Oliver sees things. He hears them, too, but when he does he says "I see dat!" The "see" is done with the tongue protruding, but it's pretty obvious what he's saying, even to strangers. He still loves the outside, and will say "I see ow-sigh" and "I see har (car)." When asked, he can point to a variety of body parts and things. Some things he knows: toes, hair, mouth, grass, bushes, trees, etc. He learned that he had Elmo on his shirt one day, and when asked, out of the blue, "Where's Elmo," he would point to his shirt!

Oliver's hearing much better after an audiology visit a week and a half ago. I had long suspected that he was not turned up loud enough. eSRT testing confirmed this on a few electrodes (not easy to do with a wiggly baby!) and we were able to extrapolate and turn the entire map up. We are seeing a sound and language explosion, now, expressively. I am so glad that he's hearing better! Note to parents: go with your gut. If you are concerned, say something. I had to be firm to get what Oliver needed, and this has been the case with several friends of mine. A friend of mine saw a 20% increase in her daughter's hearing in the soundbooth when she went out of town for a second opinion. Don't delay! Another mom on CI circle was told that her child was just not an "auditory" child, and should just learn sign. Turns out, they got a new audiologist and, lo and behold, their child hears very well now. Professionals can be very busy, see many people, and sometimes even they will admit that another person can add to the equation and help coordinate the child's mapping process. Different audiologists have different philosophies and styles, and you need to find one that suits your family.

Once maps are stable and tweaked, they need little change in the following years. Elliot has needed very few mappings on his "old" ear. His new ear is going for another tweaking in a few weeks, because both he and I suspect it is needing to be louder. But probaby, after that, he's had this ear for over a year and will need only twice yearly mapping sessions, if that.