The thanksgiving that was............
whoo........ what a rideeeeee. It has been a whirlwind couple weeks visiting family and remembering what we are blessed with. :) First- a surpise visit from my aunt and uncle who live in Indiana.. they stopped in to visit my Grandma and decided to surpise my mom and visit her a home- and we all came to visit. I didn't have Vincent with me since he went with his other Grandma but they got to meet victoria and play with her a bit and chat. It was a nice visit. They are moving to FL so I don't know how often we will see them now because it is SO cold here, and warm down there :p
Now.. the day before thanksgiving...... I had decided well- my kids are going to be meeting family so that means.. they get scrubbed until they are shiny and cleaned and vincent needed a small... trim to look nice. So, I decided ok I am going to put victoria down and- she is a squrimy little thing so she can wriggle kinda-creep to get things.. I was busy and cutting vincent's hair.. he was sitting there whining because he doesn't want to get his hair cut and im like too bad.. we are seeing Great-Grandma Marie (for those that don't know- Victoria's middle name is from her ) :) so we have to get your hair cut and you bathed so you are all pretty for her. He was not happy. I am like I promise if you let me finish you can have some skittles (ah bribing a 2 year old and i said i would NEVER bribe my children HA HA good parenting!!!) he sat willing for a few skittles ok...... so we are done and I trim a bit of the bangs.. he protested loudly...... and wriggled...... therefore..... now he has curvy styling bangs! I tell him YOU DID that to YOURSELF.. mommy only held the sciccors.. and he giggles. man.. 2 year olds. Vincent laughs and says Look baby mama!!! ( look at the baby mama!)
I looked............. and...... Tori...... bless her heart.... had a pen in her mouth............... and pen lines allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll over her face..... on her nose.. on her forehead......... and on her sweet chubby cheeks......... dear child. we have thanksgiving tomorrow.............and you are meeting Great Grandma Marie and Great-Grandpa Don and you have pen marks all over your face- oh great and you giggle at me. Vincent was laughing. I was like are you telling her to do that?????!
oh dear......... now what do I do............. thank goodness......... baby wipe got most of it off..... then a little of baby oil worked for the rest of it....... and she was a beautiful baby again. Vincent is running around at this point with his curvy headbangs rocking his new "hair-cut" how i love my crazy life these days!
the next day was thanksgiving and we spent it with don and marie and andys mom's siblings and Vincent ran around being his usual very happy chatty self and wanted to play a lot and colored and threw his pooh around while the game was still going and he clapped a few times when the packers got a TD... he was exicted about the game. victoria was her usual diva self.. very upset when we got there and took a bit to calm down then she accepted that other people were going to hold her and she tolerated it pretty well........ it is a never ending guessing game with her.. some days she is fine and accepts other people to hold her and talk to her.. and other days she only wants her mama and daddy. :)
Friday was a very quiet day for us............ we spent time together as a family and decorated our tree.. tis very beauitful. Vincent helped me with it and rearranged the xmas lights just so... and he was running backand forth with me to fix the green leaves and setting up the lights.. it was a precious 2 year old memory with him always. Tori was sleeping but when she woke up she got to see the lights.. and she likes it but she is not suepr interested in right now.... :)
it was a beautiful quiet weekend.......... with time with family. I remind myself.. even with the craziness that surronds me everyday.... I am truly blessed and thankful for my kids and Andy...... my life would be so different without them :)
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Potty Training a 2 year old
So.. I am potty training a 2 year old now...... Yep.... im in the troughs like every other frazzled mom. On top of having 2 kids- both in diapers and one that is Diva- and Vincent is such a sweet devil child that makes me utter- sweet baby jesus about 1,000 times a day.
In mid- October- I had finally seen that Vincent was Ready to start potty training. I wrestled with first time mom questions like- AM I THINKING he is ready or is he ready truly? am I doing this because I am sick of having 2 kids in diapers and changing them both all day long? Yes... but vincent seemed emotionally, and physically ready...... but the doctor said not to push it...... BUT i have 2 kids in diapers!!! my sister C- she said if you're ready and hes ready then let it happen. So- off to the store we brought his potty chair and his potty training book- and a bag of skittles to bribe him (im such a great mom) and big boy underwear.. and we told him you have to go potty in potty so you can wear big boy underwears.........
