It's Alright

Is it really a surprise that our little man has another cold? Probably not. He really seemed to be feeling better today. Less congested and was up and moving again. His next surgery is the 19th so we are nursing this cold to the best of our abilities. We had planned to meet up with another CI kiddo, Logan and his Mom who were in Madison for the week, but stayed home due to AJ's cold. Grrr.

In other news, he continues to do unbelievably well with his implant. He's been on P3 since Thursday night. He responded immediately to softer/higher frequency sounds. While I was on playlist that night, I played a Huey Lewis song. AJ was close to the laptop and turned immediately to the music. He just kept starring at the laptop. He returned to playing with his toy when I decided to turn the volume down to see if he would respond. Sure enough, he stopped playing with his toy, stopped moving, and then looked up at the laptop. AMAZING!!! I'll skip the review of language we used with him here, but know that we took advantage of the situation! I gave him a moment and he went back to his toy. I turned the music back up and he looked straight up at the laptop. He giggled when I took his arms and swayed him from side to side with the very song he had just heard-Huey Lewis, "Its Alright".

He had a good speech session this week and had another great session with his TOD yesterday. He seems to be ignoring speech. No, not my kiddo ;) He did some good head turns and definitely stopped his play when he heard sound. He doesn't mind the dogs and their barking at all. We have noticed that he startles a bit if one of us is holding him and we speak very loudly or call to the other person if they are in another room. AJ is responding to a lo of different sounds, some while we are testing and some during everyday play.

His eye contact is phenomonal. He is now signing "more" consistently on his own. He consistently grabs your hand and shows you what he wants. He's beginning to use his voice with purpose, to tell you what he wants. He's so close to "pointing" at something and showing you he wants it. Right now its a reach & short whine. We'll take it!

He had a horrible day at toddler group last week. Part of it was on me, since I probably shouldn't have taken him to group. He has missed so many appointments and group already. I can't keep him home all the time for every sniffle/cough, but this day I should have. I get the bad mom award for that day. Part of it was him being 2 and trying to play the staff. He was totally working every angle he could manage. I am determined to help him understand circle time, learn to sit and partcipate in circle time, and to get him interested in other kiddos.

It breaks my heart when I see a room full of kids and mine is in the corner on his own with one of the staff. He is great at keeping himself entertained-check that skill off the list. Now we need to get him interested in being social with other kiddos. I voiced my concern to AJ's TOD. She gave me a fabulous handout on the levels of play. How on earth does she always have the right thing to say and the right information to give me? I don't know. But I sure appreciate it. We needed a reminder of where he is and how far he's come. We also needed to see how he's already moved up the ladder post-implant and be reassured of our efforts.

Small steps. Big moments. It's more than ALRIGHT.