When we first got home, Kate was evaluated at the International Adoption Clinic. She was evaluated for gross and fine motor skills, speech delays, and general health, including extensive lab work. Speech was really the only issue that was identified as being problematic. When we entered the early intervention program, she was evaluated again. Speech was identified as an issue, which we expected, and she was borderline for something they called developmental intervention. This is kind of a general term for her social interaction with others. Specifically, there was concern over whether her play was age appropriate. At the time, she looked at toys as if she had never seen one before. (In fact, we know that her orphanage did not have toys except the play yard outside, but we have no information about her foster care.) She didn't push cars around, hold baby dolls, color, or any of the things that 2 year olds should be doing. We were concerned, but the person evaluating Kate told us that if she wasn't doing these things in 6 months, we would re-evaluate her and she could receive intervention.
Thankfully (Praise God), her play is right on target now. She plays cars. She rocks her babies and feeds them and puts them to bed. She has pretend conversations between her toys, which is way too cute. No one can understand them, but she has a blast. We owe much of this progress to the boys, specifically Will. She spends a lot of time with Will, and one day I mentioned to Will that Kate didn't know how to play. I went and got into the shower, and when I came back to check on them, they were sitting on her bed together. Will was showing her how to hold and feed the baby doll. Shortly after this, she got some kitchen toys for Christmas. She started fixing me food with her pots and pans and serving it up on plates. And she has grown by leaps and bounds since then. She even pretends that random household objects can talk to each other now. Her imagination is in full swing. Who knew I would be so thrilled with such everyday blessings?
She still loves to help me in the kitchen. I have always thought that she must have spent time helping her foster mom in the kitchen, because she has always loved to play in the dishwater, set the table, mix things in a bowl, etc. She loves to have a job.
Finally, a speech update... I mentioned that we were working on 2 word signing combinations, but she wasn't interested. Today she started speaking in 2 word combinations. She said things like, "Hello, Mama. Mama eye. Mame woe (nose). Mama mow (mouth)." She was pointing to my eyes, nose, and mouth. She is soooo much fun!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Update #4: Speech
Since we have been home, Kate has been receiving speech services through our state's early intervention program. We are doubly blessed because our SLP is my cousin, Jennifer. She services our county, so when we were applying I specifically requested her. Growing up I always followed around my big cousin, begging for attention. "Jennifer, do my hair, play Barbies with me, come swimming with me!" I would do anything! She even found an old picture of us where I am holding her by the face and she has an expression that says,"Make her leave me alone!!!" It is really amazing that she still speaks to me:)
Anyway, Kate thinks that she is the coolest thing since sliced bread. When she sees her coming up the driveway, Kate starts doing her happy dance. She thinks that Jennifer just comes to play with her, and loves to sit in her lap. And I am pretty sure that Jennifer was the first person that she said, "I love you" to. She was leaving one day and told Kate bye-bye. Kate replied, "Mye-mye. Wah woh wuh." Doesn't that sound like an I love you to you?* Jennifer can get her to do things that she won't do for me. For example, last week she got her to make a "K" sound and an "L" sound. Has she done that for me since then? Of course not.
Progress-wise, I have to admit I get frustrated sometimes. We are all working so hard! But Kate's lip and tongue muscles seem fairly underdeveloped. We now do exercises to strengthen them, and we are seeing some progress. I just have to accept that this is a process, and it may be years before she is able to discontinue the ST. I think that even though I knew this going into the surgery, I had this naive expectation that Kate would be the exception to the rule. I hoped that she would start making all kinds of new sounds immediately, but it has been much slower.
As far as new words, she learns them all the time, but I am pretty sure I am the only one who understands her. And sometimes she just chatters on and on to me and then will laugh like she just told a funny joke. So I laugh like I understood her. But, I can now tell the difference between "ABCs" and "Twinkle Twinkle", which I think is impressive.
We continue to teach her sign language. She can now use about 100 signs independently (of course, she made up about 5 of them). We are also trying to teach her to put the signs into multiple word phrases, which is an important part of language development.
Pray for us as we continue. She is worth every ounce of work we put into this. And she is dying to talk to us. I can't wait until she talks so much I want to tell her to hush!
*Just have to say that after she told Jennifer, she signed "I love you" to me a few weeks later, and then to Aunt Sally's cat, and now she is signing it to the rest of the family...sometimes.
