The cost of being hard of hearing (and a parent!!!)

While on our second camping vacation of the year, no less at the amazing Rathtrevor Beach (Parksville, BC) - it suddenly dawned on me, being hard of hearing is a huge expense in itself! Not just for our parents when growing up (thank you mom and dad!), but even now, as an adult. Parenting often comes with added expenses - a bassinet, a crib, high chair, rocking chair, change table pads, diapers, diapers, diapers, wipes, bottles (if you're formula feeding), soothers, a pack n' play, car seat, stroller, clothes (aren't they the cutest!?), and other paraphernalia that I've failed to list.  Thank God we have a great medical plan.

Benefits of being a hard of hearing mommy

You may be wondering by now "That's tough, being a mommy and hard of hearing". Yes, it can be challenging, but it can also be a good thing. Since my birthday came and arrived a few days ago (363 more days until I hit the big 3-0), I've decided to take a positive spin on my life so far. Then I thought, why not compile a list of the benefits of being a hard of hearing mommy? Some of you might find it funny, or even insightful. We often take our abilities for granted.

In no particular order, these are some of the benefits:

• If I really need a break from all the screams, I can just take off my Cochlear Implant (CI) off and have complete silence. A break for the brain.
• When changing Rachel's diapers in the middle of the night (she absolutely hates getting her diapers changed then), I don't have to hear her ear-piercing screams (I can tell just by how red her face gets that it's pretty LOUD).

  

  My screaming baby girl! (this was when she was only a day old)

Strawberry Festival

Strawberries and ice cream. YUM. What more can a girl ask for?

One of my favorite fruits!

Roughin' it out: Camping

I'll be the first to admit it, I didn't grow up camping. My parents didn't really care much for it (instead, we did super exotic trips abroad... another story for another time), and the only experience that I had camping was going with my aunt and cousins when I was 10 years old. They took me twice, and then... *long pause* I went again in 2010, this time at the age of 25. The 15 year no-camping period made me a pampered princess, perhaps almost afraid of getting dirty. Had my husband not been such a great camper and former boy-scout, I don't think I would have gotten back into camping quite so well. It's a wonderful challenge, for the following reasons:

How we wake up at night (Part 2)

If you personally know me, you would know that my husband and I love to travel whenever we can. In fact, before we got married we actually had to *test* the waters out as travelers (Too many friendships can get ruined just by going on vacation... and don't worry, we had separate rooms) by going to the International Federation of Hard of Hearing Young People's (IFHOHYP) Summercamp, in Fiesch, Switzerland (we did a quick tour of London, Vienna, Venice and Zurich on the side too).  Fortunately for us, we only had one minor disagreement - in Venice, we both argued on what would be the best way to get back to the hotel (turns out we were BOTH right... what are the odds!?!).

How we wake up at night (Part 1)

Since introducing The Hard of Hearing Mommy Blog, we have been flooded with several emails as to how exactly we wake up at night when Rachel's crying. It's a wonderful world that we live in, especially since technology wasn't available to us a mere 20 years ago!

I'll answer everyone's big burning question in two parts: part one will cover our wake up system at home, and part two will look at what we do when we're on the road/traveling (as our home system isn't completely portable). Two different strategies, and we hope they'll work for you and for others in the future (or, *nudge nudge* for manufacturers to consider making a baby monitor SPECIFICALLY for those who are hard of hearing!).

Fears for the Future

This post will be a bit different. I thought it would be interesting to list down a few of my fears for the future... and then maybe one day I'll go back to this list and see if those fears ever materialize!

Quiet Time

Nowadays, quiet time is the only time during the day that I have to myself, 100%. Ironically, I can have quiet time whenever I like to - when I take out my cochlear implant processor. Sounds are turned off in an instant. The hustle and bustle of noise becomes pure silence. However idyllic that sounds, it isn't quite so. My brain doesn't really stop working, and sometimes I think I still hear sounds without the help of my hearing devices! (or, I have a really active imagination).

Ambition

Before Rachel's arrival, I was working for the Provincial Government. The pay was excellent, the job was great (although there were times when I wanted to pull my hair out), and the people were relatively easy to work with. I was about 10 weeks pregnant when my contract expired - at that point I had two options,

Pilot

Hello, Salut, Hej, Shalom, Konichiwa, Ola!

Welcome to my blog. My name is Monique, and I'm a mommy to a beautiful seven month old girl named Rachel. For all intents and purposes, this blog is meant for me to chronicle my daily experiences as a hard of hearing mommy. It isn't meant to contain all-encompassing knowledge, or be a source of ridicule (for whatever I may write in the future). It is simply a heart-to-heart discussion on paper. Most mommies understand the need for a cathartic relief from everyday chores. Most hard of hearing people understand the need to express struggles and challenges that we face daily. This is my story.