Rough Day

Poor Soph, we had another traumatic visit to the audiologist yesterday. It started off great, we brought the twins with us, and Sophie was so excited to show them off to all her friends in the office. She went in the sound booth, got to play a new game for listening, and did wonderfully. There may be a slight change in the level in her right ear, we will have her retested in 2 weeks. Then it was time to make ear mold impressions. Before Lisa, her very favorite audiologist, can put the material into her ear, she has to make sure her ears are clear. They were not, and Lisa looked at me with dread, since we both knew what that meant: a visit to the microscope room, where the ENT looks thru a scope and cleans out any debris. We tried to pass it off as just going to the other side of the office, but Sophie knew right away where we were headed. "No, Mommy, I don't want to go to the microphone room!!" Last summer she had a lot of swimmer's ear, and we were in there a lot. It is not fun trying to hold down your almost 4 year old when you are 7 ms pregnant with twins.

Yesterday was no picnic either; I had to leave the twins in their stroller outside the door, so I could help Lisa hold Sophie still. Her shrieking was so loud that both Michael and Emily started screaming too. When it was all over (the longest 4 minutes ever) I peeked outside to see the two other audiologists each holding a baby, one was even feeding Emily. They are all so sweet in the office, I know Lisa was upset about having to put Sophie thru it, she kept apologizing to me. But, it has to be done. And I know it isn't really painful, it is more the being restrained that she hates. For her treat she got a tootsie pop, plus we stopped at Chic Fil A on the way home for dinner. I had to bribe her with that just to get her in the door of the microscope room!

It is amazing to me that Sophie was the same age as Michael and Emily when she got her hearing aids. I will never forget what happened when Lisa turned them on, Sophie was sitting in my lap facing away from me. Lisa asked me to say her name, and when I did, she turned around to look at me in wonder. Terry and I were amazed; it was at that moment we realized she had never turned her head for sound before. Now her speech is just like any other child her age. Even Dr Todd, the ENT, commented as she was screaming at him to stop, "Isn't it great to her her voice?" Yes, it certainly is!