So...don't remember if I happened to mention this, but Peach failed her hearing test in one ear while she was in the hospital, right after she was born. They had us come back a week later, and she failed again.
Fast forward a month, and we found ourselves in an audiologist's office for a battery of tests to determine what was going on.
After three hours of tests, it was determined that her right ear hears beautifully, just as it should. Her left ear, not so much. She has mild to severe hearing loss on a sliding scale, which means that she can hear low pitches in her left ear very well, but as pitch gets higher, the volume also needs to go up significantly in order for her to hear it.
To me, this was good news. We haven't known for a month if she was able to hear anything at all in her left ear. At least now we know that she can hear perfectly in one and a little bit in the other. For Juice, this was devastating news.
Juice is the type to beat herself up over everything, and nothing I can say to her will help. She really wanted to hear that there wasn't any problem, or at least find out why Peach has the hearing loss. We won't find that out until we go to an ear doctor.
To me, overall, the news is not as bad as it could have been, and we're still on a path that could lead a number of different directions. If the ear doctor says it's something that can be fixed, then we'll go that route. I'm not confident that it will be something that can be fixed, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. If it can't be fixed, she could wear a hearing aid to help her out. And it's entirely possible that she'll develop speech perfectly normally with her one good ear leading the way. Any way things develop, though, there is a plan, and we'll have support for professionals on this. We won't be alone.
Juice, though, was just a mess. And like I said, nothing I could say or do could console her. However, as soon as she talked to Chica, she straightened out. If you remember, it was about this time last year that Chica found out she had ovarian cancer and had a full hysterectomy. All it took was Chica saying, "At least you can have children," and Juice was fine.
I guess there are some things that husbands just can't fix.
What's important to me is that we do everything we can to help her develop normally, without making her feel like she's different. It's going to be a challenge, but things could be so much more worse. I'm just thankful for what we have in both of our beautiful daughters.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
2.5 kids
I think that Juice and I unofficially decided today that we're going to not have any more kids. We are both tired, and I think that we really just don't want to go through this again. The first time was fun. It was new. Now, it's just trying to get this one to where she's independent, and I'm beginning to realize why people stop at two.
Because they weren't smart enough to stop at one.
No, really. I think that people who decide to have only one child must know some secret that the rest of us don't. We think things like, "it would be so nice to have a brother or sister for our first child to play with," when really, it's not that at all. We just want to see if we can do as good the second time around as we did the first. Or better.
But here's the deal: you're constantly comparing the kids, and there is always going to be a clear cut winner on certain issues. For example, sleep. Peanut slept 6 hours at 2 weeks. We're closing in on 4 weeks with Peach and still drawing straws each night to see who's going to get up with her. Winner: Peanut.
The other thing they don't tell you about having multiple kids is the whole "starting over" factor. Now, trust me, I'm not complaining here because I love my little Peach to death, but we have just gotten Peanut to be pretty independent. She's potty trained, she can do most things by herself, she can entertain herself, and now here we are starting completely from scratch again.
Taking vacations is right there along the same lines. I want my kids to enjoy a vacation and understand the things that we're seeing. Peanut is there. We'll have to wait about 3 years for Peach to be there, and honestly, ya'll, I'm getting up there in age. I want to enjoy my kids while they're young, and I'm young enough to have fun with them. I'll be 40 when Peach turns 3, and I just don't know that I can handle another brand new baby at 40.
Juice thinks that I'm going to be disappointed if we don't have a boy, but it's a crap shoot either way. I love my little girls, and while I would love to have a boy, I'm not going to be disappointed if I don't have one. There are plenty of guys in my family to carry on our family name. I'm not letting anyone down, and besides, girls are so much fun because you get to fuck with their boyfriends later in life!
So that's it. We're a "typical" family of Americans. Two kids, a dog, and a mortgage. And I'm loving life. And I'll be loving it even more when Peach decides she's ready to sleep through the night.
Because they weren't smart enough to stop at one.
No, really. I think that people who decide to have only one child must know some secret that the rest of us don't. We think things like, "it would be so nice to have a brother or sister for our first child to play with," when really, it's not that at all. We just want to see if we can do as good the second time around as we did the first. Or better.
But here's the deal: you're constantly comparing the kids, and there is always going to be a clear cut winner on certain issues. For example, sleep. Peanut slept 6 hours at 2 weeks. We're closing in on 4 weeks with Peach and still drawing straws each night to see who's going to get up with her. Winner: Peanut.
The other thing they don't tell you about having multiple kids is the whole "starting over" factor. Now, trust me, I'm not complaining here because I love my little Peach to death, but we have just gotten Peanut to be pretty independent. She's potty trained, she can do most things by herself, she can entertain herself, and now here we are starting completely from scratch again.