As soon I placed vincent on the potty and looked at him..........and my mind twirled backwards to the day i gave birth to him..... how quickly had time flown by? how possible is that? It still feels like a few months ago I just had him and here is my vincent as a 2 year old ready to be a big boy. I find with every big moment- my heart feels sorrow and also joy and triumph because my little boy is growing up but sorrow because every step I give him-- he is leaving me a little bit more each day. I remind myself what I do now to help him will make him a wonderful man xomeday.. I can only hope.
A few days of potty training he wouldn't do it.......and then all of the sudden he did....... and lots of hugs and high fives and some skittles. he was game. He quickly learned if he went pee or poop he got skittles.... and he really has taken a interest in it.. Now he goes with some regularity but we struggle with staying dry and him wanting to be a baby- and a big boy. I know everyone struggles with this. and we are working on it as a family. At this point I realize Vincent will always need me no matter what.
He goes through fits and days he doesn't want to go into it.. but recently he has started to go again... so I am hoping maybe he will be all done potty training during the day for christmas. that would be nice. and save money and he will be a BIG BOY...... for now.. he is alternating between big boy pull ups and diapers.
I have found that it works. Vincent does not really like the diapers anymore.. so I tell him well.. if you wont go pee i have to put the diapers on........... so he really TRIES to go pee to avoid the diapers. :)
who knows.. maybe in a few weeks i'll be posting he is all done and is wearing underwears. :) we will see.
In mid- October- I had finally seen that Vincent was Ready to start potty training. I wrestled with first time mom questions like- AM I THINKING he is ready or is he ready truly? am I doing this because I am sick of having 2 kids in diapers and changing them both all day long? Yes... but vincent seemed emotionally, and physically ready...... but the doctor said not to push it...... BUT i have 2 kids in diapers!!! my sister C- she said if you're ready and hes ready then let it happen. So- off to the store we brought his potty chair and his potty training book- and a bag of skittles to bribe him (im such a great mom) and big boy underwear.. and we told him you have to go potty in potty so you can wear big boy underwears.........
As soon I placed vincent on the potty and looked at him..........and my mind twirled backwards to the day i gave birth to him..... how quickly had time flown by? how possible is that? It still feels like a few months ago I just had him and here is my vincent as a 2 year old ready to be a big boy. I find with every big moment- my heart feels sorrow and also joy and triumph because my little boy is growing up but sorrow because every step I give him-- he is leaving me a little bit more each day. I remind myself what I do now to help him will make him a wonderful man xomeday.. I can only hope.
A few days of potty training he wouldn't do it.......and then all of the sudden he did....... and lots of hugs and high fives and some skittles. he was game. He quickly learned if he went pee or poop he got skittles.... and he really has taken a interest in it.. Now he goes with some regularity but we struggle with staying dry and him wanting to be a baby- and a big boy. I know everyone struggles with this. and we are working on it as a family. At this point I realize Vincent will always need me no matter what.
He goes through fits and days he doesn't want to go into it.. but recently he has started to go again... so I am hoping maybe he will be all done potty training during the day for christmas. that would be nice. and save money and he will be a BIG BOY...... for now.. he is alternating between big boy pull ups and diapers.
I have found that it works. Vincent does not really like the diapers anymore.. so I tell him well.. if you wont go pee i have to put the diapers on........... so he really TRIES to go pee to avoid the diapers. :)
who knows.. maybe in a few weeks i'll be posting he is all done and is wearing underwears. :) we will see.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
what is it like having a 2 year old??
Two Year olds.......... are FUN........... and DEVIOUS.
Here is how my day goes now with the children- and I lovingly refer to vincent as a demon child-mind you he is sweet as pie.. but has his Devil moments.......... Tori so far is the Diva. :)
Diva gets up at 7-730 am.... Eat, and be changed
7:45 to about 9:00 playtime for Diva...
Vincent gets up around 8-830- potty and cereal and milk
Callilou goes on the tv...
9- time to eat for Tori again and change and dressed for the day
930- vincent dressed and potty again or change depending on his MOOD.
10:30 Diva gets cranky.. and crankier...... vincent gets mad because I am dealing with DIVA and decides to go off and......create trouble that i will find... and later yell about.
11- tori eats again and she plays for a while usually off to nap around 11:30 -12 30 depending on the day and what time she gets up.
I find mess- clean up and yell at vincent and put him in a chair...
Making lunch......
eat lunch........
play with vincent
1:30-2:30 Diva wakes up and wants to eat. Vincent gets mad again because Diva cut his play time short with mommy- he goes off to create another mess or whine about why Wii isn't playing callilou or Bar-fart_ney... lord help me.
