Hear ye! Hear ye!

Cary now has bionic hearing!

OK, not really, but as of yesterday he does have tubes in his ears and the spaces behind his ear drums are finally fluid-free! Yay!

The surgery went exceptionally well. The procedure itself took like 10 minutes. It started at 7:30 a.m., and after recovering (with a Popsicle, the Disney channel and doting nurses fussing over him) Cary, Lester and I were home by 9:30.

The docs and nurses all told us that children usually wake up from the procedure screaming bloody murder, disoriented and grumpy.

Here's how Cary woke up.

He was quiet and curious and a little bored by the whole thing, actually. Then they turned on the cartoons, gave him a Popsicle, and he was in Heaven.

He kept asking, "But where's Dean's Popsicle?"

We go back in 3 weeks for a hearing test, but I can already tell that he hears things better. Yesterday, on the porch, a police helicopter hovered over our neighborhood (a regular occurrence, I'm afraid) and Cary said, "That helicopter is too loud!" Then, this morning, I turned the shower on and he said, "It's too loud!"

So we think the tubes have done the trick! If all's well, the doctor said they'll be in for a year. Not sure what happens after that, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Anywho, I'm glad we got this procedure done and over with. One fewer thing on the worry list to worry about. And also, please God let this mean no more AUGMENTIN. (Ugh! That stuff is the worst!)

In other news, my Mom came out to spend the night with us on Sunday so she could be with Clair and Dean while we were at the hospital with Cary.

She must've done this puzzle a thousand times. Bless her!

The boys adore her! They asked her to sleep in their beds with them,  repeatedly asked her not to leave, even asked her to "live here with us," and only wanted to be wherever she was in the house. Cary almost peed on himself once because he didn't want to go to the bathroom because, "Nana will leave in a second!" Only after we assured him that she was spending the night would he go.

And even Clair was happy to be with Nana! She allowed her to hold her and kiss her. She let Nana braid her hair! Instead of being clingy and whiny and afraid, she was her sweet, silly, jabbering self.

I was so happy for my Mom to see Clair this way. I wish she was able to come visit us more often, so she could get to know the real Clair a little more.

My baby girl is getting to be less baby and more girl. (Sadness!)

Cary and Clair both love Dean the best. Look how cute they are!

 Anyway, I'm back at work today -- so time to FOCUS!!

Health updates

Last week we took Cary to the ENT. After a battery of tests, he agreed with the doctor from the Hearing Assessment Center: Cary needs tubes in his ears.

We conferred with our pediatrician and he is on board. So tubes it is.

All the doctors agree that there's no real rush, so I think we will make the appointment for a week or so before or after our trip to the beach in mid-July.

Strangely enough, I'm not worried or nervous at all. I just want my sweetie to hear normally. The end.

About me: I got my results back from my blood work.

The good news: My cholesterol is much lower than it was the last time my doctor tested it, so he's not worried about that (for now).

The OK news: My blood sugar levels are at 6.2. For background, doctors consider less than 5 to be absolutely normal. They consider 7 or more to be diabetic. Anywhere between the high fives and the high sixes is "pre-diabetic." That's me.

The last time I was tested my number was 6.1. So my doctor considers this to be "holding steady." No medication necessary, no real intervention needed. He did tell me to continue to watch my diet, and to "add in some exercise." To which I say, "Yes, of course," and "Easier said than done, doc."

The bad news: My Vitamin D is miserably low. Most things I've read say a good number should be somewhere between 45 and 60. My number is 17. (Tam, you were right!) Ack!

The jury is still out about all the true health benefits of adequate Vitamin D, but I admit to being intrigued by the hypothesized connections to blood sugar and to immune system health. 

My doctor told me to take 5,000 mgs. a day of Vitamin D. We looked for capsules that high in Target and didn't find them, so as soon as we get to a health food/vitamin store, I'll pick some up. I fully intend to try to build up my Vitamin D and see if it helps at all with all the sickness. I have also been taking my sweet time  when walking in the sun, although I am nowhere near up to 15 minutes a day.

Maybe I can build up a whole year's supply of Vitamin D when we go to the beach!! Hmm, now there's a thought.

All in all, not great news on the health front, but not terrible, either. Nothing we can't work with.

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?

Don't worry about things until there's actually something to worry about

This is what I keep telling myself.

Tanika, don't worry about things until there's actually something to worry about.

But it's difficult when that "thing" you're trying not to worry about is your son, who for the past couple months, has been exhibiting signs that he is having trouble hearing.

It started around Christmas, the troubling signs. And we eventually discovered he had a double ear infection and a popped eardrum. Strong antibiotics and ear drops seemed to have done the trick, though, because at his follow-up, our doctor said everything looked perfect.

But since then the signs persist.

The most obvious one is that he tells us directly, "I can't hear you," when we're talking in our normal voices. His little brow furrows and his voice sounds small. "Mommy, what'd you say? I can't hear you."

I can see him sometimes trying to decipher what I've said by watching my lips. "Do you want macaroni and cheese?" I asked him once, looking directly at him on the changing table. "Hmmm?" he said, studying my mouth. "You said, 'music class?'"

In the past week, it's gotten worse, and Lester and I have tried all the "tricks" to see if he's exaggerating a bit, or working us to avoid having to pick up the Legos. All the experiments turn out the same: He can sometimes hear me, especially if I speak in an elevated voice and he's expecting the conversation. He has less trouble hearing Lester, but there are times when even his Dad's booming voice seems lost to him.
 
Lester picked Cary up on Sunday and kissed his face. "Why do you keep saying you can't hear us, buddy?" he asked Cary in a gentle voice.

"Because," Cary responded, smiling. "Because you all keep talking softly."

Tears stung the backs of my eyes. I felt like I swallowed an apple. We're not "talking softly" in our house -- almost ever. This is one of the loudest houses on Earth.

The final straw was this experiment -- one of many, many similar ones I've tried: I stood behind him, about 3 feet away, and asked, in a somewhat quiet, but not a whispering, tone, "Cary, how about we go downstairs and get some ice cream?" He didn't respond. I tried again in a normal tone. He didn't respond. So I added in "cookies" to the treats he could have if he would just turn around and answer. He just played with his train, whirring it along my bed. Still in a normal tone, I upped the ante:
"Cary! Cookie Hood is here! He's downstairs eating cookies! Let's go see him and get some cookies!" (He is obsessed with Cookie Hood, so I just knew he'd hear that).

From the next room, Dean said, "Cookies?!" Cary still didn't move.

I went in the bathroom, put my head on Lester's chest, and cried.

The thought that my smart, silly, sweet little boy seems to have trouble hearing -- especially hearing me  -- breaks my heart so much I can't even tell you.

I'm not sure what exactly is going on, and I've spent FAR too much time on the Internet reading about all sorts of scary things I wish I never knew. But we're going to get to the bottom of it. I wanted to just get a referral to take him to the audiology center where his hearing was tested as a baby, but our doctor said he should see him first. I think this is a waste of time, as he's already seen him -- declared his ears "perfect" -- and sent us home. Something isn't right and I know it. And I am not good at being patient when it comes to things like this.

But we will take him back to the doctor tomorrow afternoon and see what he says.

Until then, I will try not to worry about things until there's actually something to worry about. :-(

My little Cary, doing his favorite thing  (listen to that sweet little cartoon voice):