It's been 10 days since Audrena's first cochlear implant was turned on. We are still on a pretty preliminary set of programs, and we've already seen lots of improvement. The first night, Audrena reacted to clapping, toilet flushing, and semi trucks driving by on the highway. Since then, things have continued to get better!
We have been working on the learning to listen sounds, but we've also been just having fun. One reason that, as parents, Randy and I feel Audrena's hearing loss was progressive is that she used to say "boo" when we played Peek-A-Boo. That gradually stopped. So one of the things we have been doing for fun is playing Peek-A-Boo. Audrena hides behind the bathroom door and we say, "Peek!" She then opens the door, and we say, "Boo!" After awhile, she always loses interest, and we hear her opening the cabinets in the bathroom. So then we say something like, "Audrena, where is the BOO?" She almost always opens the door then. We also feel like she has tried to say "boo" a few times as well. I caught it once and thought it was a coincidence, but then Randy mentioned it to me the next day after he played with her. So we feel like it's a possibility. We know it's really early for her to be doing any of this, but she did say it before, so maybe she is starting to remember.
Also, Audrena has always said "mamamama," and that was her universal name for both me and Randy. We have noticed that she is saying "mama" more often and discriminating so that she says it more when she wants me.
Because Audrena can do the "m" sound in "mama," I have been really working on "mmmmm" when she eats. Yesterday, she was eating in her high chair, and I was sitting next to her at the table. As usual, when she would take a bite I would say, "Mmmmm. Yummy food!" She said "mmmmm" a few times. I thought she couldn't possibly be saying it that quickly. After all, this is the time where she is supposed to be figuring out what she is hearing, and her receptive language is supposed to be developing. So I called for Randy to come over and watch. Sure enough, after I said "mmmmm," she followed with her own "mmmmm." Then Randy tried it. She did it for him a few times as well.
We know that Audrena is not hearing at all levels yet with just the first few programs, but we're absolutely thrilled to see her doing these things in just 10 days! It doesn't seem possible. We certainly didn't expect it for some time yet. Hopefully it's a good sign of things to come.
We have Audrena's next programming appointment and a pre-op appointment coming up this week, then surgery again on the 28th. This time we are nervous, but we have been through it once, so we at least know what to expect. It's still not easy to hand our baby off to the surgical team. But we have seen what potential she has with the cochlear implant, so there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel!
<3
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