Anyway, Kate thinks that she is the coolest thing since sliced bread. When she sees her coming up the driveway, Kate starts doing her happy dance. She thinks that Jennifer just comes to play with her, and loves to sit in her lap. And I am pretty sure that Jennifer was the first person that she said, "I love you" to. She was leaving one day and told Kate bye-bye. Kate replied, "Mye-mye. Wah woh wuh." Doesn't that sound like an I love you to you?* Jennifer can get her to do things that she won't do for me. For example, last week she got her to make a "K" sound and an "L" sound. Has she done that for me since then? Of course not.
Progress-wise, I have to admit I get frustrated sometimes. We are all working so hard! But Kate's lip and tongue muscles seem fairly underdeveloped. We now do exercises to strengthen them, and we are seeing some progress. I just have to accept that this is a process, and it may be years before she is able to discontinue the ST. I think that even though I knew this going into the surgery, I had this naive expectation that Kate would be the exception to the rule. I hoped that she would start making all kinds of new sounds immediately, but it has been much slower.
As far as new words, she learns them all the time, but I am pretty sure I am the only one who understands her. And sometimes she just chatters on and on to me and then will laugh like she just told a funny joke. So I laugh like I understood her. But, I can now tell the difference between "ABCs" and "Twinkle Twinkle", which I think is impressive.
We continue to teach her sign language. She can now use about 100 signs independently (of course, she made up about 5 of them). We are also trying to teach her to put the signs into multiple word phrases, which is an important part of language development.
Pray for us as we continue. She is worth every ounce of work we put into this. And she is dying to talk to us. I can't wait until she talks so much I want to tell her to hush!
*Just have to say that after she told Jennifer, she signed "I love you" to me a few weeks later, and then to Aunt Sally's cat, and now she is signing it to the rest of the family...sometimes.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Moo Moo
Sounds like a cow, right?
Well, in Kate's world, it's a movie. She went to her first real-in-the-theater movie yesterday with her brothers and daddy. He took them to see Madagascar 2. (Thanks, Tim, for the mini-vacation!) Before she left, I asked her if she was excited about the movie. She did the sign for TV, and I said that it was kind of like TV, but way bigger.
Anyway, I don't think she cared much for it. It was too long for a two year old, but her big brothers thought it was awesome. When they came home, I asked her if she liked the movie, and her response was the sign for TV and then she made all these funny faces and sounds. I think she was trying to imitate the animals or something.
Later, she and I got to Skype my brother and his wife. She really liked talking to them and kept signing their names afterward. While we talked, Tim was watching Cars in the background, and she kept pointing to it and signing car and saying, "moo moo". She wanted Jacob to know we were watching a movie.
As I put her to bed, she signed car. I said, "Yes, you watched Cars tonight." She said, "Moo moo." I said, "Who did you watch the movie with?", thinking she would say Daddy. Nope, she said she watched the movie with Uncle Jacob. She told me again today. I forget that two year olds have no concept that people on the computer can't see what's on the tv behind the computer. It made me laugh. She also likes to hold things up to the telephone so Mimi can see them. Funny girl. But I am glad that in her mind, she and Uncle Jacob had quality bonding time watching a movie together.
Well, in Kate's world, it's a movie. She went to her first real-in-the-theater movie yesterday with her brothers and daddy. He took them to see Madagascar 2. (Thanks, Tim, for the mini-vacation!) Before she left, I asked her if she was excited about the movie. She did the sign for TV, and I said that it was kind of like TV, but way bigger.
Anyway, I don't think she cared much for it. It was too long for a two year old, but her big brothers thought it was awesome. When they came home, I asked her if she liked the movie, and her response was the sign for TV and then she made all these funny faces and sounds. I think she was trying to imitate the animals or something.
Later, she and I got to Skype my brother and his wife. She really liked talking to them and kept signing their names afterward. While we talked, Tim was watching Cars in the background, and she kept pointing to it and signing car and saying, "moo moo". She wanted Jacob to know we were watching a movie.
As I put her to bed, she signed car. I said, "Yes, you watched Cars tonight." She said, "Moo moo." I said, "Who did you watch the movie with?", thinking she would say Daddy. Nope, she said she watched the movie with Uncle Jacob. She told me again today. I forget that two year olds have no concept that people on the computer can't see what's on the tv behind the computer. It made me laugh. She also likes to hold things up to the telephone so Mimi can see them. Funny girl. But I am glad that in her mind, she and Uncle Jacob had quality bonding time watching a movie together.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Very long answer about memories...
