In the basement

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!

Brody and Daddy

 

Bear Bryant

 

Happy Birthday Daddy!

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! 

The Church Will Be His Light

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!

 

Baby Divided

Mom loves the Tide, Dad loves the Irish, and they both love me!

Ready for the game! Roll tide! Go Irish!

6 Month Appointment

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!