One of the pigeon chicks is 1 week old today (the lazier one will be one week old tomorrow). Here's a glimpse into pigeon growth & development in the first week:
Day 1:
Tiny enough to fit in an egg, with my rings
Day 2:
The lazy baby hatched, too!
Day 3:
Still little enough to fit on my lens cap
Day 4:
Two chick butts sticking out from under MP
See the first hints of grey by the shoulder blade? Grey feathers are soon to come
Day 5:
Maya comes to meet the pigeons . . . which MP does not like:
Hrmphh. I'm going to wait over here.
Mama! There's a pigeon over there!
The yellow baby feathers are getting more and more sparse, and I see grey down the wings and on the chest now. And their eyes are open!
Maya: There are baby birds! Right over there!
Parker: I wish I could see :(
Day 7: (That's today)
Look at the little flight feathers coming in, all down the wing!
See my engagement ring? (Directly in front of the bird on your right). Man, birds grow fast!
Yesterday I mentioned that she recognized some letters at the pool, so today I was going to make some letter flashcards. I printed out letters in a giant font, cut them out, taped them to index cards (half an index card per letter) and put them through the laminator. My plan was to cut them out while we ate breakfast, but Maya was being especially cranky, so I gave her a whole laminated sheet of letters to play with, and decided to ask her about them.
Ok, I had thought that she would know A and M, because we do a lot of "M is for Maya" and the letter A just shows up a lot (like in ABCs, on blocks, etc). But J? H? What in the world? She must have learned them from her letter video and the general talking about letters that we do every day----but I'm shocked!
So I finished the letter cards this morning. They look like this:
And then I hole-punched them and stuck them on a key ring for each transport and storage. I'm not sure what I'm going to use them for, but hopefully having them handy will lead to simple reinforcing moments. Now when I say "Blueberries start with B . . . b-b-blueberries" I can also flash the card to make that connection.
(If you're a parent or educator who has done other letter stuff, or you have ideas on how to use the cards, drop me a line please--- uncommonfeedback@gmail.com)
(Actually, day swimming. But if I write Nightswimming then the REM song starts in my head and I love having that song playing in my head, so I'm keeping it.)
We've had two days of oppressive heat & humidity here . . . what better day to re-join the pool? As a suburb girl, I'm a fan of the outdoor summer pool---but here in our neighborhood the indoor one turned out to be cheaper (and it has longer hours, and includes a gym membership----how is that even possible?) . . . regardless, we'll be hanging out (indoor) poolside this summer.
Before we could leave for the pool I told Maya "We have to take Parker out to go potty" and I went to find my sunglasses . . . when I turned around, she was holding the leash!
Is this what you're looking for, Mom?
Parker! Stay still! Don't eat the leash! We have to get this on so quick . . . mama said she's takin' me to the pool!
Who cares if the leash isn't on?! Let's go!
Fun times were had by all at the pool. I took some pictures on my phone to text to Dave (in a sharing-the-cuteness way, not a you're-at-work-and-we're-at-the-pool way):
This was "Maya, make a silly face!"
This was "Maya, smile!" Maybe we need to work on making a smiling face.
The most amazing part of the pool visit was this sign:
3 FEET DEEP
We were hanging out by the stairs and Maya was furiously pointing at it and making noises (the girl loves letters). Just for kicks, I took her over and said Where's the E? and she pointed at one of the E's.
Where's the D? Got it.
Where's the P? Right again.
Where' the 3? Pointed at it, and then held up 3 fingers (like we taught her for her birthday).
Holy crap.
She's such a little sponge, just constantly soaking things up. I haven't been doing any sort of focused letter stuff with her, other than watching Leapfrog Letter Factory once or twice a week and singing the song from it. I haven't been showing her the letters (and certainly not the numbers). But I will be now :)
Daddy, when I'm done swimming I get to wear a pretty dress and pink sandals!!!
I tried to get a picture of her in the dress when we got home, but all I got were a bunch of shots that look like this:
She's too quick :) (How great is that to say?!) It's not quite running, but it's some sort of if-you-walk-any-faster-you'll-certainly-land-on-your-face pace, and I love it. I love the fact that sometimes I have to do a few little joggy steps to get to her :)
And a quick post-hospital update . . .
True to form, Maya's still a little off from the anesthesia/hospital experience. I feel like biologically it shouldn't last this long, but it seems to always take her a solid 2-3 days before she's totally back---she's taking longer naps, going to bed earlier, and trying to quit her therapy sessions midway through by employing the I-just-need-a-hug tactic on her therapists (with varying degrees of success).
