Travel Post: Our trip to the Caribbean (Part 1)

Better late than never, that's what I tell myself with each blog post I do. Sometimes I get all gung-ho and do multiple blog posts in a few weeks, and then there are times when you get caught up in life and the blog takes a backseat.

That's perfectly OK in my book. Be prepared for a flurry of blog posts for the next short while!

To recap, my parents celebrated their 40th anniversary this past September, and to celebrate, they took us on a 1-week cruise to the Caribbean and a 10 day stint in Florida, where we had the opportunity to do Disney World!


To date this was probably the most exhausting trip I've ever taken, with the 5800km road trip we completed earlier in March (read the blog posts on that here) coming in second place.

Exhausting as in: 
-My feet are so sore and yet, I keep plugging along.
-My days started at 630am and didn't end until 10pm...
-I fell asleep each night with no issues (if you know me, it can sometimes take me a LONG time to fall asleep!)
-Teething, fevers, colds = WHY do they have to happen during a holiday!?
-Flying with kids. Yikes.

However exhausting it was, it was all absolutely worth it. Here's an overview.

Hearing while Swimming

For my birthday earlier this year, my husband gifted me with something very unique...

A Nucleus Aqua+ kit!

What is that you may ask? Just look at this photo:

I spy with my little eye a Mama who can hear!

What's so special about this photo? Aside from my really cute little 1 year old, who was attending her first ever swim lessons? (We live on an Island, so naturally the need to learn how to swim is important) I can hear for the very FIRST time in water. In water. 

Mia, the Wildlife Photographer - Doll Review

A month ago, a friend and fellow blogger alerted me to the Irish-based company Lottie Doll's Mia, the Wildlife Photographer doll.

My first impression upon learning about Mia? This is a doll I wish I had when I was growing up.  

From a Parent's Perspective
As a hard of hearing mommy who wears a Cochlear Implant, this doll had a unique feature to it - Mia, aside from being fashion forward has a Cochlear Implant (!!!!!!!!! cue my jaw dropping!!!!!). 
 

My head shot of Mia. Isn't she gorgeous!?

When the doll arrived, I was in awe with the detail. It's smaller than a typical life-sized doll (18 cm tall), perfect for my 1 year old's nimble hand - though intended for ages 3 and up. My 4 year old loved how she could pack it easily in her backpack to take for show and tell at preschool. Her exposure alone to several preschoolers who likely don't know what a cochlear implant is powerful already.

My daughters love playing with Mia's hair and showing off her Cochlear Implant

Goodbye HOH, Hello Deaf Sleep

As part of my work, I have recently become very fascinated with how Hard of Hearing (HOHs) people sleep. When we go to sleep, we essentially become deaf - meaning we are completely oblivious to all sounds (in my case I am).

Specifically, the differences between how HOH kids sleep versus HOH adults. This brief article will be based on my personal experiences as I haven't heard all the stories out there about HOH sleeping patterns. I'll start with the kid version of myself.

This isn't me, but I like to think I was that cute once. (Photo credit: Pixabay.com)

Kid Monique (let's assume ages 4 to 18)

• Night light: I used one until I was well into my teens! Am I embarrassed by this fact? Maybe only slightly. My blinds were your basic shutter blinds - no black out curtains involved!
• It was essential as I am a visual person and not being able to see my surroundings as a hard of hearing person left me feeling nervous.
• Heavy blankets: I liked them from the get go. Even though it's not recommended for young kids, I enjoyed them because it meant I could wrap myself in a cocoon - and then eventually kick off the sheets as the night went on.
• Having mom and dad stay in the room with me until I fell asleep (ok - this only went on until I entered intermediate school, thankfully!)
• Mom always helped me put away my hearing aids - knowing that they were tucked safely away gave me a sense of security. To this day, I have never ever worn my hearing assistive devices to sleep. It's just way too disruptive!
• Mom was my alarm clock.

Some really cool tips are presented here for parents with kids with a hearing loss on how to achieve much needed sleep (and actual adult time in the evenings): Tips for establishing a bedtime routine for deaf children.

Happy 15 years!

Today marks the 15th anniversary of my partnership with a certain piece of technology - my cochlear implant! I am very thankful to have this wonderful partnership as it has been of huge benefit to me, despite a rocky start with it.

With Cindy Gustin, my audiologist on my switch on day. (Can you tell I looked like an impressed 17 year old?)

I was activated 15 years ago for the first time. After taking a month to heal. My 17 year old self was smart enough at the time to keep a journal of my initial journey. On this day in 2002, I wrote:

An Advantage or a Disadvantage?

Is it an advantage or a disadvantage for the hard of hearing person if they don't hear a fart?

Case in point: my husband recently told me that he often farts in front of me - especially at night when I don't have my hearing assistive devices on. The only time when I do know if he farts without my hearing assistive devices on is when there's a huge stink involved.

Other case in point: We were watching TV and out came this big boom. Me = "what on earth was that!?!'" Husband = *snickering* "I farted" Me = *face of disgust and groan*

So what do you think? Advantage or disadvantage?

I vote advantage. Ignorance can be bliss.

Ava Scribe

If you're deaf or hard of hearing, you'll know that reliable transcription (voice to text) services are valued, and often comes at a hefty cost! This article is about a new transcription app that a new audiologist friend of mine introduced to me not long ago. It's called Ava Scribe (I'll call it Ava for short)! You can find it on your iPhone or Android devices. I have a Samsung, so that gives you a bit of perspective where my technology use is at.

The logo for Ava Scribe

At first, when I heard about Ava I was intrigued. First off, it's free (yay! But there is a slight catch... more on that later), and had the ability to transcribe conversations in real time. Wow. For the deaf or hard of hearing consumer, this could be life changing.