Sunday Funday... I've mastered two new tricks today!

This video captures two important milestones.
Madison began "turning" towards her name just a couple of weeks ago - it was so nice to witness, but was it just a coincident? Well Madison turns towards her name 99% of the time and we are convinced she knows that is her name. I also believe she knows "dog" & "Alan". When we ask her "where is Alan.... Where is the dog...?" it really seems as if she is looking for him!!
Rewarding with food has finally paid off - it looks like we will spend the upcoming weekend, baby proofing the apartment!

On The Cusp

6 weeks ago, my “ears” were activated.  During this time, I’ve begun to hear sounds I never knew existed…. The microwave warming up my food, a phone ringing, the door buzzing, the dog barking (well, on occasion), my toys playing music, water filling up my bathtub, mommy & daddy calling my name and saying “I LOVE YOU”… the list is endless.   Since my surgery, I have been to the audiologist 4 times, and will continue to go there for the rest of my life.  My therapists, nanny and parents have been training me on the “LING” sounds.  These sounds represent various speech sounds from low to high pitch.  They are very important to focus on because hearing these sounds ensures that I am hearing everyday conversation.  My parents (and therapists) have “special toys” that they use during play time to incorporate each of these 6 sounds:

Ahhhhh – Airplane is flying by and goes “AHHHH”

Eeeee – Monkey says “EEE EEE EEE”

Ooooo – Cow says “MOOOOOO”

Mmmm – This ice cream tastes good “MMMMM”

Shhhh – The baby is sleeping “SHHHHH”

Ssssss – Here comes a Snake “SSSSS”

In addition, Madison had her PT evaluation occur during the first 15 minutes of her individual speech therapy session at Clarke last Friday March 9.  The evaluation occurred at 8:30 am (with her group therapy session from 9-10 am).  The physical therapist joined Daddy, Gloria, Madison and Lauren.  Upon her arrival she asked, “Does Madison like strangers.”  At that point, Daddy knew things weren’t going to go well.  Madison is pretty particular with the people she likes…she has her inner circle of females – mainly Mommy, Gloria and Jessica – and isn’t too fond of any other ladies.  The therapist takes Madison and then lies her on the ground (on her back) expecting her to move around.  Madison doesn’t move at all.  She’s frozen, like a mummy.  The therapist then tries to “move” Madison and immediately tears begin flowing from Madison’s eyes.  The therapist leaves the room and watches from the observation window and Madison becomes a little more mobile.  The therapist then re-enters and Daddy and Gloria discuss her movements at home.  The therapist believes that Madison is on the cusp of crawling, but if she is not crawling within 4-6 weeks, Madison needs to have another evaluation.  After we were done conversing, Madison pointed at the therapist (she loves to point!!!) and then pointed at the door – instructing her to leave.  Everyone laughed. 

The physical therapist also advised us to have Madison spend as much time as possible on the floor, making sure that we place her favorite toys (or favorite dog!) out of reach, which will encourage Madison to explore… Brian and I are amazed at her progress over these past 10 days.   Expect to see a video of the little Miss crawling within the next week or so… She really is THAT CLOSE!  

Despite my busy schedule, there is still time for some F-U-N!

Can't beat 70 degree weather in NYC during "the winter" - First time on a real swing... I'm so in love!

I began weekly music class with 6 other babies my age... I love banging on the drum and playing with the rain stick.  

Check out my new floor mat.... I spend so much time rolling around learning how to crawl.  Somebody else decided to roll around in it as well....

Any guess who the culprit was???

March 8, 2012 - 9 months old today!

Little Miss Madison turns 9 months old today.... 28 inches long and 18.3 lbs! Madison was in serious mode during today's photo shoot and we couldn't crack one smile out of her.  Today was a busy day for everyone - a morning audiology mapping appointment, followed by a mid-day play at the park (thank you for the 70 degree weather in NYC today) and lastly, an afternoon appointment with the pediatrician.... All in all it was a very good day - but the little lady was beyond tired, even for just one tiny smile.
Tomorrow, mark's Madison's 1 month hearing day! Which I can not believe how fast time flies... Things have been progressing very nicely with regards to Madison's hearing and we will be posting an update.
In addition, it has been suggested that Madison receives a Physical Therapy (PT) evaluation.  We received this news yesterday by The Clarke School (which is the location of her speech therapy and group therapy every Friday).  The main reason revolves around the fact that Madison is not crawling at 9 months of age.  We are trying not to get too concerned just yet - Madison will be evaluated tomorrow morning during her speech therapy session.
Stay tuned...

That's Your Mommy!

We had a 9am appointment at NYU for Madison’s activation this morning.  Madison’s behavior and responses would dictate whether one or both of her ears would be activated.  She did extremely well and both of her ears were activated!  In addition to the NYU audiology staff, a representative from Advanced Bionics was present, as Madison was the first Neptune device activation at NYU.

The staff had already put the Neptune device together, with pink accent covers, which matched Madison’s attire just beautifully!  The magnet inside the Neptune device quickly found the implant and stuck to the outside of her head. Brian and I didn’t know what to expect for the activation...  We were told that she may cry, she may laugh, she may do nothing.  What transpired was a set of reactions similar to her sound booth appointments, but without blaring noises being pumped directly into her ear.  Instead, she was reacting to sound (and sometimes even turning towards sound) that was at conversation levels.

