I don't even know where to start! its been so long since i have blogged, the time has literally just slipped out from under me! With Christmas, Summer vacation, my trip to NYC & then straight back into it with Kinders & School. To put it bluntly I'm exhausted already & its only feb!! LOL
Christmas was magical with my little family as always, was even better this year that the two older boys are starting to understand it more, Savannah was totally loving all the new toys & Ryder well he of course enjoyed the paper more than anything! LOL as always our kids got spoilt. Santa was cheeky leaving all those gifts ;)

Shortly after i left all my 4 babies with hubby for 10 days to visit my best friend who lives in New York. Had an absolute ball, the kid free time was awesome, but at the same time i missed them like crazy!!!

On my return we spent lots of time at the beach & the swimming pools with the kids, enjoying summer whilst it lasts! We didn't do alot of work with Savannah over the holiday break, i always feel guilty not doing it, but she enjoyed herself. We did see some things here & there from her, but we haven't had alot of "new words" for awhile. She does continuously babble all day long & never stops talking, but we cant understand her yet. As i said there are a few words here & there but not alot.

Savannah just recently started the Early Learning Program at her school which is she does for 3.5hrs twice a week. Shes not even 2 yet so i think that's plenty for her. She didn't do very well the first day i left her :( it was so hard, but i can understand because she has never been away from me since she was diagnosed. So the ELP program will be amazing for her! She gets better each session & hopefully it will help her language come along.

Because its been so busy in this house i missed my first ever hearing appt for her! It was meant to be a round of hearing tests too! I was shattered because we haven't had tests done in over 8mths & we really need to see whats going on. We couldn't get back in now untill late march & she has the ENT then as well.

We are slightly concerned that she isn't hearing as well as she has been. We have noticed she is relying on lipreading alot more & gets confused when we ask her things. Don't get me wrong she still does alot of things we ask, im just wondering if she struggles to hear what we are saying more. Hopefully when we do the hearing tests we can see whats going on.

 We are just cruising along with her & hoping that we hear some new words soon. With Savannahs 2nd birthday coming up this little Miss has really come into her own. She refuses to be dressed by me, she MUST pick her own clothes out...LOL lovely choice with the socks hahaha

We almost had a small breakthrough with toilet training, we actually arnt training her, but her older brother blake was toilet trained over christmas break & she figured she would have a go, she did well but didnt quite understand. And her personality is just amazing, she is so cute, cuddly & funny, but then she turns into a stubborn tantrum throwing nightmare..LOL the joys. but gotta love her ;)

Posting this link I found about the stem cell trial for hearing loss in kids, very interesting article & video :)
http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53686-cord-blood-childrens-memorial-hermann-fda-approved-stem-cells-hearing-loss

We are Alive :)

I know its been forever since i updated about Savannah, things have been so crazy here with christmas/holidays & back to school things, i promise i will finish the update i have been drafting for awhile LOL and get it posted shortly! Hope everyone is well & look forward to reading up on everyone elses fun :)

Shes doing great!

Its been a long 6 weeks since i last blogged, and if you had asked me 6 weeks ago how i was feeling about Savannah's progress i would have told you, that i wasn't happy. I was in a bad place, tired from the baby not sleeping at night, exhausted from the busy year & of course worried about Savannah's hearing & her tests. Of course i must have been the only one thinking this though, because even though Savannah had fluid in her good ear & was testing in the sev/prof range she was talking. Her Speechy said she was doing amazing, she was talking at age equivalent & saying things that some kids her age are not yet saying... Why is it that i do not listen to what people tell me? They are telling me Savannah is doing well & they have no concerns, yet here i am freaking out & wondering whether or not i should push for a CI?
I can honestly sit here now & remember that we have been told over & over that there will be periods that Savannah will have huge burst of Language & then times of nothing new at all. These times are when she is listening & learning & getting ready for her next burst... Well DUH! how could i have not seen this before??? They are right, Savannah goes through waves & right now she is sitting right on the top of a HUGE burst!!!!
I think my NY resolution is to seriously stop stressing & just relax & listen to all the great advice i have been given lately! LOL
I started using the Fm alot more around the house, in the car at the store & during activities in the house.
Ive learned over the last 6 weeks i do not give Savannah enough credit. This little itty bitty 21mth old is AMAZING! she really is! Anyone who has meet her will tell you that you wouldn't know she was deaf! She has come ALONG way since she was diagnosed & im soooo proud of her.
I have lost count as to how many new words we have had in the last few weeks, but to name a few are:

Thank you
Please
Drink (Dink)
Barbie (lol)
Ryder
Blake
Hayden
Nanie
I Love you
More Please
Drink Please
Nie Nies Mama
No more
Not mine
No mama
Stop that
over there
Shoes on

These are just naming a few (because i don't write things down & i have a memory of a shiv lol )of what she is saying, but she is putting 2-4 words together now & of course is still followed by mumbo jumbo , but alot of people have been noticing recently that they can understand her "talk". I am very slack on getting a video of her, i definitely need to capture all these words she is saying, its really awesome :)
She also had her 6mth check with the ENT surgeon who was extremely pleased at where Savannah was. She calls Savannah "an extremely good Hearing aide user." never heard it like that, but she is so right! Savannah has/is done amazing with her hearing aides & is travelling along wonderfully. We still go back for reviews every 6mths to make sure everything is ok still, but there is definitely no CI on Savannah's horizon at this stage...
She does have some hearing tests again next week, which hopefully be better than last time!!

That's all for now, everything is winding down for Christmas Break & thankfully as im exhausted!! Im actually heading off to New York City on the 30th Dec with no kids to visit one of my best friends that lives there!! very excited :)

When your up....you must come down

After a few months of feeling pretty good where we where at, today just made me realize that we are still riding that roller coaster, because we are now taking the turn down.
Savannah was due for some hearing tests this morning to determine exactly what she was hearing after having had her hearing aides turned up in the HF 3 mths ago.
She wasn't even in the booth for 10mins & the Audiologist said she wasn't responding to sounds she would normally. So she checked her ears & said they where blocked & that the ear drum wasn't moving...GREAT! So now Savannah cant hear anything out of either ear :( Not sure as to why this has happened as she doesn't have a cold, but now i have to take her to a dr to make sure that there isn't anything else going on.
I had noticed that she wasn't responding as well the last few days & wasn't talking like she normally had been, but didn't think much of it. So now even with the HA's in she isn't hearing much from her good ear. shes shifted into the sev/profound range :(
How long will this last i do not know, but this age is sooo crucial to learning & hearing new things & I'm worried that we are only going to get behind & fall back if this doesn't resolve itself soon :(
If only she had an implant in her profound ear i wouldn't be worrying right now, because at least she would be hearing something!
We don't go back for more tests until Dec 22nd now. Not wonderful timing with Christmas coming up, but don't have much choice :(
So hears hoping this clears up soon, otherwise I'm not sure whats going to happen.

A day to be Thankful, a day for Reflection a day for Thankyous & a day for LOUD shirts!

My day started pretty typical with a wake up call by 3 children jumping all over me & thankfully they did. I looked at the clock & it was 8:10am! I jumped straight out of bed & turned the TV on. Today was our very first LOUD SHIRT DAY & today started with an inspirational & beautiful story on a young boy named jack.

JACKS STORY


I sat in complete silence watching this segment as tears streamed down my face. Watching this young boy & what he has achieved is just amazing. For a parent like me who is still early on in the journey, this clip gives me hope, hope for an amazing future for my daughter.
I am thankful that there are organizations like this, that have only the children's needs & best interests first. I'm very thankful for early intervention. These amazing centres help deaf children to listen & speak, they are helping my daughter speak. How could you not be thankful! I'm also thankful that their are amazing mums out there like Jacks mum who are so open about their journey & share how just amazing their child is doing in the hearing world. Jack is such an inspiration.

Thankful i can not say enough, and over the last few weeks i have been busy spreading the word for loud shirt day, fundraising for Savannah's school & trying to get as much public & community awareness as possible. It was the least i could do & I mean what did i honestly think i could do? I didn't think much, but i even surprised myself. Ive even completely enjoyed doing it too!
To date I have raised $1590.00 all directly for Savannah's school! Savannah has been printed in 2 local newspapers & one having been on the front page LOL.
I also made some YUMMY cupcakes for the playgroup on Thursday & Today i brought Loud Shirt cookies i made to the mother goose program.