Tori gets changed after eat.. then its play time and I clean up the mess Evil child makes.. I beg said evil child to take a nap- no go.
I guess if Diva cut his playtime short with mommy and Diva takes up mommys attention he must stay up all day so he can drive me crazy- boy am I a glutton for punishment now!
4:00- vincent starts getting cranky- hungry for a snack- eats snack- Diva usually screams for food too.- feed and change - I look at the clock and think to myself.. praise sweet baby jesus 2 hours to kill until andy gets home and i can pass off the devil child on him.
5:00 sometimes tori takes a very short late nap.
vincent has made numberous mess and most likely will make a mess before dad arrives home just for the hell of it.. by the end of the day, I have said about 1,000 Nos, Please don't. and you better think twice before you.........................
Diva just screams all day when she isn't being paid attention to and it is most likely to happen when Devil child makes a mess and i must clean.
Man.. a two year old is exhausting............. but Vincent yet has so MUCH energy. I think I should ask him to bottle it up and give it to momma.. he sure loves me........... but he still likes being evil.
(sigh)
Off to another day tomorrow.......
Stay Tuned- vincent's first Christmas parade this weekend in GB. :) YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY :)
Here is how my day goes now with the children- and I lovingly refer to vincent as a demon child-mind you he is sweet as pie.. but has his Devil moments.......... Tori so far is the Diva. :)
Diva gets up at 7-730 am.... Eat, and be changed
7:45 to about 9:00 playtime for Diva...
Vincent gets up around 8-830- potty and cereal and milk
Callilou goes on the tv...
9- time to eat for Tori again and change and dressed for the day
930- vincent dressed and potty again or change depending on his MOOD.
10:30 Diva gets cranky.. and crankier...... vincent gets mad because I am dealing with DIVA and decides to go off and......create trouble that i will find... and later yell about.
11- tori eats again and she plays for a while usually off to nap around 11:30 -12 30 depending on the day and what time she gets up.
I find mess- clean up and yell at vincent and put him in a chair...
Making lunch......
eat lunch........
play with vincent
1:30-2:30 Diva wakes up and wants to eat. Vincent gets mad again because Diva cut his play time short with mommy- he goes off to create another mess or whine about why Wii isn't playing callilou or Bar-fart_ney... lord help me.
Tori gets changed after eat.. then its play time and I clean up the mess Evil child makes.. I beg said evil child to take a nap- no go.
I guess if Diva cut his playtime short with mommy and Diva takes up mommys attention he must stay up all day so he can drive me crazy- boy am I a glutton for punishment now!
4:00- vincent starts getting cranky- hungry for a snack- eats snack- Diva usually screams for food too.- feed and change - I look at the clock and think to myself.. praise sweet baby jesus 2 hours to kill until andy gets home and i can pass off the devil child on him.
5:00 sometimes tori takes a very short late nap.
vincent has made numberous mess and most likely will make a mess before dad arrives home just for the hell of it.. by the end of the day, I have said about 1,000 Nos, Please don't. and you better think twice before you.........................
Diva just screams all day when she isn't being paid attention to and it is most likely to happen when Devil child makes a mess and i must clean.
Man.. a two year old is exhausting............. but Vincent yet has so MUCH energy. I think I should ask him to bottle it up and give it to momma.. he sure loves me........... but he still likes being evil.
(sigh)
Off to another day tomorrow.......
Stay Tuned- vincent's first Christmas parade this weekend in GB. :) YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY :)
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Sorry it's been so long
Man... it has been really busy around here with two kids.. I have so much to catch you all up on... first of all.. Halloween was Awesome. I invited Ashley to come and hang out with me and "assist" with trick or treating since Andy was going to be working late so he missed out on all the halloween fun! Boo. We dressed vincent up as Spiderman- let's just say he was VERY EXICTED to be spiderman.. and was showing Ashley how he could fly. :) it was so cute to watch my 2 year old Truly believe in imagation and really think in someway he could really fly. It makes me feel like I have done a good job so far as a mother- if Vince feels secure enough to really let go of reality and imagine for a while. Victoria was going to be a pumpkin- but due to the weather and I was not sure how long we would be out for.. I transformed victoria into a pink bunny from the xmas story. I am sure one day Tori will kill me for doing that to her.. but she was SO CUTE. Vincent was raring to go.. once he figured out he was getting candy from the neighbors... we were out for a hour and 20 minutes.. and even stopped to visit Grandpa M. Grandpa M was very happy to see him and vincent was "chattering" a lot about the candy. victoria the bunny slept the whole time in the stroller which amazed me and Ashley. she must have been very warm and cozy in the stroller and the stroller moved a lot. :) We got a lot of candy......... a lot. Ashley and Stu also contributed to vincent's sugar high by buying him skittles- a love of vincent and Stu's forever...... it was pretty funny to see vincent all hyper from all the sugar :) By the time Ash left.. Vincent started behaving like a drunken spiderman.. it was pretty funny. poor kid. haha. memories.
