Moral of this story: If your stuffed animals piss you off, just keep throwing them out of your bed till they decide to be nice.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Nap time
Nap time is almost always a challenge. I suppose Evan is no different then any other child. Just now he decided to throw all his stuffed animals out of his crib. Then he asked for them all back, then one by one he threw them to the floor again. He finally asked for them again, and this time he decided they could stay with him.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I wish
I wish I knew what the world sounds like to Evan. I'm curious to know what it's like. I can't wait for the day when he explains to me what he's hearing.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Dreaming of the Nucleus 5
It may seem odd to others that i dream about hearing technology. It doesn't seem odd to me. The Nucleus 5 from Cochlear makes me drool. One of the features of it that sold me is that it's water resistant up to 3 feet. Do you have any idea what that translates to? Evan can hear in the bath, in his little kiddy pool, and in a regular pool as long as he doesn't go deeper then 3 feet. There are so many other amazing features that make it so beneficial over his existing device, but the fact that they're water resistant is so amazing to me.
It may seem trivial to those with children who hear normally, but it's not to me. Bath time is fun, it's genuine, and it's important. For Evan, bath time is 100% quite.
By the way, I just received information from Cochlear on the Nucleus 5 today in the mail, that's why i'm excited all of a sudden. Be expecting future drooling posts as i read on. The information also included the trade up program prices. So i can say, with certainty, the Nucleus 5 will be out of reach for Evan for a long time. The dream will continue.
It may seem trivial to those with children who hear normally, but it's not to me. Bath time is fun, it's genuine, and it's important. For Evan, bath time is 100% quite.
By the way, I just received information from Cochlear on the Nucleus 5 today in the mail, that's why i'm excited all of a sudden. Be expecting future drooling posts as i read on. The information also included the trade up program prices. So i can say, with certainty, the Nucleus 5 will be out of reach for Evan for a long time. The dream will continue.
"I want money"
Evan said to me last night "I want money". He knows what money is to an extent, well he knows that it buys toys. He's seen money laying around before, bills and coins. He doesn't understand denominations though, he's only 2, give him another year. He also know when i go to work i make money, which is used to buy toys. Don't get the wrong idea, my entire income does not go towards toys. I've simplified the idea of working so he would understand why "daddy has to leave".
So back to his original statement, "I want money". My reply to him was, "So do I".
So back to his original statement, "I want money". My reply to him was, "So do I".
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Hearing in the dark
Its difficult raising a child who's only deaf when he's sleeping. You might think that's an odd statement, but I'm sure I can explain.
We're used to Evan hearing, so we communicate with him as such. When he falls asleep the "ears" come off, and he's as deaf as a door knob. His CIs aren't just waiting beside his crib for him when he awakes. The batteries are removed, and put in the UV sterilization/drying box with the equipment. All the while his other set of batteries are on the charger for the following day. Its the same routine every night, we alternate batteries on the charger and everything is sterilized.
As any parent will tell you, children wake up in the middle of the night for a variety of reasons, Evan is no different. Its an art form trying to sooth a child who's not happy, sick, or just awake at the wrong time. Now imagine doing it deaf. We could go downstairs and put his CIs together with the batteries from the day that just passed, its takes a few minutes but can easily be done. But that's not the point. Generally, when the ears go on, its morning, or after his nap. They wake him up, stimulate him mind. Unless he specifically asks for them, which he does, then we leave them off in the middle of the night. He can talk without them, but he can't hear himself, or anything else, as the door knob comparison explains.
I've come up with my own little ways to communicate with a deaf child. He doesn't know sign, so it's not that. When he requests something, I put up 1 finger, which means wait. I guess I do this when his ears (I'm going to stop with the quotes now) are on because he understands that what he wants is on the way. There's also a lot of pointing, such as pointing to where his head should be, instead of where it is. For the most part it works. He'll say "daddy sit", which is self explanatory, I sit on his rocking chair and he lays back down.
The hard part happens when he's sick and wakes up. He has his normal every-other-week day-care-cold so he's been waking up. Its nice to sooth him, talk to him, rub his back. The back rubbing works, the talking happens, but the listening does not. I guess we just find a way, and work our own magic.
It must be weird to only hear part of the time, since he does know the difference. I think I would be anxious if I couldn't hear the noises around me, and on top of that its dark. I'm not sure how he deals with it, when he's old enough to explain I'll be asking him. I have so many question to ask him, so much I want to learn. I look forward to the day when he can teach me even more then he already teaches me every day.
We're used to Evan hearing, so we communicate with him as such. When he falls asleep the "ears" come off, and he's as deaf as a door knob. His CIs aren't just waiting beside his crib for him when he awakes. The batteries are removed, and put in the UV sterilization/drying box with the equipment. All the while his other set of batteries are on the charger for the following day. Its the same routine every night, we alternate batteries on the charger and everything is sterilized.
As any parent will tell you, children wake up in the middle of the night for a variety of reasons, Evan is no different. Its an art form trying to sooth a child who's not happy, sick, or just awake at the wrong time. Now imagine doing it deaf. We could go downstairs and put his CIs together with the batteries from the day that just passed, its takes a few minutes but can easily be done. But that's not the point. Generally, when the ears go on, its morning, or after his nap. They wake him up, stimulate him mind. Unless he specifically asks for them, which he does, then we leave them off in the middle of the night. He can talk without them, but he can't hear himself, or anything else, as the door knob comparison explains.
I've come up with my own little ways to communicate with a deaf child. He doesn't know sign, so it's not that. When he requests something, I put up 1 finger, which means wait. I guess I do this when his ears (I'm going to stop with the quotes now) are on because he understands that what he wants is on the way. There's also a lot of pointing, such as pointing to where his head should be, instead of where it is. For the most part it works. He'll say "daddy sit", which is self explanatory, I sit on his rocking chair and he lays back down.
The hard part happens when he's sick and wakes up. He has his normal every-other-week day-care-cold so he's been waking up. Its nice to sooth him, talk to him, rub his back. The back rubbing works, the talking happens, but the listening does not. I guess we just find a way, and work our own magic.
It must be weird to only hear part of the time, since he does know the difference. I think I would be anxious if I couldn't hear the noises around me, and on top of that its dark. I'm not sure how he deals with it, when he's old enough to explain I'll be asking him. I have so many question to ask him, so much I want to learn. I look forward to the day when he can teach me even more then he already teaches me every day.
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