Alright, folks have been asking, so here it is :) A video of Amichai in the audiological sound booth!
The annoying part is that I didn't videotape the rockstar last week, and this week he was a bit of a crabster after a flight delay from MO sent him to bed at 10:30 last night. Lol. But you will get the idea!
Notice how he looks up and to the left when he hears a sound. The audiologist has trained him to look toward a drum playing bunny (yup!) when he hears a sound, and then the bunny affirms him seconds later. It's hysterical, really.
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Thursday, May 30, 2013
Fun in Missouri!
First time to the lake!!
New obsession with driving...
I'm on a boat...
Fun in a rainstorm...
Ami and Papa Tom
Missouri is tiring...
Cousins!
Ami and Nana...
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New obsession with driving...
I'm on a boat...
Fun in a rainstorm...
Ami and Papa Tom
Missouri is tiring...
Cousins!
Ami and Nana...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Tooth!!
We thought we'd have a toothless wonder forever, but one's a poppin! We are enjoying a last few days of toothless grinning--and Ema is emotionally mourning that she and Pops can't bite eachother's noses anymore while rough housing!
Check it out!
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Check it out!
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MO boy
Ami and Ema on their bi-annual (it's a tradition!) trip to Bass Pro!
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, May 27, 2013
Brain freeze.
Watch for the brain freeze at the end of Amichai's first Missouri frozen custard experience. Hurts so good.
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The king of movement.
Our boy is a mover and a shaker these days, and it is SO fun. He gets anywhere he wants to go and fast! Standing himself up, sitting himself back down, and yup, crawling like a maniac. And so proud of himself every time. He even mastered clapping for adequate self-congratulations. Flipping adorable.
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, May 23, 2013
9 months old.
Amichai is 9 months old today. I remember thinking to myself last month....when Amichai turns 8 months old, it will be the day AFTER his surgery. That was a relieving thought then...you can't imagine how relieving it is to know we are a month past that day now.
Our boy is in an amazing place. He is so mobile now, getting all over the place and getting there fast! He crawls when he feels like it, but mostly still rolls and drags and wiggles to where he wants to go. He lifts himself up to standing on his own and is starting to cruise across the couch, etc. All he wants to do is walk. He is eating up a storm these days, rockin' a good milk and food combo, finally. He's suddenly taking much longer naps, more energy expended I am guessing. And yes, as nine months have hit, so has some separation anxiety with a splash of stranger danger. Not a lot in either regard, but still quite a noticeable change in our little flirty extrovert. It's pretty crazy.
On Monday, Amichai will have had active cochlear implants for three weeks. It is astounding how far he has come in such a short time. Once the surgery was completed and he had recovered, there was no longer any anxiety for us regarding how he would do with the implants in terms of his hearing....the scary part about all of this for us was the possibility that this new input would be overwhelming for him, that it would change his calm and well adjusted personality. And now, a month later, we are at ease in this regard as well. Like with everything else, Amichai has again proven his incredible resilience and his adaptability. He has taken to wearing his implants amazingly, hardly ever takes them off, and is clearly enjoying the sounds he hears. He is turning to all kinds of things in his environment and recognizing speech sounds as well. He is in great shape along the trajectory that he will journey over these next months. We are SO excited and relieved and blessed.
Life has been crazy, and we have not been taking so many videos of the journey...taking it in ourselves without being behind the camera for awhile. But promise you that I will take video at his next mapping appointment on May 30th so you all can have a visual sense of his auditory progress :)
Tomorrow, we are off to Missouri to visit 2 of 6 grandparents. I told Amichai's speech therapist that they are going to have to work on fixing his southern accent when we return. From one journey to the next in this family! :)
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Our boy is in an amazing place. He is so mobile now, getting all over the place and getting there fast! He crawls when he feels like it, but mostly still rolls and drags and wiggles to where he wants to go. He lifts himself up to standing on his own and is starting to cruise across the couch, etc. All he wants to do is walk. He is eating up a storm these days, rockin' a good milk and food combo, finally. He's suddenly taking much longer naps, more energy expended I am guessing. And yes, as nine months have hit, so has some separation anxiety with a splash of stranger danger. Not a lot in either regard, but still quite a noticeable change in our little flirty extrovert. It's pretty crazy.
On Monday, Amichai will have had active cochlear implants for three weeks. It is astounding how far he has come in such a short time. Once the surgery was completed and he had recovered, there was no longer any anxiety for us regarding how he would do with the implants in terms of his hearing....the scary part about all of this for us was the possibility that this new input would be overwhelming for him, that it would change his calm and well adjusted personality. And now, a month later, we are at ease in this regard as well. Like with everything else, Amichai has again proven his incredible resilience and his adaptability. He has taken to wearing his implants amazingly, hardly ever takes them off, and is clearly enjoying the sounds he hears. He is turning to all kinds of things in his environment and recognizing speech sounds as well. He is in great shape along the trajectory that he will journey over these next months. We are SO excited and relieved and blessed.
Life has been crazy, and we have not been taking so many videos of the journey...taking it in ourselves without being behind the camera for awhile. But promise you that I will take video at his next mapping appointment on May 30th so you all can have a visual sense of his auditory progress :)
Tomorrow, we are off to Missouri to visit 2 of 6 grandparents. I told Amichai's speech therapist that they are going to have to work on fixing his southern accent when we return. From one journey to the next in this family! :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Pawny Pony
Happiest boy in all of Brooklyn--an afternoon with Uncle Kel and his new beloved pony!!