The other day my friend, Tooz, left me a comment asking if I thought that Kate remembered her life in China. (It was actually more detailed than that. Go back to my last post to read it for yourself.) I think Tooz is great - she has been a great source of encouragement to me, so I wanted to answer her question. And since I have been asked that question by lots of people, I thought I would address it here.
The short answer is, yes. Do I think she remembers every detail? No.
Now for the long answer. The furthest back I can go in my memory is age 2 1/2. It is a very clear memory of being VERY angry with my little brother. Ben (age 6) can remember things from when he is two. Not everything, mind you, but enough. Will (age 4) and Tim don't really remember back that far. We always joke about the fact that Tim doesn't remember hardly anything from childhood, while I remember strange details about conversations and vacations and classmates, etc. So, I think different people's memories go back different distances. Obviously Kate isn't 33 or 6 or even 4, but I just wanted to point out that it is possible that someday in the future she may remember parts of her life in China.
Since she has only been with us 5 months, I think that makes it even more realistic that she remembers parts of her life in China. When my boys were that age they could tell me in great detail about events that had happened 6 months before. And she has a great memory. About 3 weeks ago my friend Christa was over playing cards. We made up a sign for her name, not really expecting Kate to remember it. I didn't think about it again until yesterday. Tim and I were talking about Christa's husband Alex, and Kate immediately did the signs for both Alex and Christa. We hadn't even mentioned Christa. There is nothing that makes me think that she doesn't have just as good of a memory as the boys.
Generally speaking, I think that children's memories (including our own memories) go back further than we think. Obviously, most of us do not remember being babies, or even toddlers for the most part. But I think that we retain subconscious memories of our early lives. We might remember feelings of love, or of security, or of fear. Things that happen to us as babies might explain why people have irrational fears. (I am not an expert. Just thinking out loud.) In the case of an abandoned child, he might retain the feeling of being terrified, cold, and hungry. If the child develops PTSD (let's face it, abandonment would be traumatic), then fear, cold, and hunger might lead to manifestations that adults don't understand. The child might not say, hey, I remember what the person who found me looked like, but he might remember complete terror. I think that this kind of memory affecting a child long term is much more likely than a memory of a happy birthday party affecting someone in the same way. Those of us who have never experienced major trauma will have trouble relating.
Kate displays no signs of PTSD. She does, however, occasionally freak out about strange things. If you remember, Kate did not like me in China. She was a total daddy's girl. I tried to get her to ride in the baby sling with me so we could bond, but she would always scream and freak out on me. We used it a couple of times once we got home, and she did fine, but we put it away in November or so. Well, this weekend she was being extremely clingy, and I thought I would get out the carrier so that she could be touching me, but I could get some things done around the house. As soon as I tied it around my waist, she panicked. She cried and screamed and Tim had to pick her up to calm her down. I tried to take her to comfort her, but she wanted nothing to do with me. I have no coherent explanation for it. But maybe the carrier reminded her of how scared she used to be of me. Maybe it reminded her of being taken from her foster family. I don't know. But I don't ever underestimate that girl.
I had posted a link to a story about someone who is taken from her "beloved". The story was an analogy about a child who learns not to trust adults because they don't stick around. A child may not remember the events that led to this little "lesson", but they would remember not to trust adults for years to come. I don't think that Kate is dealing with these exact same issues, but I know way too many adoptive families to totally discount the story.
So there is your very long answer. Much longer than I intended. But by now you all know how long-winded I am, so you have been warned before. Thanks for asking such a great question, Tooz!
The short answer is, yes. Do I think she remembers every detail? No.
Now for the long answer. The furthest back I can go in my memory is age 2 1/2. It is a very clear memory of being VERY angry with my little brother. Ben (age 6) can remember things from when he is two. Not everything, mind you, but enough. Will (age 4) and Tim don't really remember back that far. We always joke about the fact that Tim doesn't remember hardly anything from childhood, while I remember strange details about conversations and vacations and classmates, etc. So, I think different people's memories go back different distances. Obviously Kate isn't 33 or 6 or even 4, but I just wanted to point out that it is possible that someday in the future she may remember parts of her life in China.