As for me, I've spent the past two days exchanging dozens of emails with a good friend who happens to be a pediatric research audiologist in LA. I made sure to get a tiny bit of data on Tuesday that I could feed to her, and based on that she created a graph to teach me the basics of hearing threshold data. When I wondered about the reality of hearing aids, she sent me pictures of the pediatric aids from her center. When I asked about the process of making Maya's hearing aids, she sent me a detailed play-by-play of how they create the new hearing aids where she works, what to expect at the appointments, and the brand and model number that her coworkers recommend based on Maya's case history. When I started to struggle and question the validity of the findings (more on this some other time, but considering that we've already had one ABR that I don't trust, how can I be 100% certain of this one?) she consulted with some more people on her end and passed along the consensus of their thoughts. Since Tuesday we've traded 22 emails, several of which included pdfs that she made to teach me about things.
And she's another one of my internet friends.
Another one that I've never met.
We did have one telephone conversation a few weeks ago---helping me figure out if the sedated ABR was a good next step or more-than-what-was-necessary. But other than that, she's a message board/Facebook/email friend. Seriously, I'm so happy to live in this age of internet networking---where I can meet intelligent, wonderful women who have a great impact on my life.
We woke up bright and early to get everything in order and arrive at the hospital just before 6. Maya occasionally was signing for food, water, and milk, but mostly entertained by my wallet, initially:
Daddy, is it just me or is this room very familiar?
And she had fun riding around in the car, too.
clapping her hands in the car
When it was time to change into the surgery pj's, we had a realization:
Mommy, these things actually fit! I must have gotten a lot bigger!
After the pj's were on, she was off and running (what a change from our previous hospital trips!). We spent a lot of time following her around . . .
. . . and then she tried to make a break for it . . .
It was my turn to take her in to the OR (we've alternated) and man, this time was tough. She fought and fought against the mask on her face, lasting a good, solid, painful 15 seconds before giving in to sleep. While holding her down and whispering in her ear, the mask must have slipped a little and I got a mouthful of the gas----which tastes totally disgusting (poor kid)---and a nurse saw me pull back and grimace and rushed over with a chair. It made me wonder how many parents have accidentally gotten too much gas and got dizzy (I was fine and didn't need to sit).
The procedure took a full two hours, and our ENT called up to the waiting room halfway through to update us that she was doing well and things were progressing nicely. (I can't say enough good things about our ENT--Jay Dolitsky--seriously---if you're in the NYC area and need a pediatric ENT, he's the guy for you) He checked her ears and cleaned out a clogged tube, then the audiologist (Jessica) did the ABR. As soon as she was done, Jessica came upstairs to meet with us . . . and when we went down to recovery we met again with the ENT.
(Summary of the findings and next steps at the bottom of this post)
When Maya woke up, she wanted cuddles from Daddy, and to rip out her IV.
A word with Dr. Dolitsky was all it took to get the IV removed right away (historically, it's taken 3-4 hours before she's drank enough to convince them to remove it) . . . and as soon as it was out, she relaxed a little and drank away.
In recovery I was just too busy to take pictures, so that's all we've got.
So here's the summary: She has "mild hearing loss" in both ears. Both ears. I was kind of shocked----if anything, I was thinking that we would see left ear trouble, but not both. Jessica said "The test took a long time" so I'm guessing that they might have seen some weird data, but I won't know more until we meet with her again (sometime soon). Dolitsky & Jessica agree that hearing aids are the most logical next step, although we don't know how long they might last for----we may feel like they're making a difference and keep them, we may not see any change and not keep them for too long. They have seen older children with the same degree of hearing loss who have benefited from hearing aids, and others who have functioned fine without them.
In the past week, I've repeatedly questioned going through with this test, and whether it was a necessary procedure. I can say to Maya "What sound does a "B" make?" and she'll chirp "Ba!" from the other room. I had been thinking: If she can hear the difference between me saying "B" instead of "D" or "P" from the other room, her hearing must be fine. But apparently not.
...sigh...
I'm sure with a little time I'll have embraced the hearing aids. Truth be told, there's a part of me hoping for a miracle moment---the hearing aids go in, Maya looks around in amazement and says "Mama! Wow, what a difference!" (well, maybe not quite) It will be incredible if these help to make a difference in her speech, and if they help to change the quality of her hearing.
