So far So good..

Yesterday we had some more hearing tests done on savannah. We where meant to have a full set but she had other plans lol. We only got through the aided tests but where pleasantly suprised with how well she did & how well she is hearing from her aides. The results show that in the Left ear (Mod/severe ear) she is hearing 45db in each pitch which means she is getting the entire speech banana!!! Her right is also hearing aided at 55db, which is not as good but still in the speech range. Wonderful exciting results. So far it looks like the hearing aides are doing their job!!! VERY VERY happy with this! She will continue to have hearing tests every 8 weeks to perfect her scores, she also needs to have a complete unaided test to identify where we are at with her hearing scores. At the moment they cannot move her category so she is staying mod/sev, profound. But seeing we havent done solid tests since diagnosis & since the fluid has moved they are sure this will change! So continue to to pray that she scores better on the testing to come :)

On another note, our audiologist has given us the green light for an FM system! Im sooooooo friggin excited! This will help her sooo much when we are in the car, out in public or noisey areas & at home when the boys are screaming. FM systems basically block out background noise so that she can identify sounds from the person speaking with the FM on. Its a great device, worth ALOT of $$ but its ALL subsidised except the icom system which is a proper fitting of the FM shoe on her hearing aides they are $680...So for now we have to get the free option which unfortunately will make her hearing aides heavier & bulkier but we dont have a choice right now. We are def saving for those icoms though!! lol

We had her speech therapist Julia come this morning & we are on the right track with savannah! She is doing wonderfully for her age & hearing & so far is sailing along with her hearing peers. Hopefully this will continue as well go along, but we are excited again for all the wonderful advancements that savannah keeps showing.

Great couple of days hopefully things will continue down this path, we have lots of homework to do with her & hopefully it will ALL pay of in the end!

Something interesting.

I found this today & thought it was a wonderful way to explain savannahs hearing loss. I hope you find it interesting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD5E88fFnxE&feature=player_embedded


Savannah is L- Moderate/severe R- profound

Results

Finally i got off my butt & went to the drs office to gets Savannahs test results. I dont think i have ever had a lump so big in my throat before. CMV is probably the worst thing Savannah could have, and i was worried this was her cause for deafness.
Thankfully Im excited to say the results of her tests where negative. There was no CMV detected in her newborn screening blood work.
I know this may not be all that exciting to you guys, But if any of you have read up on CMV disease you would see why this was our biggest hurdle.
Im so thankful she hasnt got this, even thought we still have no idea how this happened to her & we have many more tests to go, i dont think i could have handled her having cmv.
So yes this is the best news for us, I have accepted her hearing loss & half the time dont even think about it anymore, so when the genetics testing is done & if it happens to be that im not going to worry anymore. The worrying part is over, her eye test where clear & her cmv tests where negative!

Even more reason why i still think my baby girl is here for a reason!!!! <3

Taking strides...

We had our fortnightly appt with our Co-coordinator & speech therapist Julia. She is amazing with savannah. This was our second time with her & she is now doing home visits with us. Makes it much easier as savannah is more content in our house.
So far savannah is excelling wonderfully & at exact speed & stage as a normal hearing baby. She talks & babbles to herself, and you can hear the different pitches & tones she uses in her voice. I bet you never really took a listen or identified things like this before with your kids! I know i never did! With savannah we are being taught what to look for & what we need to be practicing with her. At the moment with aides in, she can follow sounds & noises, and she is starting to try repeat us if we talk to her. We need to concentrate on the vowls at the moment like "ah" "ooo" "eee" "mmm." Julia noticed she had already picked up the "ahhh" sounds & was making them...lol like i had any idea..hahaha
These are great milestones in a hearing impaired child. She made the "mmmmmm" sound a few times now & we are working on the "ooo" & "eee" sounds. I am determined to make her say mama by the time she is 7-8mths! This is my own personal goal with her.
Julia is very adamant that the hearing aides seem to be giving her enough of the sounds for her to be advancing like this. Im VERY VERY VERY excited about this. I always hold a little hope that they are working magically for her & that she indeed is hearing with them in.
She wears her little pilot cap all the time now (i have lost her aides a few times & am so paranoid of losing them for good!) She HATES the pilot cap on but she gets used to it after awhile. Ive started jazzing it up with ribbons & bow clips! i Had one lady the other day comment how cute it was & where i got it from..lol
On the 31st of this month is hopefully when we will get a better look at her current hearing levels. She will be re-tests in both ears aided & unaided.
Im nervous & excited! Im hoping for some great improvements in the Left & if we can get that right ear down to mod/severe we will be fine!
We are also keeping our options open for the Cochlear Implant in that right ear. We are going into the Clinic to discuss options for Savannah if in fact we will need one for that ear.

On another note our lil girl is growing up fast she is almost 5mths old! Almost sitting, shes doing great on her belly now & as of yet we have not started solids.
She weighs 15lbs at the moment & is growing nicely.

Hopefully in the next few days we will have the results of the CMV testing, so stay tuned ;)