Hearing Aids Are HERE

  E got his hearing aids today. We didn't get much information in the sound booth with them though because he had reached the point of just ignoring us all by the time we got around to the booth portion of the appointment. We cannot tell if they are doing anything for him. He doesn't seem to be any more reactive to sound than before, but we have been told that it might just take a little while for him to "learn to listen" to new sound information. The truly amazing thing is that he wore them all afternoon and didn't try to take them off!! We had tried to desensitize him over the past few weeks by constantly playing with his ears and it seems to have paid off. He really doesn't seem to care that he is wearing them. Of course I still use the clip to make sure that if he does finally decide to fling them, they will stay latched to his shirt. I wish he didn't have to wear these things, but he sure does look cute in them ;-) I was pleasantly surprised that they are not quite as big and cumbersome as I had expected.

Side View with "Critter Clip" Attached to Shirt

Playing With the Storage Case

  We found out today that the results of the genetic testing are negative. E's hearing loss is not genetic. This might sound like a relief, but it kind of is not. If his hearing loss is not genetic, and he passed his newborn hearing screen, it just leaves us even more confused. He was not exposed to loud noises or any environmental things to cause it and it is not genetic, so WHAT IN THE WORLD is behind it all?? There are various medical syndromes associated with hearing loss, so we may have more testing in our future to rule out other things. It's a little scary because some of these syndromes come with other medical issues. Now I have that tiny, horrible voice in the back of my head wondering if there is anything medically wrong that we do not yet know about. I really wish I could pummel that little voice into dust!

  On a totally different note, you may notice a paci in the first pic. My son has never shown interest in a paci....until now. He has started really teething and suddenly wants a paci to chew. He doesn't JUST chew it though. I have no clue what to think of this. Just at the time that many kids are weaning off the paci, mine decides to pick up the habit?? What should I do? Should I hide all the pacis or just let him work through this phase and hope he'll again find them of little interest? In the second pic, you can see the corner of the latest obsession...the blue blankie. It seems E has finally settled on his attachment item of choice. This blanket is plush on one side and satin on the other with a satin border. He adores it! I am thinking we may go and buy a duplicate and start rotating them. I figure it is always good to have a backup when your kid finds that GOTTA HAVE IT item. I was a blankie baby and I have been told many times by my Dad of  the time he had to backtrack through two states to get my blanket that had been mistakenly left behind. Come to think of it....maybe we just need to have about 10 of these things around!!