our next step will be to work with her on putting them back on all by herself.

As far as language goes - she is really starting to put two or three words together to tell you things and she is great a labeling items... for example, Mommy coat, Sydney hat, Daddy pants, kitty bowl..etc etc etc.  One really never realized how much language children grasp from their environment until you are teaching a child to hear everything that surrounds them.  Every new sound to Chloe is a learning activity - and when she stops, points to her ear - you know she is hearing something new or different and would like an explanation of what she is hearing.  Like a lawn mower - she could hear that Dale was mowing (daycare) but couldn't see it so I walked her over to the lawn mower so she could get a visual... all the little sounds outdoors especially ones we tune out that she discovers... makes you think!!!

We are thankful for all the service providers that Chloe sees - and they are truly more like family members than therapists.  And for now, Chloe just thinks that it is extra play time and not work time - but she is working hard!!!

6 months and counting!!

So it has been six months since Chloe began her hearing journey - six months ago she pretty much had stopped vocalizing all together and now she has lots of words in both her expressive (what she says) and receptive (what she understands) language.  Just tonight I decide to track all the different words she used...and I stopped tracking when I hit 2 dozen words.  That 2 dozen words in six months time - blessing!! 

Just the other day wwe were enjoying a snow day at home and when looking outside I told her it had snowed and she said "Brrr" and pretended to shiver.  I agreed with her and said, yes it is very cold outside.  That same day we were playing downstairs (with the wood stove roaring) and I was going to go upstairs to check on supper.  She was all upset with me that I was leaving and was telling me "up, up, up" - I told her "if you want to go up you need to find your socks and shoes!"  Chloe stopped, looked at me and turned around to walk straight to her socks and shoes which were across the room right where we took them off.

I have tried to catch her on video talking back and forth or during moments when I "quiz" her about all that is around her - animal sounds, what's this questions, etc...but it is very hard to get her on video!

Here is just a small highlight of Chloe: She is also starting to master using silverware which is what I initally tried to capture but of course fingers are better on camera too!



Working with Chloe at home doesn't feel any differently as it did when Sydney was around her age.  Granted we work with her every day on certain tasks and checks with her cochlear implants and she is receiving speech therapy or like activities three times a week - but her progress so far in her hearing journey is remarkable to think where she was just six months ago.  Oh don't get me wrong, it is no easy task getting her here or what lies ahead in her future but with lots of hard work and faith - we are all on this journey together!