So now that halloween is done... we just had Victoria's 6 month check up completed- and she is 16 pounds 1 oz, 25 1/4 inches tall and her head is about 42 cm. - she was born with a 32 cm head.. so she has doubled in everything since she is born which is what they want to see... so they were very pleased... execpt she has had a horrible yeast infection that we've had a hard time resolving.. thankfully to the nurses of bellin- someone told me to give her a baking soda bath.. and it cured the inflmation. I am SO happy.
Next.. it started to snow!!!! it was pretty crazy because we still have leaves on our trees around here and it usually doesn't really snow until right before thanksgiving- like when it gets super cold...... well.. the sky just started dumping rain.. it became freezing rain.. and it became snow. Vincent was VERY excited when he saw this. I explained it was snow not rain and he was running around the house signing frantically mama its snoooooooooooooooooowing. Great. thanks for the alert weatherman Vincent. :) Vincent will also alert me to the fact it is raining outside. It is so cute how Vincent is very interested in the weather changes and what is going on outside. so it snowed all day... and It got me started to think about christmas.. I admit i had been thinking about christmas because of the kids and what they want and need for christmas. but.. the snow made me really think about how exicted i am for it this year.. Vincent really enjoys watching Christmas movies with Barney and Caillou and I think once we have the tree up and get ready for christmas.. I plan on counting down the many days of christmas with him and really teaching him what christmas is all about.. giving and recieving.. and of course the decorations and meeting Santa. :) vincent had met santa last year.. but was too afraid to sit with him and have his picture taken. I am also looking forward to vincent's christmas pictures with his new little sister. It should be interesting because tori is now rolling all over the place and TRYING to creep but she goes backwards.. she is also very vocal.. and very demanding. Lately she has been a crab. It is no fun-I barely get things done because when one is sleeping the other wants attention. Man. :) juggling two kids...........
So now that halloween is done... we just had Victoria's 6 month check up completed- and she is 16 pounds 1 oz, 25 1/4 inches tall and her head is about 42 cm. - she was born with a 32 cm head.. so she has doubled in everything since she is born which is what they want to see... so they were very pleased... execpt she has had a horrible yeast infection that we've had a hard time resolving.. thankfully to the nurses of bellin- someone told me to give her a baking soda bath.. and it cured the inflmation. I am SO happy.
Next.. it started to snow!!!! it was pretty crazy because we still have leaves on our trees around here and it usually doesn't really snow until right before thanksgiving- like when it gets super cold...... well.. the sky just started dumping rain.. it became freezing rain.. and it became snow. Vincent was VERY excited when he saw this. I explained it was snow not rain and he was running around the house signing frantically mama its snoooooooooooooooooowing. Great. thanks for the alert weatherman Vincent. :) Vincent will also alert me to the fact it is raining outside. It is so cute how Vincent is very interested in the weather changes and what is going on outside. so it snowed all day... and It got me started to think about christmas.. I admit i had been thinking about christmas because of the kids and what they want and need for christmas. but.. the snow made me really think about how exicted i am for it this year.. Vincent really enjoys watching Christmas movies with Barney and Caillou and I think once we have the tree up and get ready for christmas.. I plan on counting down the many days of christmas with him and really teaching him what christmas is all about.. giving and recieving.. and of course the decorations and meeting Santa. :) vincent had met santa last year.. but was too afraid to sit with him and have his picture taken. I am also looking forward to vincent's christmas pictures with his new little sister. It should be interesting because tori is now rolling all over the place and TRYING to creep but she goes backwards.. she is also very vocal.. and very demanding. Lately she has been a crab. It is no fun-I barely get things done because when one is sleeping the other wants attention. Man. :) juggling two kids...........
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
snot factory.. drip.. drip.. sneeze!
Greetings.......