Since she has only been with us 5 months, I think that makes it even more realistic that she remembers parts of her life in China. When my boys were that age they could tell me in great detail about events that had happened 6 months before. And she has a great memory. About 3 weeks ago my friend Christa was over playing cards. We made up a sign for her name, not really expecting Kate to remember it. I didn't think about it again until yesterday. Tim and I were talking about Christa's husband Alex, and Kate immediately did the signs for both Alex and Christa. We hadn't even mentioned Christa. There is nothing that makes me think that she doesn't have just as good of a memory as the boys.
Generally speaking, I think that children's memories (including our own memories) go back further than we think. Obviously, most of us do not remember being babies, or even toddlers for the most part. But I think that we retain subconscious memories of our early lives. We might remember feelings of love, or of security, or of fear. Things that happen to us as babies might explain why people have irrational fears. (I am not an expert. Just thinking out loud.) In the case of an abandoned child, he might retain the feeling of being terrified, cold, and hungry. If the child develops PTSD (let's face it, abandonment would be traumatic), then fear, cold, and hunger might lead to manifestations that adults don't understand. The child might not say, hey, I remember what the person who found me looked like, but he might remember complete terror. I think that this kind of memory affecting a child long term is much more likely than a memory of a happy birthday party affecting someone in the same way. Those of us who have never experienced major trauma will have trouble relating.
Kate displays no signs of PTSD. She does, however, occasionally freak out about strange things. If you remember, Kate did not like me in China. She was a total daddy's girl. I tried to get her to ride in the baby sling with me so we could bond, but she would always scream and freak out on me. We used it a couple of times once we got home, and she did fine, but we put it away in November or so. Well, this weekend she was being extremely clingy, and I thought I would get out the carrier so that she could be touching me, but I could get some things done around the house. As soon as I tied it around my waist, she panicked. She cried and screamed and Tim had to pick her up to calm her down. I tried to take her to comfort her, but she wanted nothing to do with me. I have no coherent explanation for it. But maybe the carrier reminded her of how scared she used to be of me. Maybe it reminded her of being taken from her foster family. I don't know. But I don't ever underestimate that girl.
I had posted a link to a story about someone who is taken from her "beloved". The story was an analogy about a child who learns not to trust adults because they don't stick around. A child may not remember the events that led to this little "lesson", but they would remember not to trust adults for years to come. I don't think that Kate is dealing with these exact same issues, but I know way too many adoptive families to totally discount the story.
So there is your very long answer. Much longer than I intended. But by now you all know how long-winded I am, so you have been warned before. Thanks for asking such a great question, Tooz!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Update #3 - Attachment
Kate's new favorite word is "mine". Except she doesn't say it like that. She says, "MY!" She says it about anything. Sometimes she is truly trying to establish if something is hers or not, and sometimes she is just being funny. For example, she will say point to my shoes and say, "MY!" just to make me laugh. And then she will giggle. It is very cute. I think part of it is experimentation with the idea that something could belong to her. That is a relatively new concept in her life.
Yesterday I was putting Kate down for a nap, and she pointed to my chest and said, "MY!". Oh my! Is there anything better? I said, "That's right baby. I am YOUR mama, forever and ever." And she just fell into my arms with a big ole hug. It was one of those moments you just want to hang onto. Precious.
All in all, Kate's attachment to us is going well. I was so worried when I went to Florida last month to be with my grandparents. Worried that she would decide she liked it better with my mom. Worried that she would be angry with me for leaving her. Worried that she would think I was never coming back. But when I came home she was thrilled to see me. The only glitch we had was that there were a few days after my return that I couldn't say, "I'll be right back" without her totally freaking out on me. But that is better now.
Bedtime is continuing to go well. For me anyway. She still isn't convinced that Tim should put her to bed sometimes, but she deals with it fine. When I put her to bed, she wants my arm around her until she starts to drop off, and then she pushes it away. (I can't really blame her. I can't sleep touching anybody either. It's weird. I know.) I just do what I used to do. I kiss her little hand and tell her that I love her. I can't remember the last time that she played the "I want you/I don't want you game".
