Long Weekend

What is it about a cold and rainy day that makes you want to do absolutely nothing? Nothing but curl up with a cup of hot cocoa, a good book, and a blanket that is entirely too big for you. Times that type of day by two and you've got our weekend.

We had absolutely gorgeous weather on Friday. So gorgeous we debated on turning on the air conditioning. It cooled down a bit and a beautiful breeze came in during the early evening. We grilled out and sat outside with AJ, enjoying the warm breeze. AJ has always loved the wind in his face, but his reaction this time was a bit different. He could hear it. It was a strong enough breeze that he was definitely hearing something.

The weather was supposed to be nice again on Saturday. Not so much. Saturday morning was nice enough we had AJ outside in his PJs and ate breakfast on the bench swing. AJ thought it was pretty cool. It was also a great language experience. Truth be told we don't know "exactly" what he's hearing, or at what level he's hearing, but it doesn't hurt to practice or to help him to continue to detect sound. Mid-morning the weather took a sudden turn to cold, damp, and rainy. Rain turned into what seemed like a monsoon. Grrr. It rained all night and throughout today. It was our first experience with AJ in the rain with his CI. A little nerve racking. Granted we only had to run from my Grandma's house to the car, but still.

Jumping back to Friday, AJ's TOD came for our weekly session. She was thrilled to hear/see how AJ was doing with his CI. I also gave her the log of daily activity related to AJ hearing; we've been keeping this log since Monday. He responded to the wooden block & wooden mallet, the jingle bells, and the cymbals that his TOD brought. YAY! I was especially excited that he responded to the jingle bells, as they were softer than the sleigh bells we have. I also turned him up to P3 while his TOD was here. No "sudden" reaction. Sort of like "ho-hum" nothing happened. Hm. He heard the bath water for the first time on Friday. It dawned on me to take him in the bathroom and let him listen to the water fill the tub while he stood and watched. His face was priceless. After I took his CI off and put him in the tub, he went straight for the water, starring and giggling at it. :)

He continued to do well yesterday with his CI. Nothing too exciting happened yesterday.

Today he was not in the best of moods. I have noticed more consistent naps since he's been activated, which is a blessing as he still needs a good nap in the afternoon. I can only imagine how hard his brain is working to process all of this new information and this new sense. Even though he was crabby, he still managed to make some great gains today. He has this baseball toy (thanks Bubba & JimBob!) that we've brought out from time to time and he's hasn't shown interest in in the past. He found the bat in his closet during naptime one day...as I walked in the room and found him standing on his bed with it in hand like Bam-Bam. Anyhow, he didn't have much interest in using the bat to make the ball go around and make the lights turn on...but he figured out rather quickly that if he moved the ball, the lights would turn on. He also heard his cookie jar "singing" at least three times. I purposely blocked the "nose" on the jar (it lights up) and made sure it was not in his line of sight. I then moved it in his line of sight and while he was busy with another toy I turned it on, and he heard it. He did not hear the cookie jar on his two previous programs. His communication methods have changed. He's now more vocal and is starting to "show" us what he wants. Its hard to explain, but its a step in the right direction....

We called his pediatrician regarding the skin breakdown between his thumb and index finger on his right hand. It was getting better, but stopped when AJ got under a few of the dressings and added more moisture to it. We are watching it closely, changing the bandage everyday and keeping an eagle eye on him to stop him from sucking his thumb and offering him a substitute "chewing option". We are trying to avoid infection. Those foam bath letter really work well. Poor kiddo. His teeth are really bothering him.

So all in all, we are well. Anxious for better weather and more hearing days ahead.