I can't believe I am actually posting during the day.. many of you know I post at night after the babies are in bed. My babies are sick...... with colds........... from their daddy. we love andy so much this week don't we? he came down with a cold on thursday and it's a not a pretty one.. but what cold is? he has been sneezing, having sore throats and coughing a lot. sadly.. he passed this on to me out of love, and the children too....... so our house has now shifted from the poop factory to the snot factory.. I am sure we could make MONEY by the massive amounts of product we produce. :)
I have been sick tooo..... but moms never have the day off..... :)
Vincent has been sick since sunday.. and tori just started today and I call it the sniffles and a little sneezing. Not as bad as i feared. she is faring well but sleeping a lot more than usual. vincent my 2 year old that NEVEr naps, has napped yesterday for 3 and half hours. and today hes down for another nap. I must say I ENJOY it when he's sick.. not when hes screaming at me to make him better...... but when hes sleeping because then I can actually.. blog, read a book and dance in my living room with no one watching......... oh crap! I let that out... yes. I dance......... can a deaf person dance? yes.. maybe not in perfect timing but...... we do. :)
with much love from the snot factory...... 'til next time
snotty boogers
I can't believe I am actually posting during the day.. many of you know I post at night after the babies are in bed. My babies are sick...... with colds........... from their daddy. we love andy so much this week don't we? he came down with a cold on thursday and it's a not a pretty one.. but what cold is? he has been sneezing, having sore throats and coughing a lot. sadly.. he passed this on to me out of love, and the children too....... so our house has now shifted from the poop factory to the snot factory.. I am sure we could make MONEY by the massive amounts of product we produce. :)
I have been sick tooo..... but moms never have the day off..... :)
Vincent has been sick since sunday.. and tori just started today and I call it the sniffles and a little sneezing. Not as bad as i feared. she is faring well but sleeping a lot more than usual. vincent my 2 year old that NEVEr naps, has napped yesterday for 3 and half hours. and today hes down for another nap. I must say I ENJOY it when he's sick.. not when hes screaming at me to make him better...... but when hes sleeping because then I can actually.. blog, read a book and dance in my living room with no one watching......... oh crap! I let that out... yes. I dance......... can a deaf person dance? yes.. maybe not in perfect timing but...... we do. :)
with much love from the snot factory...... 'til next time
snotty boogers
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Birth Stories
I thought it'd be fun to document my 2 kid's Birth Stories since some people might be interested in what its like to be deaf and giving birth- trust me, it is NOT all that different- just one extra person in the room and that person is just to tell people what you are saying and translating what they are saying into ASL.
Vincent Michael entered our lives on June 17th, 2009. What a Adventure that was. I was deathly afraid of giving birth.... I am not.. good with pain at all but I endured. :) I was having braxton hicks for about a month- they are fake contractions that are irregular. I was waiting and waiting.. for our little boy to get here- I just couldn't wait to meet him and hold him.
June 16th.. I had let the dogs out (trooper RIP, and Lady) and they came back in and I was changing the sheets on the bed.. and I had one HUGE contraction and it actually hurt... I was like... Ok that "felt" different... we will see if It keeps going. That was noonish. 3 hours later around 3pm.. I was starting to realize that we are probably going to meet vincent that night or the next day because my contractions were about 8-10 minutes apart.. Andy and I were talking on text (cell phones) he was trying to decide if he should come home or not or if I could wait.. I was not in too much pain so i was like whatever babe. I don't think hes going to come until Late tonight or in the morning. (how wrong was I!) our ex- roommates came home and had a bagful of baby stuff for Vincent and I laughed and said Im in labor we think. and they laughed at the Irony of it and asked if andy was coming home or if there was anything I needed- i'm like andy will get home when he can and Im ok just having some pain. the Pain got a little worse and I told him.. maybe you should come home now... I had my last meal... choc chip cookie at 4:30...I didn't eat until 11pm on the 17th. They told me with vincent you couldn't eat when you suspected you were in labor. Liars.
6 pm contractions were coming about 6-8 minutes now and fairly strong.. Trooper and Lady are running around playing while I am having contractions.. at this point I can sort of talk through them but they hurt more than earlier. Andy and I talk about what to do about the dogs and plans for the next few days. Andy calls his dad and asks if they can watch dogs for 2-3 days- they of course say yes. Lady and trooper headed over there and Lady was NOT happy about being sent away. Sorry pretty girl.. Trooper didn't really care he was only 5 months old and Almost housebroken.
