MRI

My sweet baby was a champ for her MRI! On September 9th we made our way to Children's Hospital early in the morning, our first stop; radiology. There they placed some numbing cream on both her arms and feet so they would be numb for the needle stick. Upon returning from registration the sweet nurse in charge of Emerson asked me a few questions and realized I was "medical." She said, "you know since you're medical we won't get the stick." Sure enough after missing the first 2 times, I requested they use a scalp vein instead of continuing to "search" as they are usually a little bigger. The 3rd stick was successful and my little sunshine was ready for sedation.

They used propofol which burns when it's injected. She had screamed so much from the sticking that she was sweaty and already exhausted. As soon as they started injecting the medication, she started screaming, about 10 seconds into that she made a sigh of relief and off to sleep she went. The MRI lasted about 1 hr and she woke up an unhappy camper. The nurse said, "they usually wake up happy," go figure :) About 1hr later, she was back to her happy, content little self. I was so thankful to have this test complete.

I took a copy of the MRI home with me and Jesse had a radiologist here in Chattanooga do a favor for us, a "preliminary" read on the scan. He said no doubt she has her auditory nerves!!!!! Praise the Lord!!! Dr. Little called yesterday to confirm that her scan looked great, no atrophy of the nerves and they are all present!!! One more test off the checklist, one to go..... Sept. 28th, little bit will have her complete auditory testing under sedation, and later that afternoon we will have our followup appt. with Dr. Little. Please continue to pray for her health, appropriate development, and good test results.

FYI: She is continuing to develop right on time! She has had her 1st laugh, rolled over, and is passing toys from one hand to the other!!! and....... She continues to "TALK" to us all day!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever

1 Chronicles 16:34

CT Scan Update

Good News!! Jesse spoke with Dr. Little on Thursday and he informed us that Little bit's CT was normal, meaning no calcification of the cochlea. Praise the Lord!!! Two tests down, 2 to go....

1)MRI: Sept. 9th, under sedation

2)ABR/Complete Auditory testing: Sept. 28th, under sedation

Please pray for Emerson's health and safety as they have to sedate her for these last 2 tests.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, again I will say REJOICE. Philippians 4:4

It's NEVER Too Early

Emerson spent this past Saturday in Knoxville with her Poppy and CC (my parents) while I was at work and Jesse tended to some business there. Poppy taught his little princess her first bible verses. When they called me to recite them to, the entire time Poppy was reciting the verses she babbled right along with him. It's NEVER too early to start teaching of the Lord's miraculous, undeserving, unconditional love.

Her 1st 2 verses:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

2 Month Check-Up

My how time flies! Yesterday, August 8th, was Emerson's 2 month check-up. Here are her stats:

Weight: 12 lbs. 2 ozs. 75-90%

Height: 23.5 inches 75-90%

Head: 15 inches

Dr. Good and I discussed developmental mile stones. Here are a few of the many that Emerson has attained:

Social Smile

Better head control

Rolls from her back to her side

Reaches to swat at toys

Tracks with her eyes

Watching her mobile

Has different cries for different things

I just had my shots cry

Too many pictures mom!

Last but certainly not least she is cooing and making all kinds of conversation!! PRAISE THE LORD!! She is even making a lot of guttural sounds, which Dr. Good says shouldn't happen for a couple more months. I believe it's because she can feel those sounds when they are made.

I have been anxiously awaiting these little noises to come out of her mouth. There is nothing sweeter to my ears than to hear her use her voice. You see, for many deaf babies they may start out making a little noise, but many stop because they can't hear themselves. The deaf educator that came to do her assessment for TEIS (Tennessee Early Intervention Services) explained that every time she makes these noises we should get in her face, be really animated, smile and point to our ear and say, "I hear you." This positive affirmation will hopefully help her continue to make noises, especially as she gets a little older.

Prayer request: That she continues to develop appropriately and continues to expand her baby babble!

As you may know, this appointment is when she got her first round of immunizations. I opted not to give her tylenol due to some studies that I've read recently that say mounting a small fever will help her mount a good immune response. She never ceases to amaze me, she took it like a champ! Only one loud cry and then she went to sleep in my arms. Yesterday she was a little more sleepy and fussy than usual, but she slept 6.5hrs through the night and is back to her norm this morning. GOD IS GOOD and HE IS ABLE!

Give thanks to the Lord for He is Good, His love endures FOREVER. Psalm 107:1

Genetics Update

This past Friday I received a call from, Dr. Steven's office regarding mine and Jesse's genetics testing. Connexin 26 is indeed the reason for Emerson's deafness, HALLELUJAH!. Jesse and I both passed her a mutation causing this recessive trait to be expressed. I am so thankful to say that deafness caused by connexin 26, is non-syndromic isolated deafness.

But I will hope continually and praise you yet more and more. Psalm 71:14

CT SCAN COMPLETE!!