She often asks us now to be rocked before bed, which is a new thing. She likes to sit tummy to tummy with her head turned to the side. But I will sometimes hold her like a tiny baby and sing ABC's (her current fave) to her. Sometimes she will gaze into my eyes the whole time (a very good attachment sign), and sometimes she looks around the room. Still, just the fact that she allows me to hold her like that is progress.
She sometimes asks me to feed her with a spoon like a baby. Again, it may sound like regression to the outside world, but in the adoption world, this means that she trusts me to give her food, and that she needs that extra bit of nurturing and love. She doesn't do bottles or sippies at all, so she still drinks from her own cup (while pointing at mine and saying MY and laughing).
Her relationship with the boys continues to grow and evolve. They love her. I overheard them discussing today how they are "falling in love with her". They have no idea what this means other than that they are crazy about her, which is true. When we returned from Ohio this week she asked about them constantly and couldn't wait to see them. So the feeling is mutual.
But the honeymoon is over though. They hit each other like most brothers and sisters now, which means that Kate NaNa has been introduced to the timeout chair. I usually sit down with her and talk to her about how she can't hit her brothers.
She is now comfortable staying in the nursery without me. I spent a couple of months going to Sunday School with her so that she would get used to the nursery area and the workers. Now I say, "I am going to _____. Do you want to come or do you want to play here?" Nine times out of ten she signs play, gives me a kiss, and has a great time. When I pick her up, she is happy to see me, gives me a big smile, and waves bye bye to the nearest adult. I was worried the surgery and time at home would mess up our work, but she was eager to get back to our weekly routine. Her transition has been great.
So, all of this paints a pretty rosy picture. Is everything perfect? No. She still can get clingy, push me away when she is mad, and scream when Daddy tries to put her to bed. And I am sure that as language develops and she gets older, more issues WILL arise. But I just have to take it one step at a time.
I started with a story, so I will end with one too. Early on, I had a big Aha moment one night when she woke up crying, but pushed me away. I forced myself on her, calmed her down, and as I left her room, Will started crying. His eyes weren't even open, but he heard me come in and instinctively raised his arms to me. I cuddled him a moment, and he drifted off again. The difference in their reactions was startling to me. Fast forward to now. One night this week Kate woke up crying. I went into her room to find her eyes closed, arms outstretched toward me. I cuddled her, and she was asleep in moments. I finally feel like when she cries "mama" in the middle of the night, she is talking about me. I doubt she has forgotten her foster mama (I have no desire to wipe out her memories), but she has accepted me now, and she trusts me. Precious.
OK, I lied. One more thing. I saw this link posted on someone else's blog recently, and I thought it was quite thought provoking. Check it out.
Yesterday I was putting Kate down for a nap, and she pointed to my chest and said, "MY!". Oh my! Is there anything better? I said, "That's right baby. I am YOUR mama, forever and ever." And she just fell into my arms with a big ole hug. It was one of those moments you just want to hang onto. Precious.
All in all, Kate's attachment to us is going well. I was so worried when I went to Florida last month to be with my grandparents. Worried that she would decide she liked it better with my mom. Worried that she would be angry with me for leaving her. Worried that she would think I was never coming back. But when I came home she was thrilled to see me. The only glitch we had was that there were a few days after my return that I couldn't say, "I'll be right back" without her totally freaking out on me. But that is better now.
Bedtime is continuing to go well. For me anyway. She still isn't convinced that Tim should put her to bed sometimes, but she deals with it fine. When I put her to bed, she wants my arm around her until she starts to drop off, and then she pushes it away. (I can't really blame her. I can't sleep touching anybody either. It's weird. I know.) I just do what I used to do. I kiss her little hand and tell her that I love her. I can't remember the last time that she played the "I want you/I don't want you game".
She often asks us now to be rocked before bed, which is a new thing. She likes to sit tummy to tummy with her head turned to the side. But I will sometimes hold her like a tiny baby and sing ABC's (her current fave) to her. Sometimes she will gaze into my eyes the whole time (a very good attachment sign), and sometimes she looks around the room. Still, just the fact that she allows me to hold her like that is progress.
She sometimes asks me to feed her with a spoon like a baby. Again, it may sound like regression to the outside world, but in the adoption world, this means that she trusts me to give her food, and that she needs that extra bit of nurturing and love. She doesn't do bottles or sippies at all, so she still drinks from her own cup (while pointing at mine and saying MY and laughing).