Taking vacations is right there along the same lines. I want my kids to enjoy a vacation and understand the things that we're seeing. Peanut is there. We'll have to wait about 3 years for Peach to be there, and honestly, ya'll, I'm getting up there in age. I want to enjoy my kids while they're young, and I'm young enough to have fun with them. I'll be 40 when Peach turns 3, and I just don't know that I can handle another brand new baby at 40.
Juice thinks that I'm going to be disappointed if we don't have a boy, but it's a crap shoot either way. I love my little girls, and while I would love to have a boy, I'm not going to be disappointed if I don't have one. There are plenty of guys in my family to carry on our family name. I'm not letting anyone down, and besides, girls are so much fun because you get to fuck with their boyfriends later in life!
So that's it. We're a "typical" family of Americans. Two kids, a dog, and a mortgage. And I'm loving life. And I'll be loving it even more when Peach decides she's ready to sleep through the night.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Hey, it's good to be back home again.
We arrived in St. Louis yesterday, and the first sign that I wasn't in San Antonio was that everything was green. The second sign was that when we walked outside, I didn't immediately start sweating.
The weather the last two days has been nothing short of amazing. While south Texas was recording the hottest July on record (average temp over 100 for the month), the Midwest was recording the coolest July on record, and it's carried right on over into August. I actually put on jeans today.
Of course tomorrow, the heat comes on, as it is wont to do during a Midwest summer...70's one day, 90's the next. But a high of 92 will still be a cool day compared to what we're used to in San Antonio.
My parents are hosting what has become an annual get together of my Dad's brothers, sister, and assorted children (and now grandchildren). We'll spend the day at the lake tomorrow, followed by dinner at my parent's house and massive consumption of alcohol and lots of stories being told.
In addition to the weather, the other bonus is that Juice and I actually get a few minutes to spend alone with each other, since there's other adults around who will gladly take care of our children while we go enjoy the breeze on the porch.
Wednesday, it's back to reality for us, with a 3 hour drive back to St. Louis followed by a few hours of flying, then back to the heat, and back to work for me.
In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy a beer (or 10), the weather, and the company of my family.
The weather the last two days has been nothing short of amazing. While south Texas was recording the hottest July on record (average temp over 100 for the month), the Midwest was recording the coolest July on record, and it's carried right on over into August. I actually put on jeans today.
Of course tomorrow, the heat comes on, as it is wont to do during a Midwest summer...70's one day, 90's the next. But a high of 92 will still be a cool day compared to what we're used to in San Antonio.
My parents are hosting what has become an annual get together of my Dad's brothers, sister, and assorted children (and now grandchildren). We'll spend the day at the lake tomorrow, followed by dinner at my parent's house and massive consumption of alcohol and lots of stories being told.
In addition to the weather, the other bonus is that Juice and I actually get a few minutes to spend alone with each other, since there's other adults around who will gladly take care of our children while we go enjoy the breeze on the porch.
Wednesday, it's back to reality for us, with a 3 hour drive back to St. Louis followed by a few hours of flying, then back to the heat, and back to work for me.
In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy a beer (or 10), the weather, and the company of my family.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Schedule, schmedule
Peach decided sometime over the weekend that 3 AM was the perfect time to be wide awake. After two days of this, I decided something had to be done.
So Sunday night, I tickled her starting at around 7 PM. She was not happy about this. But, it kept her awake, and got her senses going. After about an hour of tickling her and scratching her feet to make her uncomfortable, she was wide awake.
She stayed awake until she got hungry, around 10:30, then when she was done eating, promptly fell into a deep sleep, and didn't wake up again until 4 AM.
Last night, same deal. Kept her awake, she fell asleep at 11 and slept until 5. For the first time in three weeks, we had 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. The bonus is that after she wakes up to eat, she goes right back to sleep for a few more hours, so one of us gets to sleep in, while the other gets up with Peanut (usually around 7).
The only thing I'm afraid of is that she only ever seems to stay on a schedule for 2 days, and we're on day 2 of this one. And in two days, we're leaving for Illinois which I'm sure will completely screw her up, because it screwed up Peanut when we took her on the plane at 3 weeks old.
So Sunday night, I tickled her starting at around 7 PM. She was not happy about this. But, it kept her awake, and got her senses going. After about an hour of tickling her and scratching her feet to make her uncomfortable, she was wide awake.
She stayed awake until she got hungry, around 10:30, then when she was done eating, promptly fell into a deep sleep, and didn't wake up again until 4 AM.
Last night, same deal. Kept her awake, she fell asleep at 11 and slept until 5. For the first time in three weeks, we had 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. The bonus is that after she wakes up to eat, she goes right back to sleep for a few more hours, so one of us gets to sleep in, while the other gets up with Peanut (usually around 7).
The only thing I'm afraid of is that she only ever seems to stay on a schedule for 2 days, and we're on day 2 of this one. And in two days, we're leaving for Illinois which I'm sure will completely screw her up, because it screwed up Peanut when we took her on the plane at 3 weeks old.
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