Cary's hearing issues revisited (plus a bit on Clair)

Yesterday, I took Cary to a hearing assessment center, because Lester and I had been having some lingering feelings about Cary's hearing.

The bad news: Cary does have some "reduced" hearing, the doctor said.
It is likely caused by fluid that remains in his ears, unable to drain for some reason. The doctor said, for Cary, it's like going through life with his fingers stuck in his ears. He can hear, but it's muffled, or not as clear as it could be. The fluid can and does shift, most likely, which would explain why sometimes he can hear us just fine, and other times it's like he's wearing Beats by Dre' headphones.

The good news: This is not a permanent condition. This has not had any effect on Cary's verbal or cognitive abilities (which the doctor called "quite good.") So this has likely not been going on for very long. And this is something that is common in children his age, and easily treatable.

We have an appointment next week with a pediatric ENT who will be able to establish with more certainty just exactly what is going on with Cary, and give us recommendations to fix the problem. The doctor we saw yesterday said he can imagine a range of solutions, from prescription decongestants to surgically-implanted tubes.

Those who know me will be so proud to know that I have not spent ridiculous hours reading everything ever written about fluid in the ears, tubes, "reduced hearing," or any key words that would send me down the rabbit hole of worry/anxiety.

Instead, I took Cary out to Friendly's for ice cream and had one of the best lunches of my life just sitting and talking to my sweetie, who -- freed of his extrovert attention-grabbing brother -- was charming and peppy, waving at customers and brightly chirping "Hi!" "Hello!" "Oh, hi!" to servers as they walked by.

And Les and I will just wait to hear what the ENT says -- in conjunction with our pediatrician -- and make decisions when we have all the information we need. In the meantime, we know our baby is just fine. So there's no need to worry. (This kind of attitude is so freeing! Is this the 40 talking?? If so, I like it!)

In bed last night, I prayed to God, my heart filled with gratefulness that Cary is as OK as he is. And that all our children are extremely healthy. I know this is not a given, and that many, many amazing parents are dealing with frightening and unthinkable health concerns with their kids. Fluid on the ears makes me a little sad for Cary (who wants to go through life with your fingers in your ears?) but I know that there are FAR worse things. And again I say, we know our baby will be just fine.

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Meanwhile, we took Clair in for her 15-month-checkup today and here are her stats:

Weight: 20 lbs., 14 oz. (She lost weight during that horrible pneumonia and is just starting to put it back on.)
Height: 20 and 1/4 inches

(Note: My sister points out that there is no way Clair can be 20 inches, as some babies are BORN longer than that. I'll have to check on this.)

She is doing exceedingly well development-wise. She is bright and energetic, has great receptive language (she told Dr. Bodnar to "shhh!" when he said something about quiet) and is, in Dr. Bodnar's words "a beautiful child, and I don't just mean physically."

I couldn't agree more!

Don't you love a little girl in jellies?

15-month-checkups

The boys had their 15-month appts. today.

Here's the stats:

Cary weighs 21 lbs., 8 oz. and is 31.5 inches tall.
Dean weighs 25 lbs., 6 oz. and is 32.75 inches tall.

My doctor thinks my children are FABULOUS! He was thrilled with their language development and was pleased with how well they were walking and mimicking and just all-in-all-being awesome. He even complimented me on how beautiful their teeth are! "That's gorgeous enamel," he says!
I'm sure this means absolutely nothing, but my doctor sure knows how to butter up a Momma!

P.S. From their stats, Dean is near the 80th percentile and Cary is in about the 25th! Could my children be any different? Seriously. And of course, Dean is the baby who always wants me to hold him. Sigh.

Couple worrisome things:

1. He did not encourage us to start trying to get them to consolidate their naps. He said they will do that on their own when they're ready. Or at least they will show us on their own when they're ready and then we can help them. So, for now, we're stuck with two naps. He said by 18 months we should be closer to one nap a day.

2. He wants us to start weaning from the bottle. He said they should be completely weaned by 18 months. Even the nighttime bottle!! ACK!

3. He did not give us the green light to turn the boys forward-facing in the car. So this means Cary will be a fussbucket for the foreseeable future. Boooo.

Other than those things -- oh, and stupid booster shots -- the visit was really good, and I was very proud of my sweet boys, who were entertaining all the nurses with their antics and cuteness, blowing kisses at babies in the waiting room and walking around in only their diapers and shoes like they owned the place.

It looks like 18 months is a major milestone, however, and I hope I'm ready. No nighttime bottle?

Pray for us.