Awakening my left ear after 14 years!

Last year in October, I went over to Vancouver for work/training. Someone asked me the question: why don't you wear a hearing aid in your left ear? At the time, I only had a cochlear implant on my right ear.

Good question! Let me give you a history lesson:

Back in 2002, when I received my CI the philosophy was that I should focus on using my implant, rather than using both types of technology. That was the recommendation I was given then, and I accepted it, based on scientific findings.

Fast forward to 2013, my husband got his CI. Contrary to my experience, he was actually encouraged to use his hearing aid in tandem. The idea for me to use a hearing aid at the time was suggested, but I wasn't ready. Not when I was just about to have my first child!

Now, with a second child and an already loud 3-year old, I just thought: hmmm... what's the harm?? I'll give it a try for a month, and if I don't like it, I'll return it. Simple. My husband, a few months earlier had upgraded his hearing aid from a Phonak Naida to the Resound Enzo 7. He commented that he really liked it, and even better - Resound and Cochlear Corp actually worked together to pair the two different technologies!

Meet Enzo!

Back to writing!

Time flies.

The last time I actually wrote something was in October 2016. That was five months ago. No, I haven't been lazy, in case you were wondering.

A lot has been happening. I thought it would be prudent to take a break and do some actual self-care.

A number of friends, family, and online acquaintances know that I've been working through Postpartum Anxiety. It's no fun, and yet, it's so common - though easily hidden. Fortunately, I didn't have to take medication for this as my husband has been my rock through this period of time. It's considerably better than it was two months ago, and I'm feeling so much like myself lately.

I don't have many photos of myself with my girls - need to change that!

A Baby Monitor Upgrade!

Yay! We finally upgraded our latest baby monitor.

In case you didn't know, we had the Foscam 8910 system setup for our first, Rachel. The system worked awesome, especially once we figured out the proper sensitivity/squelch levels. I even wrote about it on this blog, read it here.

With our second, we opted to use the same set up that we started nearly three years ago. Unfortunately for us, the camera got fried when we took it with us on our recent road trip. Fortunately, when we got home my parents had a spare camera for us- they use the same system for when our threenager naps at their place.

Initially, we thought we would purchase the same camera as before - my husband even checked Foscam's website and they were no longer providing customer support in the event of camera malfunction. So without further ado, that led to the hunt for a new camera. 

The Newborn Hearing Screening Test

In British Columbia, we have a newborn hearing screening test that occurs either in the hospital (usually within a day or two after birth) or at an audiology clinic (for us in Victoria, this is usually within a Public Health Unit). We've done the screening test twice. On the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) website, it states that hearing screening occurs for over 97% of all babies born in BC. I thought it would be cool to write about the Newborn Hearing Screening test - especially since it means early intervention for hearing loss has improved significantly in the last decade. It is so easy for hearing loss to go by unnoticed! 

That being said, I'm very fortunate that my parents found out about my hearing loss a month after I was born due to the nature of my birth (rubella in pregnancy).

Riding in Style

Just returned from family vacation time! (or as my toddler refers to it as 'Vacaciones' - you can tell she's been watching too much Dora the Explorer...). Our road trip was the longest car trip we'll be taking this year as we try to stick to 100km or less per month in car usage.

If you recall, we are a one-car family. I wrote an article about it a few months ago and the response was surprising - a number of Facebook friends came out of the closet as mustachians! What is mustachianism, you ask? It is the art of achieving financial freedom through badassity. 

That means we try to be as efficient with our lives as possible, including not using our car unnecessarily - or purchasing a second vehicle (though there are moments when I'm hugely tempted to just buy another car because it's way easier than getting around on foot).

Around 6 weeks postpartum, I started going out for longer walks. Initially I started out with my Boba baby wrap and single Bob Stroller. It didn't take me too long to realize that this set up wasn't going to work out in the long run as I was not able to walk briskly. Prior to finding out baby number 2's impending arrival, we purchased a Chariot Cougar 2 (double seater) for my bike.

The Devaluation of the Hard of Hearing Person?

It comes as no surprise that being hard of hearing has led to many chance encounters with a variety of people. Most of the time, as Canadians, we are far too polite to open our mouths when we see something out of the ordinary.

Other times, we get pretty ignorant questions, such as:

"If you and your husband can't hear, does that mean that your children won't be able to hear?"  Answer: Not necessarily.

"How did your children end up with normal hearing?" Answer: we don't know. They just have normal hearing like your kids!

"How do you talk on the phone?" Answer: do you hear me talking to you right this moment?

One month and two poops later

Two days ago marked one month since Baby #2's arrival! (I had planned to post yesterday, but had to deal with two poonamis)

We welcomed a new little princess, Sarah - it's been nothing but a time of joy and grabbing sleep whenever possible for us. 

Family is everything (10 day old baby girl here)

Some highlights leading up to the big event:

• 2 weeks of prodromal labour: This all started when my husband went to Winnipeg for a conference when I was 38 weeks along. Labour literally started, getting more intense, and then stopping for 2 solid weeks. It was a time of uncertainty and anxiety.
• Attempting a VBAC: Since my first was a C-section, I wasn't allowed to pursue any other forms of induction for fear of uterine rupture. Most of my days in the 3rd trimester were spent being as active as possible to eating whatever the heck I wanted to eat (Chips! Ice cream! Cake!)
• Pushing back my 'backup' c-section date. We had a date in mind (June 6), then my midwife encouraged me to push the date to give my body more time to go into natural labour.
• Taking this photo: pretty much the last shot of me pregnant with Sarah. Taken only 5 hours prior to meeting the newest addition!
  

  

  Photo taken at 5:57am - just before heading to the hospital