Her relationship with the boys continues to grow and evolve. They love her. I overheard them discussing today how they are "falling in love with her". They have no idea what this means other than that they are crazy about her, which is true. When we returned from Ohio this week she asked about them constantly and couldn't wait to see them. So the feeling is mutual.
But the honeymoon is over though. They hit each other like most brothers and sisters now, which means that Kate NaNa has been introduced to the timeout chair. I usually sit down with her and talk to her about how she can't hit her brothers.
She is now comfortable staying in the nursery without me. I spent a couple of months going to Sunday School with her so that she would get used to the nursery area and the workers. Now I say, "I am going to _____. Do you want to come or do you want to play here?" Nine times out of ten she signs play, gives me a kiss, and has a great time. When I pick her up, she is happy to see me, gives me a big smile, and waves bye bye to the nearest adult. I was worried the surgery and time at home would mess up our work, but she was eager to get back to our weekly routine. Her transition has been great.
So, all of this paints a pretty rosy picture. Is everything perfect? No. She still can get clingy, push me away when she is mad, and scream when Daddy tries to put her to bed. And I am sure that as language develops and she gets older, more issues WILL arise. But I just have to take it one step at a time.
I started with a story, so I will end with one too. Early on, I had a big Aha moment one night when she woke up crying, but pushed me away. I forced myself on her, calmed her down, and as I left her room, Will started crying. His eyes weren't even open, but he heard me come in and instinctively raised his arms to me. I cuddled him a moment, and he drifted off again. The difference in their reactions was startling to me. Fast forward to now. One night this week Kate woke up crying. I went into her room to find her eyes closed, arms outstretched toward me. I cuddled her, and she was asleep in moments. I finally feel like when she cries "mama" in the middle of the night, she is talking about me. I doubt she has forgotten her foster mama (I have no desire to wipe out her memories), but she has accepted me now, and she trusts me. Precious.
OK, I lied. One more thing. I saw this link posted on someone else's blog recently, and I thought it was quite thought provoking. Check it out.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Just for Fun
My friend Tara tagged me in a photo game.
Now then, I tag...
These are the rules:
1. Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on the computer
2. Select the 4th picture in the folder
3. Explain the picture
4. Tag 4 people to do the same
4. Tag 4 people to do the same
5. No cheating (cropping, editing, etc.)
This picture was taken at my friend Shelley's house, where she was throwing a baby shower for Will. Most of my GP girls were there, plus families. Ben, age 2, is the kid in orange wearing potato head glasses, and the other little boy is Gabe. He is about a year older than Ben. We had 6 little boys running around the house that day. If we were all together now, we would have a grand total of 17 kids (13 boys, 4 girls). That's a lot of babies. Here are the other pictures I took of them, so you can actually see how cute they are.
Now then, I tag...1. Kristy
2. Wendy
4. Jeff
Update #2 - Ears
Although Kate's surgery will be life altering down the road, and it was certainly difficult at the time, we aren't really feeling the effects of having her palate repaired yet. There was no immediate sucking ability, no sudden improvements in speech that I would link to the repair.
However, there is one BIG improvement that often goes unnoticed because it has become our new norm. What is this big improvement you ask? Well, in the past month, Kathryn Xuna has had ZERO ear infections! Woohoo! Who knew I could get so excited about something so tiny as ear tubes?
Before we brought her home, we knew that there was a good chance that she would have chronic ear infections, possible deafness, and would likely need ear tubes. I didn't have a lot of experience in this area since Will only had two ear infections when he was tiny, and Ben has never had one. Fast forward to last October, and I have had a crash course in them. Since then, Kate has been on 5 different antibiotics to fight ear infections. I figured up at some point that she was on them more than she was off them. Poor kiddo. We were in the pediatrician's office weekly getting her ears checked out.
The first time we went to the ENT, he didn't even look at her ears. I told him she had had three infections (at that point), and he agreed on the spot that she needed the tubes. We were able to coordinate his services with the plastic surgeon, so she had the tubes put in just minutes before her palate was repaired. Dr. O came out and told us that often the fluid in the ear is very runny, but hers was more like tapioca pudding, which meant it had been there a long time. Who knows how many infections she had when she was in China? He had to suction it out. Ick.