8pm- contractions are about 5-7 minutes apart and a little bumpy. We finally call the dr and the dr says 5-6 minutes apart for a hour then come in. WHOO HOO! so I am texting everyone we know and saying baby may be here soon! and walking and packing andys snack labor bag.
9-30 pm..driving to hostipal- contractions still going........
10 30- still having contractions but they slowed down- my mom shows up at the hostipal all ready to meet her grandson. They said I was only 3 cm dilated but had bloody show but DR will not decide until morning.. what to do. mom heads home sadly.. and says.. call me if you start labor. any time!!!
17th-
the BIG day is here.. 8:00 am. Dr asks if i want vincent out today or if i want to wait. I said NO i want him out hes getting too big. Ok, so off we go on the inducement- they broke my water right away and let me sit like that and said let's see if we get things moving. my water breaking didn't do anything, so they put me on pitcoin by 10 am. I thought oh for sure we would meet vincent that afternoon. they kept upping pitcoin and by 1 pm i was in pain and only 4-5 cm dilated. I felt like it was FOREVER. I opted for the epidural because I thought I had "pain' (I laugh now because of my birth experience with Tori) The epidural helped a lot but they missed a spot on my right side on my lower right hip side.. so I felt contractions and pain the ENTIRE time. Carrie and Andy begin to talk about "sweet baby jesus" from talledga nights- hey sweet baby jesus lets hurry up and get this baby out, sweet baby jesus less pain please. This was going on while i was getting the epidural- Carrie and Andy were laughing their butts off, my Epidural doctor was full of jokes.. he said a joke abbout a elphant or some stupid crap.. I was like JUSt PUT IT IN then tell me the jokes. People. I was not amused at all. around 3pm that day Andy eats a bag of jalpeno chips.. and it stunk up the whole room and I couldn't eat anyway! I looked at him and was like what the hell are you eating it stinks?!!! and he looks at me and smiles and says jalepeno chips. I am like stop eating it. it stinks. I don't like it. and he breathes jalenpeno chip air on me like AHHHHH. I promptly flipped him off. My mom was in the room with me and she LAUGHED and laughed. glad i could amuse her but boy was i annoyed. how dare he!
6pm- I was defteinetely feeling more pressure and pain.. I kept saying I gotta go poop and theyre like no thats the babys head moving down. I'm like whatever it HURTS. I was surpised i was able to feel as much as I did. I suppose the epidural was probably a bad shot. (ha ha!) I was about 6-7 cm dilated so the nurses are like you are almost there.. maybe a hour-two you will start pushing.
7:30 I was 9 cm... finally.......... 8:00 i was complete on one side and 9 and half on the other side. so flip flop lauren like a pancake and a few minutes later I was done.
so around 8:05ish- I started pushing........ and pushing............I swear to god it was the hardest thing i've ever had to do.. and I was so tired.. and you know these scenes in the movies where the mom says she is so tired and she wants to give up and the baby can stay inside her forever. I said that. I told everyone im done.. Vincent can stay inside where he is and I am perfectly fine with that. No, everyone said no you can do it you can push you're just almost done. REALLY... fine..
9:13 pm... vincent was born and our lives were forever changed. He was placed on my tummy and blue and purple. Andy and I expected to see a happy pink baby and not a purple little guy so we were both freaked as first time parents as what to expect and do... but they said because of me taking so long to push and the long labor.. about 12 hours of labor then a hour 10 minutes-ish of pushing. Vincent was screaming and breathing ok. We were so happy to meet him though :) I still remember holding him and being amazed at how little he was and how sweet he was.
The whole deafness thing didn't stop me from having a baby. we had a awesome interpreter in the birth room.. and she jsut translated whatever the nurses were talking about (if) i was awake. I slept a lot through this labor because i was in pain and not feeling good. I thought it was hard before I had vincent to have a interpreter but in the end I was SO glad she was there because she helped so much.. and andy was able to enjoy being there for me and being a dad and not having to... "work" for me. haha.
Victoria's part......