On August 4th, at 8:30 Emerson was scheduled for a CT to determine if her cochlea is calcified. Let me start by saying this is quite possibly the hardest thing I have ever had to do. The CT was supposed to be sleep deprived. I was instructed to wake her up at 4:00am, keep her hungry and awake until we arrived at the hospital at 8:00 for registration. At that time I was supposed to feed her and she was supposed to fall sound asleep. Well, let's just say it didn't go as expected. Little bit has been sleeping 6-8hrs through the night for the past 2-3 wks, so when I woke her at 4am she had already been without food for 7 hrs. The first hour was a breeze. My mom and I were able to amuse her, but the ceiling fan did most of the work. After that, it was all downhill! She began to cry and cry and cry. She cried so hard for the next 3 hrs, that her little body was quivering. It got to the point that we couldn't even put her paci in or hold her for more than a few seconds because she would start to fall asleep. When we arrived at the hospital at 7:45 it was getting more difficult to keep her awake. I went into registration and when I came out my mom had her stripped down and was wiping cold baby wipes on her to no avail, Emerson was down for the count. The problem: she hadn't eaten in over 11 hrs. She was supposed to eat BEFORE she fell asleep. I tried everything to wake her up and she wouldn't so much as flinch. She was listless and I was a little worried she was hypoglycemic. Our CT wasn't scheduled for another 30 mins, but fortunately, a tech saw me desperately trying to get her to breastfeed in the lobby and I explained to her the situation. They immediately took us to the scanner, laid her little listless body on the table, and within 3 mins the scan was complete. Almost the very minute the scan was completed, her little eyes began to flutter, coincidence??? I think not!! Praise the Lord for all the prayers that went before her!! My little warrior stayed completely still for the scan so we didn't have to repeat it and then latched on and ate like a champ! She stayed awake for another hour before she crashed. I am so thankful that this test is complete. Now all we have to do is WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!! Isn't this a great game?!?!?

Immediately after the scan

Let us then with CONFIDENCE draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

The prayer of a righteous person has GREAT POWER as it is working. James 5:16b

WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE!!!

Hearing Aid Fitting

On Monday, August 1st at 9am, my little one was fitted with her first set of hearing aids! YAY!!! She was a trooper. She was fitted with a BTE (behind the ear) aid that has a mold for her ear. They are her new purple bling! They have a 55 dB (decibel) gain, which means they amplify the sound in her environment by 55 dB.

She's so young that it's very hard to objectively tell how much she is actually hearing, but when her left aid was put in, she got very still and looked to the left. When her right aid was placed she stopped sucking on her pacifier and her eyes were as big as saucers. After the initial placement it's been hard to tell what she is actually hearing, but it seems as if she hears deeper voices, such as her daddy's and poppy's (grandfather's) voice better than any other. We remain hopeful that as she gets a little older we will be able to more objectively tell what she is hearing. After we've completed the full auditory testing, which is scheduled September 28th, we'll know exactly what her aids allow her to hear.

After one day of using the hearing aids, we quickly realized this is going to be more of a challenge than we had anticipated. Her little ears are so pliable it's hard to keep the aid in place, not to mention her little hands seem to find their way to her ears and she pulls them off. We also realized that her right aid was having to be replaced more frequently because the mold did not fit as snug in that ear. Another appointment made for wednesday morning allowed a new mold to be fitted free of cost, (Praise the Lord!), for that ear. We are waiting for that one to arrive.

As the week moved on, we realized a headband was the way to hold these babies on! She is getting used to the idea of this and is pulling less frequently at them! Looks like she'll be wearing headbands a lot!

We are scheduled for a follow-up appt. on 8/16/11. At that time, Wendy, (the audiologist) will adjust the filter and the volume and we will recheck her molds to make sure they still fit correctly. She is growing so fast, her molds will have to be replaced often. I am so thankful she has her hearing aids and am anxious to see how they work for her. Now that she has her aids she will begin therapy in Knoxville. Our first session is August 31st! I had the opportunity this past Thursday to visit the therapy center and observe children with cochlear implants, ages 2-11 years receiving therapy. WOW!! It was AMAZING!! Oh, how I pray that little bit will be a candidate. I can't wait to get started and am so thankful to be moving forward! The Lord continues to be faithful and continues to show me everyday how nothing happens by accident. I am so thankful the Lord has blessed me with this sweet baby girl, she continues to amaze me everyday!

Psalm 100

Make a JOYFUL NOISE to the Lord all the earth!

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with SINGING!

Know that the Lord, HE IS GOD! It is HE who made us, and we are HIS; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter His gates with THANKSGIVING, and His courts with PRAISE! GIVE THANKS TO HIM; bless His name!

For the LORD IS GOOD; His STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOREVER, and His faithfulness to all generations.

Continuing the Journey,

Cristin