Here is the latest development in our lives.
Can you even see it??
Here's a better view:
Charlie's hearing aid finally came in last week. There are two hearing tests that are appropriate for a one year old. The BAER says that Charlie has hearing loss in both ears. The OAE says Charlie's left ear has a loss, but the right ear is mostly fine. So, in the interest of proceeding cautiously and not overwhelming the little guy, we are starting out with just one hearing aid for the left ear. They'll continue testing him as he gets older.
He has done fairly well with leaving this expensive teething toy in his ear. There are times he just repeatedly rips it out, but mostly he leaves it alone. I think he already understands that it helps him hear. The first day it was in, we noticed him turning with wide eyes toward the low thumping sound of our washing machine, and jumping very excitedly as a big truck rumbled past (he has the biggest loss in low frequencies). That has been sweet to watch.
Lucy talks about the hearing aid all the time, and if I don't hear the feedback noise (which means Charlie has ripped it out and shoved it in his mouth), then Lucy is sure to alert me. The technology is pretty amazing. The audiologist hooked it up to a computer which set it to amplify only the frequencies at which he needs it, and with varying intensity as he needs it. The part that fits in his ear is custom made for him so that it fits in there perfectly-- (a funny process: they squirt goo in his ear, it hardens and is sent off to a lab to make a mold). Apparently this will have to be repeated quite frequently since their little ears grow and change so quickly. And thank God, it comes with a little clip so that when he rips it out, it just hangs off his back instead of going flying into oblivion.
Oh, and go look at the first picture again and see how well he is sitting up by himself! We have been working on this for so long. He still flops over a lot, but it's getting better and better.
Here's a funny Lucy story for you (because she wouldn't stand still for a picture): one day as James was cleaning up from lunch, he gave Lucy one last piece of cheese and casually said, "Here's a little gift for you, Lucy."
A couple days later, Lucy was sitting on the couch looking bored and said, "Do you want a gift?" which is her way of saying "Can I have a gift?" We were a little confused and said, "What gift? What do you mean?" Her hopeful little voice said, "The gift of the cheese??" Maybe you had to be there, but we laughed pretty hard.