Victoria was born April 23rd, 2011
I also had braxton hicks with Victoria for about a month as well but these were stronger so I never knew if it was the real thing or not. I spent many a night on the couch watching t.v. and contracting and watching the clock. I was so exicted to meet our little girl.. and give vincent his little sister... I was thankful we had her healthy and alright. :)
Thursday the 21st-
I was planning on begging my dr to induce me.... because I wanted her out and it was my birthday- i really didn't care if i spent it in the hostipal. I just wanted her born. Looking back now, maybe i knew I should have her sooner than later? mother's inutution? Dr had said that Bellin was full of patients and they wouldn't send me unless i was contractiong- great the only day I wasn't contracting all week. I was 4 cm so i could go anytime.. just had to start contracting. I made the desicion to send Vincent to Nanna B's house because I knew i could have her that night, fri or sat... or sunday... and I figured well if the dr knows I could go anytime and im 4 cm. this baby could move quick...... so off he went for his first sleepover without any practice.. and poor mommy had to deal. I missed him horribly but i had time to prepare for Victoria's arrival and clean... I was SO mad she still hadn't arrived on friday afternoon. I finally decided i was going to eat lunch/dinner and take a nap- well deserved after all the cleaning. I ate Arbys and off to dreamland i went.......
I woke up in a middle of a contraction....... and It did not feel right... and I've had one of those a few times but this was super scary. my contraction would not stop............. and it would keep going for number of minutes and nearly kill me. I was laying there thinking ok i want this to stop now. andy finally helped me sit up and it kind of subsided- and I thought i need to go to the bathroom and walk around or something. I went to the bathroom and....... then Victoria just wouldn't move. I poked her i shook my belly- my tummy was hard as a rock but no baby movement..... I started to freak out as any mom knows when your baby isn't moving espically after a bad contraction like that you freak. I told andy she wasn't moving and he got very nervous and.. told me to call the dr. it was right at 5pm when they were done for the day at the doctors office so they had to beep the dr and have him call us right back.... I was pretty sure we would end up at the hostipal because that was just WEIRD. Dr called back and andy explained in man sense what happened LOL and he is like have her drink some orange juice, lay down for a hour and the baby should move...... if not then call me back and we'll meet up at the hostipal. so lay down i went on my left side........... and victoria did start kicking............ and SO did my contractions..... they went from 7 mins apart to about 3-5 minutes apart. Andy is like well, screw it, I am sick of waiting to see if its the real labor so we are going in and we are NOT leaving without a baby. HAHA andy. thanks.
We go in............ my contractions stopped (what the hell?!) but the nurse said the dr did want to talk about inducement on sat morning since i am almost 40 weeks. (40 weeks monday) but wanted to send me home. Andy is like NO. we are not leaving here because our ins will make us pay twice. dr said ok fine you can stay and then asked us to do a non stress fetal test with tori where I had to feel her kicking and press a button. that was fun. Not.. Carrie and I and andy all hung out for a few hours watching my contractions and watching t.v.
Andy went home to sleep to get ready for the big day- I was so sure dr would let me go and have this baby. I was ready! 3 am..... I had a KILLER contraction the same one like at 3pm that afternoon............ and it went for i think about 5 minutes long or 6 min. and there were a couple dips. the nurse came back in and said, ok this is called triple chain contraction. which means you have 3 contractions that are happening at the same time on top of each other. Great...... I don't want that. Thank You - it hurts. No food. great. damn it.
7 30am- they wake me up to wait for the dr to meet about inducement.... what a quack. I couldn't eat breakfast because of the stupid contraction at 3 am. Carrie and I filled andy in what happened at 3 am........ and he was like but they said ur ok right? uh yes if i wasn't they would have gotten the baby out right away and you would have gotten a phone call.
finally at 10 am after a Long time of waiting........ the dr shows up.. I am a little irriated because i could have slept until 9 30 but WHATEVER. I want to meet HER. Dr says: ok fine, I will induce you..... but if it doesn't work then you have to go home and wait for her to come on her own terms. Dr also DX me with Irriatable uterus..... and the only cure: is having the baby. Great. thanks. she better come. so they got the water IV in, the pictoin started.. and that took about a hour to do because they couldn't figure out the machine....
so at around 11 30 they got the pitcoin running and i am drinking apple juice, orange juice and popsicles and chilling and chatting.
