Lilly Update

Two weeks ago Lilly had another hearing test to determine if her hearing aids are at an appropriate setting.  It is extremely difficult to keep a two year old still in a sound booth.  Lilly was introduced to a new type of assessment the previous time we were there and she was so confused and did not perform well.  During the assessment she was asked to hold a block to her cheek and put it in a bucket once she heard a sound.  The sounds came from different speakers throughout the sound booth and were different frequencies.  The first time she was given this task she just kept throwing the blocks in the bucket.  She was bored within five minutes and wanted to get out of there.  This time she actually stuck with the activity the whole time.  There are still some sounds that she's missing, but she is hearing a great deal more with her hearing aids.  They noticed at that appointment that she had a lot of wax in her ears.  They couldn't see one of her tubes and the other one was falling out.  They also noticed that her hearing aids were not fitting as well.  So, we took new molds of her ears and ordered the new part for her hearing aids.  Thankfully, First Steps will pay for them.  They will discontinue paying for them when she turns three, which is in a month.  I'm thankful we got that taken care of in time.
This week we went to pick up her new hearing aid pieces and met with Dr. Reddy.  Dr. Reddy removed all the wax from her ears.  He kept showing me the wax after he took it out.  I wanted to say, "Really, it's OK, I believe you, no need to keep showing me."  It was pretty disgusting.  I can now tell you all the difference between Asian wax and Caucasian wax.  Anyway, he also removed both tubes, since they were caked in wax as well.  Her ear drums look great and she doesn't have any fluid build-up, so for now the tubes will stay out. We'll go back in 3 months to check everything again - same drill - hearing test, check hearing aids, and check wax levels in the ears.
Lilly has now had her hearing aids for two months and this is what we are noticing.  She is more responsive to directions and makes better eye contact.  She studies our mouths when we speak.  It amazes me how well she coped before having hearing aids.  Before she got her tubes, she wasn't hearing much of anything and yet she was following directions.  She was picking up clues around her.  That just proves how smart and resilient she is.  Now, she babbles and sings all the time.  Her hearing specialist explained that Lilly is now where an infant would be with speech.  She has to reach all the speech milestones in order.  So, for now, she is babbling and saying simple words.  Her words are approximations.  She usually just says the vowel sounds in words.  For instance, please is "ee" and up is "uh".  She is trying,  which is great.  We also introduce new vocabulary with the corresponding sign.  She seems to say words better when she can sign them at the same time.  This week we introduced the sign for drink and help.  When she gets frustrated it's nice to be able to read her sign language, since so many of her words sound the same.  It is truly a work in progress.  I know once she starts talking, there will be no stopping her!  My favorite thing is hearing her say, "I uh ooh" (I love you).  She is such a sweet, independent, and determined little thing!  She will overcome this obstacle just like every other one she's encountered.  
Her speech teacher is also happy with her improvements.  She says Lilly has all the prerequisites for speech.  In a month Lilly will get a new speech teacher, since she will be three and will no longer qualify for First Steps.  That makes us sad, since Abby has been so good for Lilly.  At least services will continue.  We'll be sure to blog about all that as it happens.