But I'm also a little sad.
And the pity-partying part of me thinks: "She already has enough chips stacked against her. I hate that she'll have devices in her ears and devices on her feet . . . from head to toe she needs technology to function 'normally'."
And the part of me with more perspective says "Oh, shut up, Dana. She has splints . . . and they help her walk better. She'll get hearing aids . . . and they'll help her hear better. What in the world are you whining about? Oh, and ps---it's not like anything has changed. She couldn't hear perfectly yesterday, she can't hear perfectly today---and at least now you can help the poor kid out."
Yeah, I know.
(By the way, don't even get me started on the fact that I'm pretty sure the ABR done when she was 3 months old wasn't done properly, and we should have known about this right from the start.)
So, hearing aids. They're coming down the pipe. I have literally no idea what to expect (I keep picturing her with double bluetooths, but I don't think that quite right).
Oh, and today's discharge orders were very specific:
Obviously alcohol and sexual activity are not applicable. Good to know that reading, watching tv, and washing her hair are all acceptable activities . . . as is driving? Driving? And it looks like the jury's still out on nose blowing. So driving is in, but nose blowing is questionable. Good to know.
Maya's special instructor, Virginia, brought over some ducklings today! (She's a teacher by day, special instructor by night, and the eggs were hatched in her classroom.) Maya and I were equally excited:
(gasp) Are those . . .
Mommy, ducks!!!!
They are only 5 days old and super cute. We let them waddle around, drink and splash, eat some food. When I walked and did a birdy whistle they followed me like I was their mama duck! Maya was enthralled. Check out my future ornithologist:
Hmmm. You duckies are verrry interesting.
Then one of the ducklings started pecking at her foot, which was hilarious:
And did you notice that right at the end of that video the striped duck was checking out Maggie (one of the Little People. Yes, we know their names.)? Well, Maya thought it was ridiculous that the ducks wanted to play with Maggie:
Virginia! That duck's kissing Maggie?!
Oh, Mommy, this is just too much fun.
2
The second egg hatched this morning, and MP is now the proud mama to 2 very ugly baby pigeons :)
1
Miss Maya went to sleep tonight blissfully unaware that tomorrow morning we're heading to the hospital for her ABR. She's scheduled to start at 7:30, and we need to arrive at the hospital by 6, so it's going to be an early morning.
I can't help but feel like I'm betraying her when we head in for this kind of stuff. She has no idea what's going on, or why she can't eat or drink anything, and then is scared, and then feels miserable. I feel like I should have started my apologies tonight . . .
I'm sorry for misleading you into thinking this is just a normal night, little girl. Truth be told, early tomorrow we're going to whisk you out of here with no food or water and pass you over to a team in the hospital.
. . . and continue them straight through tomorrow afternoon . . .
I'm sorry that you're groggy and cranky and don't understand why. I'm sorry that we have to keep waking you up to get you to drink when you just want to sleep it off. I'm sorry because we chose this for you and you didn't even get a vote.
. . . ending with the grand finale of either . . .
I'm so sorry that we put you through this whole stupid test only to find out that your hearing was perfectly fine all along.
. . . or . . .
I'm so sorry that it took so long for us to figure out that you couldn't hear perfectly.
(sigh)
I will try to update the Facebook page when she is out and ok, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it from my phone. Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers. Although she's been sedated (3) other times, this is by far the longest procedure, and I can't help but be anxious (and apologetic).
Our first ever weekend road trip since Maya was born, and Maya's first hotel stay. On Friday night we drove to my sister's place, where Maya ran (and fell) in the yard with her cousins nonstop for 4 hours straight. I would have taken pictures, but I don't think it would have been physically possible to get all of the kids in the same frame anyway . . . and I was too busy stuffing myself with lobster rolls and homemade desserts to try :) The running may have overtired her a bit, as she cried hysterically for most of the remaining drive to the hotel.
We were a little nervous about her sleeping abilities in hotel room port-a-crib (pack n play), but she was super psyched to see a "special crib":
My own room?!? And a special crib?!? This is fantastic!
Saturday morning we went over to an old friend's house for a brunch playdate . . . which sounds normal enough. Except for the fact that we've never met before. Or spoken on the phone. She's a friend that I "met" online---a few years back, and have since traded email, chatted online, etc.
I'm betting that half of the people reading this are thinking "Cool! I wish I could meet up with some of my online friends!" and the other half are thinking "Isn't talking to strangers on the internet an activity reserved for homicidal maniacs and pedophiles?"
