9+ Months Hearing

I had the opportunity to go to a National Hearing conference in Raleigh last week and was able to learn so much. I was asked last minute to be on a parent panel the first night of meetings and it was great to give the parent perspective to so many audiologists and students.

Natalie has now been hearing approximately 9 1/2 months... and she was 9 1/2 months at implantation. Time flies...

It is amazing how much she learns and processes in just 1 months time. Which is why the early implantation is so important. Our ENT typically implants between 10-14 months and says that is the optimal time in his opinion. We were lucky to have hers done at 9 1/2 months and I am so thankful for that. We still have a lot of catching up to do, but she is doing well, learning steadily and consistently and surprises us with how much she comprehends even if she can't say it yet.

I think I forgot to post her 8 months hearing audiogram, so for my journaling purposes, here it is. She is hearing at 25db in both ears, which is within a normal hearing range. Much nicer for me to see than when she wasn't even hearing at 110db with hearing aids on.

Natalie is so good at spotting airplanes whenever we are outside. She can sometimes hear them before I do! We live over a nice airplane path, so whenever we are outside or walking to the bus stop in the afternoons, she gets lots of practice finding the airplanes.

We are currently working on alternating vowel sounds (ee-oo, oh-eye, ay-ow). This mastered skill will help produce more jibber jabber. She can do a few like uh-oh already. We practice with her by saying the sound, and one of us or the kids will say it, then we repeat it and then give Natalie a turn to try. Sometimes she does and other times she just watches us. Practice makes perfect!

She knows so many body parts now. She can say or attempts to say the following and points to them: eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, ears, hair, and elbow. She knows where her fingers, toes, feet, hands, and belly button are but can't really say them yet. She gets really excited to sing, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."

I took this video with my iphone so it isn't the best quality...