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, May 11, 2013
A+ Student
Amichai, who is usually watched by Lauren and Kelly on Saturdays, came to our sign language class today. Best student ever. He sat, playing with his toys, and watching our teacher the whole time.
Wherever someone was signing, there we our boy's eyes. So observant. Really amazing.
Please excuse my finger in the corner of the pic. The picture told too good a story to pass up just bc of a pesky digit.
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Wherever someone was signing, there we our boy's eyes. So observant. Really amazing.
Please excuse my finger in the corner of the pic. The picture told too good a story to pass up just bc of a pesky digit.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Mel's worst nightmare
For those of you who don't know, Mel doesn't let ANYONE touch her feet...
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Where We'll Go From Here
Many have asked us over the last few days what the journey to hearing will look like from here.
Yesterday, Amichai's implants were activated. They were set at a very low level, so as to not overwhelm his systems, and we will gradually elevate his hearing over time, slowly and systematically, until he is hearing optimally with the implants. The process will likely take months, and will then be updated throughout his life as his body changes and grows. The implants are completely personalized to him, and he will hear optimally to his body makeup, at each stage of life.
Many of you noticed Amichai's clear responses to sound in the video we posted yesterday. This can lead one to believe that he is hearing everything that most people do. Interestingly, at this moment, Amichai is actually hearing less than he did with his hearing aids. The reason why he is so responsive to sound is because the sound he is hearing is completely different than before (electronic stimulus to his brain rather than from his ears) and therefore novel, causing him to notice and respond to most every sound that comes in. In a few days, that novelty will wear off and he will stop responding so drastically to the sounds he is hearing. At that point, he will be ready for an increase to his threshold of hearing. Every few days, we will literally turn up the volume of his implants, so that he is hearing more and more, until he is hearing within the normal range.
Sounds pretty clear now, right? The trick is that it is not just the auditory input at appropriate levels that we need to achieve. Amichai will also have learn what sound means, and how it connects to the world and to oral language. This we will approach through ongoing intensive speech therapy over the next years. Just as we have been working on over the last four months, we will first teach Amichai to pay attention to the sound input that he is receiving, then teach him that sound is connected to the world around him and has meaning, and ultimately, that sound has the ability to transmit oral language, which he can understand and reproduce.
The road is long, but we feel strong and positive. Amichai has shown nothing but resilience, wisdom and good humor and spirit through this process and we feel confident from his lead about what the future will bring.
We know what we need to do. We now have enough under our belt and the community, resources and knowledge to feel confident that we will get there. We are finally in a place to relax and enjoy the ride.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Yesterday, Amichai's implants were activated. They were set at a very low level, so as to not overwhelm his systems, and we will gradually elevate his hearing over time, slowly and systematically, until he is hearing optimally with the implants. The process will likely take months, and will then be updated throughout his life as his body changes and grows. The implants are completely personalized to him, and he will hear optimally to his body makeup, at each stage of life.
Many of you noticed Amichai's clear responses to sound in the video we posted yesterday. This can lead one to believe that he is hearing everything that most people do. Interestingly, at this moment, Amichai is actually hearing less than he did with his hearing aids. The reason why he is so responsive to sound is because the sound he is hearing is completely different than before (electronic stimulus to his brain rather than from his ears) and therefore novel, causing him to notice and respond to most every sound that comes in. In a few days, that novelty will wear off and he will stop responding so drastically to the sounds he is hearing. At that point, he will be ready for an increase to his threshold of hearing. Every few days, we will literally turn up the volume of his implants, so that he is hearing more and more, until he is hearing within the normal range.
Sounds pretty clear now, right? The trick is that it is not just the auditory input at appropriate levels that we need to achieve. Amichai will also have learn what sound means, and how it connects to the world and to oral language. This we will approach through ongoing intensive speech therapy over the next years. Just as we have been working on over the last four months, we will first teach Amichai to pay attention to the sound input that he is receiving, then teach him that sound is connected to the world around him and has meaning, and ultimately, that sound has the ability to transmit oral language, which he can understand and reproduce.
The road is long, but we feel strong and positive. Amichai has shown nothing but resilience, wisdom and good humor and spirit through this process and we feel confident from his lead about what the future will bring.
We know what we need to do. We now have enough under our belt and the community, resources and knowledge to feel confident that we will get there. We are finally in a place to relax and enjoy the ride.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The whole story.
Another huge thank you to our dear friend, Zena Barakat, for taking these pictures, and so perfectly and honestly telling the story of Amichai's implant activation through her artistic eye.
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Monday, May 6, 2013
The video you've all been waiting for :)
Amichai did amazing today!
He showed a combination of all 3 possible responses (crying, relaxed and smiling) through the two hour process of activation. They were able to activate both implants today. We feel excited, positive and realistic about the road ahead. Thank you all for your support and love-so needed and appreciated!
Check out this first video--just a teaser before we get the professional stuff (Zena came and videoed the first moments)...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
He showed a combination of all 3 possible responses (crying, relaxed and smiling) through the two hour process of activation. They were able to activate both implants today. We feel excited, positive and realistic about the road ahead. Thank you all for your support and love-so needed and appreciated!
Check out this first video--just a teaser before we get the professional stuff (Zena came and videoed the first moments)...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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