We've been hanging out in the basement awhile. Brody doesn't seem bothered by it. One perk of having a deaf kid! He slept through the sirens, dog barking, and daddy's weather radio sirens. Now on to a fun day at work on a few hours less of sleep!
Today is Jordan's birthday (Brody's daddy)! Brody has been working so hard to roll from his back to his belly. He did it once last Monday while I was on the computer. I put him on a blanket on the floor on his back. When I looked back down, he was on his belly! My mom and I have tried to catch it on video but haven't been able to do so. Today, for Daddy's birthday, my mom (Brody's nanny), was able to capture it. I think this is an awesome birthday present for Daddy!
Next Tuesday, we are going up to Cincinnati Children's hospital to meet with Dr. Daniel Choo to get a second opinion on Brody's Cochlear Implant surgery. We are wanting to get bilateral simultaneous surgery. A lot of cities in America are doing it now, however, Louisville is not. Dr. Choo was recommended to us from Boston Children's hospital. He has been in the field almost 20 years. We have had a lot of people (both parents and professionals) recommend him to us. We can't wait to meet him! If we do like him, he will hopefully be Brody's surgeon for the Cochlear Implant surgery in June. Jordan found a video that kind of explains the Cochlear Implant and the surgery. It has an older model, but the main points are still the same.
We went to dinner for Jordan's birthday. Brody had some peaches...not his favorite by any means!
Brody was baptized this morning at Middletown United Methodist Church. He was blessed by our wonderful Reverend, Tom. Our church's sanctuary has a couple of large chandeliers around the room as well as a large skylight. Of course Brody, a lover of all lights, only wanted to rear back and stare at the lights. He could have cared less about what was going on! Pastor Tom turned it into a wonderful speech that as Brody loved the lights above, he would look to the Church to be his light through his walk with Christ. Brody made a few vocalizations that Pastor Tom took as Amens! The church gave Brody a baptismal candle and a certificate of the day.
Mommy, Daddy, Brody, and Pastor Tom
Afterwards, although Brody was about to pass out, we had the family over for a nice lunch. Aunt Jodi, Uncle Josh, Aunt Sarah, and Uncle Jake were very excited to see the little Brodster. It had been almost a month! He enjoyed Uncle Josh playing basketball with him. Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jake let him pull their hair which is always a favorite pastime of Brody. Then, Aunt Jodi got a lot of snuggles until he eventually passed out. Four hours later...he still is! Big day! Grammy and Papa Tom also made the trip down to see him. They are amazed at how much Brody changes within a few short weeks.
Aunt Sara and Brody
Grammy and Brody
Uncle Jake letting Brody pull his hair.
Aunt Sarah and Brody
Uncle Josh, Aunt Jodi, and Brody
Aunt Sarah, Papa Tom, Brody, and Uncle Jake
I have slacked in posting, but Brody hasn't done too many exciting things lately.He got some new earmolds made for his hearing aids (the part that actually goes into the ear). He out grows them so fast. He has started slowing down on his growing though.
Brody also got to attend PipSqueaks at Heuser Hearing & Language Academy on Friday. PipSqueaks is a group of moms that get together once a month with his therapist, Ms. Paula. They are mothers of deaf and hard of hearing children who are between the ages of birth-two. When they turn three, they age out of First Steps, the early intervention program in Kentucky, and start preschool. It is nice to see who may be in Brody's class one day and already start forming friendships. It is also a wonderful resource to talk to parents who have children going through all steps of the Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid life. I know the school aspect of everything, but raising a child at home and in day to day community life is a whole different story!
Brody saw Dr. Sammons today at East Louisville Pediatrics. I highly recommend her (any of them really-we've seen almost all of the doctors). We saw Dr. Sammons right before we did genetic testing. We were asking which test to go with to figure out the deafness origin. She was up front and told us how she wasn't sure, but looked into it for us. We've like her ever since! With the Usher's, we want to stick with one pediatrician instead of the whole group like we were doing.
If you have held Brody in the past month, you would swear he's at least 25 pounds! Surprisingly, he only weighed 19.5 pounds and was 28 inches long. It's only the 75-80 percentile. His head on the other hand, is still off the charts! She said he's well proportioned though so she isn't worried. Brody was super happy and talkative the whole appointment. He loves the baby in the mirror.
As soon as the nurse came in for the shots, he burst out in tears. It's like he remembered the last time he was in! He had two shots in one leg and one in the other. He also had one by mouth. We had wanted to have a delayed shot schedule, but since he is having the cochlear implants (brain surgery pretty much), Dr. Sammons wants all of his shots up to date beforehand. I agree! Nothing like having the brain exposed and not all the precautions taken.
Some accomplishments this week for the Brodster!
Trying to feed himself cereal
Brody mastered supported sitting this week! Woohoo!
Sorry for the lack of posts...Mama's been out of commission! I do have to give a shout out to the most amazing hubby/daddy out there. Jordan stepped up big time. I even got a home cooked Italian dinner for NYE! He gets the Mr. Mom award in my opinion. I'm sure he has a new appreciation for Grandma being with Brody all day, everyday too :)
Brody loved all the Daddy time!
