Ride 'Em Cowboy!

Since Aaron has been holding his head up for weeks now, we decided it was time for him to have a new toy! He's still a little small for it, but he loves to be on his new pony. Soon, he'll be bouncing up a storm!
Gotta look like a cowboy to ride a horse! And I promise I didn't wake him to make him ride the pony. This picture was earlier in the day:) We have to take our pictures in the morning while our cute clothes are still clean!

"Mommy, don't put me in here when I'm tried!"
The paci solves lots of problems!
"I'm kind of liking this thing! I just had to get the hang of it."
Getting back on the horse after a night of rest was a great idea!
All smiles!
Aaron did lots of giggling at the pony noises.


On another note, lots of you have been asking questions about Aaron's hearing. For those of you that haven't even heard there was a problem, I'll start from the beginning. All newborns get a basic hearning screen before they are discharged from the hospital. Because Aaron was getting an antibiotic that can be ototoxic (harmful to the ear), they did a more in depth hearing screen before he was discharged. This test was a brainstem response test (BAER) as opposed to the more basic newborn hearing screen which tests only the cochlea (OAE). Aaron failed the BAER. They then issued the OAE, which he passed meaning the ear structures that "hear" sounds are working. There can be several reasons for failing the BAER, including being born early. Since Aaron was 3 weeks early it was decided that this could be a cause. Aaron was to have a follow up screen to retest. This test was a more diagnostic screen to check for problems. Aaron again needed another screen. His cochlea was also tested again, showing it was working. At our most recent hearing screen, they decided to diagnose Aaron with mild hearing loss. This said, it isn't a big deal. We actually feel blessed that he is so healthy! Aaron can hear at normal conversational levels. He is meeting all of his milestones and as long as he continues to do so he will not need hearing aids at this point. We will also be watching him closely when he is in school to make sure his learning needs are met. It may be decided at that point he will need aids. We will go back for a third screen when Aaron is 6 months for another test in which they will continue to check to make sure there is not more loss as hearing loss can be progressive if it was caused by the medication. At this point we don't know the cause. We don't have a family history of hearing loss and when it is caused by the med, it is usually higher frequency loss, and Aaron's is lower. We may never know. For now we are just enjoying our baby and loving seeing him talk to us and smile! Lots of love to all!!