Much to be thankful for!

We are nearing the end of our hearing aid journey and I couldn't be more excited. Less than four weeks to go until Sophie's surgery! We are ready! I can't wait for the day to see Sophie respond to a sound and not question whether or not she actually heard it a million times in my head. I can't wait to read her a story or tell her how much I love her and know that she can hear my voice. But most of all, I can't wait for Sophie to hear Daddy singing to her, as he has done every single day since the day she was born. We are ready for you, cochlear implants! We know that we have a long, tough journey ahead of us, but we are excited and ready to do whatever it takes!

As we near Thanksgiving, I can't help but think of the many things we have to be thankful for. Our lives have completely turned upside down in the past eight months, but I wouldn't change a single thing! Jared and I are very lucky to have the resources and family support to be able to give Sophie every tool that she will need to be successful. Some days are tough and challenging, but most days are filled with the wonderful joy that she brings to our lives. Sophie is incredible and continues to amaze me each and every day. I know in my heart that she will grow to be a smart, successful, and beautiful person.

It's hard to believe that my tiny little baby (who weighed less than six pounds at birth) is almost eight months old and has tripled her size! Time goes by way too fast. Sophie is creeping and (army) crawling everywhere, pulling up, and into absolutely everything. She is fascinated by people and the world around her. I can always see the wheels turning in her head and I know that she is taking everything in. She is a super friendly little girl, constantly smiling and laughing. She loves other babies and children and I can tell that she has a very giving spirit because she is always offering other people her favorite thing in the world-her thumb. :)

Below is short video that I shot earlier. I'm 90% certain that Sophie heard me call her name. (I only watched and analyzed it about 100 times!) Still, it gives me hope. These moments are few and far between and hope will make these next few weeks easier to get through!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

It's a GO!

We got our insurance approval letter in the mail today! We are APPROVED for simultaneous bilateral cochlear implant surgery in December! I'm not sure if a piece of paper has ever brought me so much relief and excitement. Relief that my diligence has paid off (and I can go back to spending my lunch break eating and pumping, rather than scrambling to make a dozen phone calls), but mostly, excitement that Sophie is going to be implanted and activated before she is 10 months old!

This is the best news that we have received in a long time. I am beyond excited! Her surgery is planned for 12/16, which is only 5 weeks from tomorrow. Know what the best news about that is??? Only 5 more weeks of battling with hearing aids! I can see the light! I know that I'm going to be getting very nervous as Sophie's actual surgery day approaches, but right now I am so ready for this new adventure that I'm trying not to think about the actual surgery part.

We also had our last therapy session with Moog before Sophie's surgery, along with her 6 month IFSP (individualized family service plan) review earlier this week and both went great. Sophie is doing a great job at learning to imitate others and mastering the skills that will be needed to map and program her implants. Sophie's therapist is optimistic that she will be a quick learner and has already told us that they expect her to exceed the milestones that are set for other babies/children at her school. While this is great and comforting to hear, it also reminds me of the tough road that we have ahead of us. We are approaching the very beginning of a new battle and it is going to be a lot of work-for Sophie, her therapists, teachers, and us. Sometimes I wish I could get just a tiny glimpse of the future so that I could know everything is going to be fine. Fear of the unknown, I guess...