Brody finished out Christmas with way too many presents. Seriously, you family members are too generous! He was done with Christmas about 9pm Christmas Eve. We headed back to KY. Jordan really wants Brody to always wake up Christmas morning in our house (who can argue with Mr. Mom). So we decided to go ahead and start that this year. Good thing Santa didn't bring too many toys! Grandma and Papa Brown took care of all that! He was worn out after all the Christmases!
One of the many Christmas outfits
Mommy and Brody at Great Aunt Bobbie's house (make you feel old to be a GREAT Aunt?)
Worn out Christmas morning
There were a few favorite gifts...I'm sure others will turn into favorites soon!
Bunny puppet from Great Aunt Penny (you feel old too?)
On the 26th, we met with another opthamologist. His name is Dr. John Franklin. He is the partner of Dr. Craig Douglas, a pretty recognized doctor in the Louisville area. We originally had an appointment set with Dr. Douglas, but he had to cancel due to being sick. Um...can you say God intervening?!? We absolutely love Dr. Franklin! He is probably in his thirties (we were looking for someone to stick with Brody). He worked in St. Louis (an area densely populated with deaf children who have cochlear implants). Although he said he had never had a child with Usher Syndrome of any type, he has worked a lot with children with Retinitis Pigmentosa (the condition associated with Usher's that causes the vision loss). He agreed with most Dr. Fishman had said. Dr. Franklin agreed that Brody's eyes look good right now. However, he did notice that the vessels in Brody's eyes were a little thin which is an early sign of RP. It's also normal for a 6 month olds vessels to be a little thin, but he's looking more closely at them. Brody behaved wonderfully again through the whole appointment! He loved all the lights Dr. Franklin had...who would have thought?!?
The next night, we got together with my parents, grandmother, sister and brother-in-law, and the Rogers Family. They have a set of twin girls who have cochlear implants and an almost 3 year old. My mom wanted my dad, Jordan, and Dany (brother-in-law) to meet the twins. When most people think of a deaf person, they think of the deaf speech or automatically think of sign language. Now, I am a teacher of the deaf. My background is in the oral approach (speech). However, I believe that some sign can be beneficial for children who are deaf. Sure you can hear with hearing aids or cochlear implants, but what happens with a profound loss when those are taken off. They are back to not being able to hear again. Sign comes in handy for bath time or swimming or the beach or when you are across a noisy room and they wouldn't have been able to hear you with perfect hearing anyway. My mom signed with my sister and I and we turned out fine :) Brody will have speech as his top priority, but we have already introduced signs to him. Okay, stepping off my soapbox and back to the Rogers.
Brody loved the girls! It was great for the guys to hear how they talk and see how they function like any normal kid. Sure when the baby was crying, the tv was on, and people were talking it was hard for them to hear...but I couldn't hear very well either! If you don't know any kids who were implanted in their early years and who have had early intervention, you are missing out! More than half you wouldn't believe we're deaf! The advances in technologies!
We spent the rest of the week/weekend at home sick. :( Bad Mom Award goes to me for not dressing Brody all warm and sticking him in the snow for a picture! We can just hope for another snow and pretend that was the first snow...right?!
Hope everyone has an amazing new year! We're cuddled on the couch taking pictures of the dog. I know you are really jealous of our lives. Here's to 2013!
Brody got a new state this week! Missouri is his 6th state in 6 months (Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Minnesota). Not too shabby. Well...if you count when I made the wrong turn and ended up in Indiana, he's been to 7.
Since finding out about Brody losing his vision, Jordan and I decided we wanted to take him to as many places before hand as we could. We want to give him some good memories. I know he won't remember things right now, but we're going ahead and getting a few out of the way :)
St. Louis was filled with the Massey family! We went to Great Aunt Bobbie's house (Papa Brown's oldest sister). We went to visit the arch. Jordan conquered his fear of heights and small, tight places. I made sure to point out Brody was fine so he should be too :) Brody was thoroughly amused as he slept through the whole thing!
Brody got to play with baby Wesley. Wesley is about 3 weeks older than Brody. It's good to see that although Brody is developmentally a little behind, he was still holding his own! We mastered rolling to the right and left from his belly to back. He can almost go from back to belly. Brody has trouble clearing his arm to be totally successful. He can sit up when he's supported now. There's only a little head bob and lean! It's normal for kids to with hearing loss to have motor issues, even more of a norm for kids with Usher's. All has to do with the vestibular system.
A new journey has started with Brody's hearing aids. He has started pulling them out when he is mad or wants attention. They are a choking hazard! Fun!
On to Christmases 2, 3, and 4! Merry Christmas Eve!
Brody and Daddy
Bear Bryant
Aunt Sara and Brody
Grammy and Brody
Uncle Jake letting Brody pull his hair.
Aunt Sarah and Brody
Uncle Josh, Aunt Jodi, and Brody
Aunt Sarah, Papa Tom, Brody, and Uncle Jake 
