What If It's Not Autism?

When I finally decided to start blogging about Cooper I knew I wanted to write this post. I have been thinking about it for months. And trying to decide how to word it. I am Google obsessed. I have mentioned it before. I usually search in private after the kids have gone to bed. (Maybe I need an intervention!!) And it’s usually after some horrific scene has taken place. A bad visit to the doctor or a tantrum during speech. Or maybe its the opposite. Maybe someone is telling me…

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Stop Talking to Your Child

During the two-week wait for the hearing aids our lives got turned upside down. I call this the beginning of the end. The school district came to our house and introduced us to a deaf teacher. This person would help Cooper. She was very, very nice. I actually really like her. We also met a woman from Minnesota Hands and Voices. Also, very nice. But as this progressed we started hearing weird things. Here were the worst two: You may want to stop speaking to Cooper and switch completely to…

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Raising a Child With Needs and Your Marriage

Having a baby changes your whole life. Time changes. The days are long. I used to say, “Cooper gets us up at the crack of dawn and doesn’t quit until he collapses at bedtime.” Before we had Cooper, our marriage was very strong. We wanted a baby so badly and got pregnant easily. When you are pregnant, and even before, you picture what life with this baby is going to be like. My husband went to college on a baseball scholarship and I played sports as well so I pictured…

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Hearing Aid Fitting

I remember the day that Cooper got his hearing aids so well. I felt sick to my stomach. I want to try and put into words how I felt. First, I didn’t believe that he needed them. I just couldn’t see it. And trust me, I tried. I tried because a hearing loss would explain why he wasn’t talking. Simple, right. He can’t hear so he can’t talk. Get the hearing aids and he will start talking. Since I am obsessed with research and information, I started googling. I scoured…

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Cooper at 2 1/2 years

Around the time that Cooper was diagnosed with his hearing loss, many of his ‘behaviors’ came on strong. I would like to add that we didn’t know any different. Meaning, we knew that Cooper was A LOT of work but we didn’t know how much work he was compared to other kids. All of my friends have little girls. Fast talking, sweet, sociable, easy little girls. Their kids do art projects and activities and my son was so different. But I held onto the fact that they were girls and…

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Tell Me This Is Going To Be Okay?

At so many times during this journey with Cooper I have wanted someone to tell me what to do. Tell me if I am doing the right thing. Am I giving Cooper the best medical care? Should I be doing more? Why is it so hard to raise him? Why is he so difficult? Will he ever talk? Will he ever be able to say Mom? Or I love you? Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done. I am completely and utterly responsible for this little…

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You're Telling Me Cooper Will Never Hear A Bird Chirp?

The day of Cooper’s tube surgery (Wednesday), the audiologist promised that she would call us back. She never did. I called and left her a message. She finally called me back on Thursday afternoon and asked us to come in on Friday and we could talk more. One important thing to note is that Dr. Alice told me in this conversation that our information had been shared with the school district, the county and the state. I felt weird when she told me that. I asked if it was a…

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Tubes Changed Cooper's Life

So I’ll tell you a few things before I talk about the hearing aids. Cooper came out of surgery mad as hell. Gosh that kid is a fighter. He had an IV and was super distraught. We literally took his gown off, threw a t-shirt on him and took him home. We wanted to be home. We were tired. And overhwhelemed. And so freaking scared that we couldn’t think. On the ride home I kept saying, “he’s going to get teased. I’m not doing it. I’m not putting him in…

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Tube Surgery From Hell

So that title might be a little extreme. But Cooper’s tube surgery was one of the worst experiences of my life. First, the days before the surgery, Cooper stopped sleeping. He stopped playing with his toys. He stopped interacting. He turned into a complete crying, whiny mess. He was a different kid. The only thing he would do was watch cartoons on PBS. I would try and get him to set up his train or read or engage him in activities that he liked and it wouldn’t work. My husband…

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And Then There Were Four

In January 2013, our second son was born. Sawyer came into this world happy smiling and learning. He is so different than Cooper. He slept all the time. Thank God. I don’t think I could have handled two babies not sleeping. He loved to nurse and eat. Even now at 10 months he is an amazing eater. And most importantly, Sawyer is babbling. I didn’t know how emotional it would be for me the first time he babbled mama and dada. I wish I could describe how I felt. First,…

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