Activation - Left Ear

Everyone was happy with her reactions to the left ear, so they moved onto the right ear.  Again, Madison’s reactions were very similar.  She has always been an extremely attentive child – as we would expect since she’s hard of hearing.  However, during the appointments, it seemed as if she was trying to get everything in, almost on information overload.  She was extremely quiet and only said something once or twice during the entire 1.5 hours.  

Activation - Right Ear

The second half of the appointment was spent with our audiologist and AB representative going over the “two suitcases” we received that was full of equipment, parts, gadgets, etc.  There is a lot of maintenance that will need to be done throughout the day, as well as end of day.  Because there was so much to learn and digest on day 1 (not just for Madison), we will not be receiving/activating her Harmony (backup) device for a few weeks… where we will receive two more suitcases.

The devices were not turned on to full blast.  Instead, the first 3 programs they installed will introduce Madison to sound.  In fact, we need to head back tomorrow to get another set of mappings done…  then a third appointment the following week.  She will then return every month and receive an evaluation mid-May, where she will be put in the sound booth.  Following this evaluation, we were told that Madison would return roughly every 3-4 months until she is an adult – where she will than go for annual visits.  Yes, a lot of appointments for the little lady!!

In the afternoon, we took Madison to The Center for her daily speech therapy appointment with Jessica.  Before our session started, we were greeted by the entire staff - who were so happy to see Madison sporting her new implants! We started at The Center about 6 months ago, and today was really the first day Madison could truly hear sound.   Back in a similar environment, Madison was super-chatty during her session.  Responding to sound, playing with toys.  It was a wonderful seeing her so happy.

There is a long road ahead of us… Many days filled with tears of joy and many days filled with heartache and sorrows.  We look forward to enjoying many rewarding moments as Madison embarks on this journey to sound – many of which most people take for granted.  We hope to give Madison the strength she needs to overcome the many challenges that she will face as she grows older.   

February 8, 2012 - 8 months old!

All About Madison's New Ears

Many of you have been asking us how Madison's implant will allow her to hear.  Here is a brief overview of how the cochlear implant device works.  Madison received an implant in both her right and left ears.  After much research, Brian and I decided that the Advanced Bionics system is the best choice for our family.  For more information, feel free to view their website: http://www.advancedbionics.com/

A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf.  Cochlear implants can restore hearing in patients suffering deafness due to loss of sensory hair cells in their cochlea.  They can often restore sufficient hearing to allow understanding of speech in a quiet background, but the restored, electrical hearing is much less rich than natural hearing, and offers only very limited appreciation of musical melody, or speech understanding in noisy environments.

How Hearing with a Cochlear Implant System Works:

A cochlear implant system consists of two main components.  The external component, which consists of a sound processor (one worn on outer ear and the other worn discreetly on body) and a magnetic headpiece (worn on the head).  Madison will have two different types of processors:

Harmony Headpiece & Processor  - worn on the ear

Neptune Headpiece & Processor - worn elsewhere

The internal component is the actual implant, which delivers sound to the hearing nerve.

This diagram below illustrates how a cochlear implant will bypass the "damaged part" of the ear:

- Sound is captured by a microphone on the sound processor.
- The sound processor converts the captured sound into detailed digital information.
- The magnetic headpiece transmits the digital signals to the internal implant under the skin.
- The implant turns the received digital information into electrical information that travels down the electrode array to the auditory nerve.
- The auditory nerve sends impulses to the brain, where they are interpreted as sound.

Just 4 more days until Madison's new ears are turned on for the very first time! We have been looking forward to this day for quite some time.  Stay tuned for a video documenting the moment Madison first hears sound. 

Love, Madison

A big THANK YOU to all of my family and friends for your kind gestures as I recover from my procedure.  I was so happy to be greeted by so many people during my stay in the hospital.  I am one lucky girl to have so many wonderful people in my life!

Out of my three best friends, two came to see me shortly after my surgery.  Gloria, who many of you know is my nanny, she is also my best friend.  I was so happy to have her care for me and hold me while I was in discomfort after the procedure.

Jessica, my speech therapist at the center, is another one of my best friends.  I was about to take a snooze and in walked Jessica!  I was in so much pain so it was difficult to greet her with a smile.  I look forward to seeing her next week, as I will be ready to go back to speech therapy classes.

My bandages were removed the morning after the procedure.  I was such a good girl and didn't even fuss.

An hour later, we were discharged from the hospital.  I was finally able to go home to see my other best friend, who happens to be my dog, Alan.  He wasn't allowed to visit me at the hospital so I didn't see him until I got home.  I was so happy to pet him and he attacked me with many kisses.

Many of you ask how I am doing? I have been sleeping better each night... and I am pretty much back to my regular schedule during the day.  I have to take yucky antibiotics for the next week - but aside from that, I am just fine! I have a busy month coming up in February.  My "new ears" will be turned on Thursday, February 9th.  I am so excited and can't wait to hear my mommy and daddy's voices for the first time.  My follow up appointment with Dr. Roland is the next day - he will take a look at my incisions and make sure everything is healing properly.  So the count-down finally begins... 12 more days to go until my journey to hearing begins! Stay tuned.... 

Love, Madison