He then told me that I would be able to diagnose her infections from now on. He said that there would be stuff running out of her ears, and he gave me some drops to put in them. At the time, I thought that the this was great because we are just about sick to death of running to the doctor every time she has a slight fever. But I have to say, there is so much freedom now. Take last week for example. We were in Ohio for 5 days, and my kids ALWAYS get sick when we go to Ohio. (Actually they always get sick when we go anywhere.) I always worry about packing the thermometer and tylenol and motrin and whatever else I predict a sick child will need. I worry about seeing an "out-of-network" doctor that my insurance may or may not pay for. This time, I threw in the ear drops and thermometer, and I didn't worry. I knew that if her ears started oozing, I had the drops and could deal with it. But the best part is, I haven't needed the ear drops since her recovery. She hasn't had a single ear infection in the past month!
Also with this improvement, we are hoping that her hearing will improve. Before her surgery, she had mild-moderate hearing loss. It was kind of like hearing underwater for her because of the tapioca ears. We had her hearing tested a couple of weeks ago, but we didn't get the results we wanted. Basically she wouldn't pay attention. She thinks the tests are fairly boring. One audiologist told me that was a sign of intelligence:)
I have feared that the hearing loss would be permanent. It is certainly a possibility. But then, the other day we were in Ohio, and there were birds chirping outside. It was a very soft sound. Honestly I didn't even notice it myself, until she started signing "bird bird". This is a very good sign because the chirping was similar in tone and volume to the sounds she wasn't responding to in the audiologist's office. So there is still the possibility that there is some permanent loss, but things are looking good. We are incredibly thankful for Kate's wonderful doctors. God has blessed us in bringing them to us.
However, there is one BIG improvement that often goes unnoticed because it has become our new norm. What is this big improvement you ask? Well, in the past month, Kathryn Xuna has had ZERO ear infections! Woohoo! Who knew I could get so excited about something so tiny as ear tubes?
Before we brought her home, we knew that there was a good chance that she would have chronic ear infections, possible deafness, and would likely need ear tubes. I didn't have a lot of experience in this area since Will only had two ear infections when he was tiny, and Ben has never had one. Fast forward to last October, and I have had a crash course in them. Since then, Kate has been on 5 different antibiotics to fight ear infections. I figured up at some point that she was on them more than she was off them. Poor kiddo. We were in the pediatrician's office weekly getting her ears checked out.
The first time we went to the ENT, he didn't even look at her ears. I told him she had had three infections (at that point), and he agreed on the spot that she needed the tubes. We were able to coordinate his services with the plastic surgeon, so she had the tubes put in just minutes before her palate was repaired. Dr. O came out and told us that often the fluid in the ear is very runny, but hers was more like tapioca pudding, which meant it had been there a long time. Who knows how many infections she had when she was in China? He had to suction it out. Ick.
He then told me that I would be able to diagnose her infections from now on. He said that there would be stuff running out of her ears, and he gave me some drops to put in them. At the time, I thought that the this was great because we are just about sick to death of running to the doctor every time she has a slight fever. But I have to say, there is so much freedom now. Take last week for example. We were in Ohio for 5 days, and my kids ALWAYS get sick when we go to Ohio. (Actually they always get sick when we go anywhere.) I always worry about packing the thermometer and tylenol and motrin and whatever else I predict a sick child will need. I worry about seeing an "out-of-network" doctor that my insurance may or may not pay for. This time, I threw in the ear drops and thermometer, and I didn't worry. I knew that if her ears started oozing, I had the drops and could deal with it. But the best part is, I haven't needed the ear drops since her recovery. She hasn't had a single ear infection in the past month!
Also with this improvement, we are hoping that her hearing will improve. Before her surgery, she had mild-moderate hearing loss. It was kind of like hearing underwater for her because of the tapioca ears. We had her hearing tested a couple of weeks ago, but we didn't get the results we wanted. Basically she wouldn't pay attention. She thinks the tests are fairly boring. One audiologist told me that was a sign of intelligence:)
I have feared that the hearing loss would be permanent. It is certainly a possibility. But then, the other day we were in Ohio, and there were birds chirping outside. It was a very soft sound. Honestly I didn't even notice it myself, until she started signing "bird bird". This is a very good sign because the chirping was similar in tone and volume to the sounds she wasn't responding to in the audiologist's office. So there is still the possibility that there is some permanent loss, but things are looking good. We are incredibly thankful for Kate's wonderful doctors. God has blessed us in bringing them to us.
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