Hey Keith Urban - Thanks for singing our song!

"Along comes a baby girl
 And suddenly my little world
Just got a whole lot bigger, yes it did
And people that I barely knew
Love me cause I'm part of you
Man, it's tough to figure."

Little Babes & Their Ears

24 hours after you give birth a nurse will come into your hospital room. Well ... actually, in our case, it was a CNA. But the point is --- SOMEONE will come into your hospital room and whisk your little darling away to the place we refer to as "The Wizard's Room". I don't know why we call it that. We just do.

There are a series of tests they do on your little babe at this time. I have no idea what any of the tests are. I suppose there are probably parents out there that are nosey enough to ask. We didn't. I trust our medical staff and I assume that whatever it is they are doing in the secret wizard's lair is probably A-OK.

The only test I know they do for sure is a hearing screening. The only reason anyone bothered to tell me about the hearing screening is because our little lady failed hers. Apparently that happens alot and it really wasn't concerning to anyone in a white coat so we just rolled with the punches.

They tested her again before we were discharged ... another failure. Actually I believe the term the used was, "referred". But "failure" seems more clear cut to me --- so that's what I'll use.

She failed a handul of tests during her first couple of months.

It's an interesting process really. They take us back into a little sound proof box. When the baby is sound asleep they stick little plugs in her ears and somehow they are able to magically tell you things you didn't know were possible.

Like, how far down the ear canal sound is able to travel or whether or not there is movement in the eardrums.

At her 2 month audiology appointment, Anna Kate was still referring in both ears and apparently had no movement in her ear drums. We were instructed to follow up in two weeks to have the same tests done one more time. We were told is she failed the tests again we would be moving on to "the next step". "The "next step" is similar to an EKG only it's done on the ears. From there we would be talking about tubes or cochlear implants or other possible treatments.

At the follow up appointment we were pleased to find out that her right ear actually passed with flying colors! Hooray! Her left ear, however, was still referring. They administered "the next step" test. Again, a really cool process. They stuck little stickies attached to wires on her ears, temples, and forehead & then we sat in silence for several minutes,

The findings were all positive --- her nerve is in tact and there are no abnmormalities or deformities. Great news!

They tell us that all signs point to nothing more than a little fluid in her inner ear. We go back in 2 months to have it checked out. They want to monitor it for infection but otherwise no treatment is neccessary.

In typical Nicole fashion, I cried right there in the exam room when they told us this. Tears of relief? Happiness? Sheer joy?

Of course, had things turned out differently we would have been fine with that too. We were prepared to take whatever steps were neccessary to ensure our daughter had the appropriate treatment. We were blessed with the results we ended up with --- but hearing loss in children is a very serious condition & one that doesn't receive alot of attention.

Perhaps because at first glance it doesn't "seem" as devastating as other childhood diseases & disabilities.

But after talking to several professionals in the industry (Thank you Megan, Dessi, Mark, Rachel, and Lou!) and parents of children with partial or total hearing loss, I see things very differently.

Hearing loss can (and should) be diagnosed almost immediately. A child who doesn't hear properly can face difficult road blocks as early as 6 months when they are beginning to explore speech. It makes sense that if a child can't hear sounds properly that they will not be able to form sounds properly either.

I am not an authority on this nor will I pretend to be one. But it doesn't take a Rhodes Scholar to see the path a hearing impaired child will inevitably be forced down if left untreated.

Treatment. It seems like common sense to you and I. But I was amazed to find out how many people out there don't prioritize something like this.

An old friend of mine works with children with hearing loss in New Mexico. When we were first dealing with AK's issues my friend wrote to me. She sent me several sources of information on everything from where to learn sign language to programs that provided assistance to famnilies dealing with hearing loss. I'm amazed by all the help that is out there designed to make the world more accessible to those with hearing loss.

Another friend, here in Montana, talked to me about her experiences working with the parents of hearing impaired children.  She talked of parents who had not been proactive in dealing with their children's disability*.

(*Let me say for the record, I do not actually see hearing loss as a disability. However, when speaking of these parents in particular I feel it appropriate to use the term disability --- because by not DEALING with it and taking advantage of the plethora of resources out there ---- they are allowing hearing loss to become a disability.)

She brought me to tears when she described a mom and dad who never bothered to learn how to communicate with their child through sign language. I can not imagine being a young girl, coming home from school, and not being able to speak -- or sign --- to the people who were supposed to be my safety nets. It breaks my heart to think of children living in a home that does not prioritize something as important as communication. How difficult it must be, as a child, to do even simple things like play with friends or tell your mother that you're sad/happy/scared ... when the people you're trying to speak to don't have the tools it requires to understand what you're saying. Devastating.