The cupcakes :)


Can you tell that someone liked them? lol


The cookies :)


Here are some pics of the gorgeous kids in their LOUD & proud shirts:)

So tonight i sit here whilst my kids sleep & realize how lucky we are & how lucky my daughter is to be where she is. Lucky she has an amazing family that love her no matter what, Lucky that she has 3 awesome brothers to protect her, love her & make sure she knows shes one of them.Lucky that she has an amazing school & staff that are clearly doing amazing things with her. But also very thankful for those AMAZING new & special friends i have made since we have started at the school. Friends that I never knew would become like our family & that will always be a big part of our lives. I'm lucky & so honoured to have meet these mums & their kids. I'm so glad that Savannah will have some lifelong friends too. And of course those people i have meet because of blogging!
Today has been an amazing day, not only because it marked our first of MANY MANY more loud shirt days to come, but it made me realize that we are at a really happy place with everything right now.
As a family we are surrounded by some AMAZING people. So thank you to everyone that has supported us, donated to this wonderful cause & of course those that have been great friends to us. I may not say it all the time, but you guys are awesome & love you all.

So now onto my next adventure (which will be saved for another time) Some may say Ive found my calling, but i say Ive found my passion.


HAPPY LOUD SHIRT DAY 2011 ;)

Mummy what are those??

I remember in the early days wondering if people would stare at Savannah's hearing aides, or whether kids would pick on her, or if people where talking about her wearing them behind our back. Along the way i have definitely noticed whispers & stares from onlookers, most probably curiosity more than anything. Funnily enough people always seemed to admire that darned pilot cap she wore (goodness knows why LOL) & where always asking about it, of course i would always tell them what it was for. I knew that one day, someone would wonder about them & ask why shes wearing them...And this day was to be it
I guess as time goes on, i become more & more & more forgetful that she is even wearing them (LOL) i honestly do. Last week i took the kids to the Tesselaar Tulip Festival. Spring is upon us & i wanted to enjoy as much of the nice weather (back to rain now) that i could.
We where waiting for Savannah & Blake (my middle son) to go into the Petting Zoo & i noticed this young girl (no older than 5) buzzing around Savannah like a little bee (lol) didn't think anything of it of course until after a few minutes i had noticed the little girl trying to touch her hearing aides. Savannah had obviously been aware by this stage & was pushing the girl away, I stepped over to grab Savannah & before i could the little girl blurted out "Mummy what are those in her ears!!??"
The mum looked embarrassed & quickly told her daughter that they helped her hear. The little girl being so inquisitive continued with "but they are weird, i don't wear them"
Her mums response was "well she thinks your weird wearing a headband" her mum turned to me apologized & walked off.
Kids are so honest & i love that!

By this stage i had grabbed Savannah & picked her up, but was so annoyed at myself that i didn't say anything! it was almost like my mouth was glued shut LOL and if you know me that is very rare.
I would have loved to explain to the little girl what they where for & why they helped Savannah, it made me realize that I'm bound to get more of this as she gets older. Kids are interested in things they haven't seen before, and of course once interested ask lots of questions.
Of course this got me thinking about Hayden going to Kinder next year, he will start having new friends & of course they will be interested in why his sister wears "those things" lol. What will i say to them? And do they need to be told before they notice her wearing them?
Oh boy, ive just realized this is new territory for me. Might be in for some interesting times ahead..lol

LOUD SHIRT DAY!

Show your support for such a wonderful cause LOUD SHIRT DAY 21st Oct 2011, and a cause so close to my heart!
Wear you loudest & Proudest Shirt & Raise money to help Deaf kids talk!
I have been fundraising myself in support of Savannah's School Taralye. You can easy donate to this wonderful fundraiser or There is still time to register to hold an event at your workplace, school or Childcare centre & most importantly all the money raised helps deaf kids learn to listen & speak!


Loud Shirt Day Link

My fundraising page