But really, I'm lucky enough to have "met" a bunch of amazing online friends (remember those awesome cardboard party animals? They came from one. And when we needed extra scrabble tiles to add Parker's name to Dave's scrabble plaque another internet buddy sent some over.). And besides just mailing me stuff (lol), these are people who celebrate each other's victories and lend a lot of support in times of struggles. So don't knock "imaginary" friends until you've tested the waters.
Hello, friend. (See, we don't look that weird. No homicidial maniacs here.)
And Maya loved playing with some new friends, too. Every time that we're around other kids I feel some inner part of me holding my breath for Maya. A little voice that thinks "Will they think it's weird that she doesn't talk to them? Or that she walks a little bit differently than they do?" But her two (adorable) girls were oh-so-ready to play with Maya . . . they ran, played with chalk, jumped (or bounced, in Maya's case) on a trampoline :) They had even learned some signs to do with her . . . how sweet is that?
Ok, ladies, we've got the chalk. What's the game plan here? A landscape scene? Animals? Scribbles, perhaps?
After brunch, it was on to my 10 year college reunion. An afternoon of running on the green and catching up with friends, followed by an evening of dinner, drinks and on-campus fun. My dad came up to babysit Maya at the hotel so we could have a child-free evening (and Dave's parents babysat Parker for the weekend, so we were dog-free as well).
We returned this morning and I went out to check the pigeon (I had a feeling the hatching would be soon, because some other pigeon was visiting last Thurs & Friday---I had never seen him/her before, and I thought it might be a sign that something was changing). Sure enough, one of the eggs had hatched---apparently just before we got in---the chick was still wet and wiggly.
Baby pigeon butt sticking out from under mom, with the other (unhatched) egg in the foreground
I left the video camera running for a while, with the hopes of catching footage of the other egg hatching. No dice, but I did get to see Mama Pigeon (MP) pushing the egg back under her, which was pretty cool:
I think I mentioned before that baby pigeons are seriously the weirdest looking animals ever---bright yellow, gangly, awkward. You may have nightmares. You've been warned.
I had to refill Parker's dog food container tonight, which really bugs MP (you may remember that this refilling procedure was what first outed her prescence to us). Anyway, sure enough, she flew onto the terrace railing while I refilled . . . and of course, I had my camera and video camera ready just in case she decided to leave. I slipped off my rings and put them next to the baby for a size comparison---it's tiny and so weird looking:
Here it is wiggling:
(Don't worry, MP was back on the nest as soon as I walked away. She picked an unfortunately high traffic area for her nest, but she seems to have quickly gotten used to Dave and I puttering around.)
We're waiting to see if the other egg hatches too. I feel like I don't have time to do any cool animal behavior stuff anymore, so the universe has brought me my own little case study, right onto my terrace :)
A fantastic trip from start to finish :)
In other news, Maya's ABR is on Tuesday. I'm nervous, and I feel bad for her poor little unsuspecting self. But I'm going to not think too much about it until tomorrow night.
I went to an iPad workshop last night (app recommendations will come after I receive the list via email). The best part was that I learned something instantly useful. Often times we find ourselves in a situation where watching a video would be useful (waiting in a doctor's waiting room, for example), but I can't pull one up on YouTube because I have no wireless connection (our iPad doesn't have 3G). Well, here's the solution!
I learned how to download YouTube videos and save them to your computer (or your iPad/iPhone)----once they're saved, you can watch them anytime, anywhere---no internet required. Here's how you do it:
2. Once Firefox is installed, go to this page and type "YouTube" in the search box. Then, download the add-on called "Video DownloadHelper". This one:
3. Once you've installed that add-on, go to YouTube and pull up a video that you'd like to download. The three little circles will start spinning, here:
4. Click on the little "down arrow" next to the spinning circles to get the drop down menu.
5. Highlight the format that ends in ".mp4", then click "Download". (Helpful hint: save it to a folder that will be easy to find.)
***If you were just trying to download the video to your computer, you're done! Now you can watch it whenever you want, with or without an internet connection! If you would like to move the video to your iPad/iPhone, keep reading . . .
6. Once the download is complete, open iTunes. Drag the video file over to your iTunes library and then release it.
7. Now, if you click on the "Movies" part of your iTunes library, you will see you new video!
8. Sync your device with your computer, and you're done. Magic!