It is especially sad when you come to realize that money and/or access to the neccessary resources don't have to be issues. Like I mentioned earlier, there are a vast number of resources there for the using--- many of them FREE.
On a similar note, I have a dear friend who is a speech therapist here in Montana. I was talking to her recently about this very topic.

She told me she sees quite a bit of the same thing. She is currently working in a position where she provides services to her clients for free. Well .. free to the clients. And even though it costs them nothing but their time, there are people out there who do not take it seriously enough to show up for their schedules appointments.

It boggles my mind.

Anyhow, I guess that's my tirade for tonight.

The moral of my story is this: We've all got battles to fight when it comes to our children... lessons to learn, hills to climb. But no matter which struggles are placed before us remember to love your babies. Love every part of them ... even their ears. :)  Protect them. Help them. Teach them. (( . learn from them too. )) Ask questions. Ask them again. Research/investigate. Take precautions. Take them twice. Go overboard. Do whatever it takes to make sure they have all the tools they need to make their mark on this crazy, rapidly-spinning, amazing world. Don't let them get lost in the haze.

6 weeks

AK is coming up on 6 weeks old. On one hand it feels like yesterday that we were welcoming our girl into the world. But on the other hand, she is already so much a part of our family that it feel like she's always been here.

She's perfect & brings so mch love into our lives. I love her little toes and her little ears. I love the way she stares at me when I feed her. I love the way she is hypnotized by her dad's singing. I love the way she is at peace when her big brother rocks her. Her breath on my neck, the little coo's that she has decided to start sharing with us, the strength in her tiny little hands when she wraps them around my finger. All of these things make me smile.

She's a good baby. In true girl style, she is a little high maintnence ... but I don't mind. Isaac was always content being passed around or to sit in his swing. She is quite the opposite. She loves her mama & she hates to be set down. But I don't mind ... I lose hours every day just staring at her sweet face.

There are a million stories Id like to share right now ... but typing with a baby in your arms is harder than I thought it would be. So here are some pictures of the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Baby Update

This will be brief because I'm on my way out the door. But I just wanted to post a baby update for the relatives that check this site.

I spent most of yesterday fighting a new sensation. It qualified somewhere between discomfort and horrendous pain. I can't really tell you what it felt like because it was unlike anything I have ever felt before. A constant throbbing pain in my lower back, paired up with a feeling in my abdomen I can only describe as "attacks". Painful, stabbing attacks that seemed to be designed for revenge --- yea, THAT kind of pain. Ha.

I've been having on-again-off-again contractions for several weeks now. My doc has been great about going above and beyond to do everything in his power to keep Baby O safe and sound inside until she's due to arrive. (If I'm being 100% honest, I think he takes many of the precautions to ease my mind & not so much for medical reasons! He's a doll like that.)

But what I was feeling yesterday was, like I said ... different.

By the time Josh got home at 6:30 I was curled up in a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth, crying. And laughing. I was in miserable pain but the whole scene was funny enough to me that I couldn't help but crack up between attacks.

I called the OB on call --- sounds like contractions she said. You should probably be checked.

Weird. I never felt this with Isaac. And this is not how my "contractions" have felt earlier in this pregnancy either. But, ok ... you're the professional, not me.

We went to the Red Lodge hospital & Dr. George checked me out. No new news on the dilation/effacement front. But during the monitor check they could see three small contractions ... spread out over 45 minutes. Apparently no big deal.

Dr. George, who I adore by the way, left the hospital telling me, "Yea, sorry -- I think you're in for a couple more boring weeks."

My doctor's nurse called me this morning and said, "Yea, he's probably right. But let's make that 'a couple really uncomfortable, boring weeks'." Haha.

At any rate, I'm on my way to my weekly appointment now. Since I'm still feeling the contractions, part of me hopes there has been some changes since last night & we get to have this baby this week. But, from the sounds of it, it was just a false alarm. So much for my February 19 prediction.

I never had Braxton Hicks with Isaac --- I never made it this far with him. So, for those of you out there who HAVE dealt with it ... I'd be super stolked to hear how you dealt with it. I'm a big baby & am not looking forward to multiple weeks of this "uncomfortable, boring" phase. :)

Happy Wednesday, ya'll.

Little Girl

5:30 a.m. was a little blurry for our household yesterday. But, we left the house and made it to our 7 a.m. ultrasound in Billings anyway. Well, ok ... we might have been a few minutes late. But, whatever, we made it there.

We didn't get pictures as clear as the last ones ... she's in  diffeent position (somewhere between breech & transverse ... she's trying to turn! Yay.) than she was last time and was apparently feeling shy yesterday. But here Ike's little sister:

<3