12 30 they brought me a cup of broth and some jello.............. real food. seeing as I hadn't ate since 3pm the day before (except for some M and M's carrie snuck me she is awesome) carrie was fixing my table.......... and my water broke......... I was like...... I think...... my water broke........im not sure but.......... gush....... yes.... carrie is like can i look? im like uve seen everything haha! she checked and yep it broke... and what a MESS. so the nurses came in and we're like water broke... and they looked and confirmed that my water did indeed break. Great. so they changed my sheets, changed my gown and i went pee... Yay they went to report to Dr that i was going to be having the baby in a few hours.....around 1pm... things were moving right along, my contractions started getting worse, and they were coming really fast and strong. Please god don't let this kill me now!!! At this time I opted to ask for a epidural. Lamaze class was the best thing EVER for this birth...... I think if i never learned the technqiues from this class. I would probably have been throwing stuff at everyone in the room.. and swearing. I only swore once.... and my nurses knew exactly what i just said- and theyre like Yep we know and it was funny. I told andy quite a few times we were NOT having anymore children...............and how much it hurt. holy cow. 2:30 rolls around.. my epidural guy strolls in and asks how i am doing and how dilated I am...... and the nurse says 8 cm.. and hes like do u still want the epidural.......I m like PUT THE damn THING IN now. hes like you have to be nice to me..... Ugh i just want IT IN now (thinking: what?! I am in Fooking pain and you're asking me to be nice to you, you are a man, you do not understand, you deserve to have ur balls chopped off in order to understand why i want the epidural NOW) so he puts it in, and I cried the whole time because my contractions were killing me.. the needle didn't hurt much the contractions hurt more. that was 3pm... the epidural was put in in just enough time to take away the pain of the contraction.....and they said yep ur a 10 ur ready to roll. so they called the 30 people in the room that they have to have in a room for a birth. and they asked if it was my first or 2nd? I was like my 2nd. the nurse said oh it will go much faster with her now. I was like uh ok i just want her out. 5 big pushes and she was born a little grayish-pretty pink looking little girl. Victoria Marie 7 lbs 13 oz I immediately start shaking like I had the chills or seizures. I feel bad but I was just not interested in holding her at all at that moment.. i looked at her and i was like ok shes out and shes fine...... now i just need time to stop shaking and feel like myself. andy was worried about me since with vincent i was able to have him and push him out and hold him right away. It took me 50 mins after tori was born to want to hold her. Its not to say I loved both of my kids any different, its just the birth situations were VERY different. I love both of my kids more than anything else in the world... it is because of them, I know I was put on this earth to be their mother. I feel it every time vincent hugs me in that "only for mommy" way and Victoria leans her head on my shoulder and snuggles. In those quiet short moments I have with my babies............ I realize over and over, I was blessed with 2 amazing gifts that I will hold for a lifetime knowing they both have left their handprints on my heart. I will never forget the memories, the joy.. the love of raising 2 kids. the struggles with having 2 kids 2 years apart is hard but I wouldn't trade any minute of it. My kids are meant to be mine. :)
Vincent Michael entered our lives on June 17th, 2009. What a Adventure that was. I was deathly afraid of giving birth.... I am not.. good with pain at all but I endured. :) I was having braxton hicks for about a month- they are fake contractions that are irregular. I was waiting and waiting.. for our little boy to get here- I just couldn't wait to meet him and hold him.
June 16th.. I had let the dogs out (trooper RIP, and Lady) and they came back in and I was changing the sheets on the bed.. and I had one HUGE contraction and it actually hurt... I was like... Ok that "felt" different... we will see if It keeps going. That was noonish. 3 hours later around 3pm.. I was starting to realize that we are probably going to meet vincent that night or the next day because my contractions were about 8-10 minutes apart.. Andy and I were talking on text (cell phones) he was trying to decide if he should come home or not or if I could wait.. I was not in too much pain so i was like whatever babe. I don't think hes going to come until Late tonight or in the morning. (how wrong was I!) our ex- roommates came home and had a bagful of baby stuff for Vincent and I laughed and said Im in labor we think. and they laughed at the Irony of it and asked if andy was coming home or if there was anything I needed- i'm like andy will get home when he can and Im ok just having some pain. the Pain got a little worse and I told him.. maybe you should come home now... I had my last meal... choc chip cookie at 4:30...I didn't eat until 11pm on the 17th. They told me with vincent you couldn't eat when you suspected you were in labor. Liars.
6 pm contractions were coming about 6-8 minutes now and fairly strong.. Trooper and Lady are running around playing while I am having contractions.. at this point I can sort of talk through them but they hurt more than earlier. Andy and I talk about what to do about the dogs and plans for the next few days. Andy calls his dad and asks if they can watch dogs for 2-3 days- they of course say yes. Lady and trooper headed over there and Lady was NOT happy about being sent away. Sorry pretty girl.. Trooper didn't really care he was only 5 months old and Almost housebroken.
8pm- contractions are about 5-7 minutes apart and a little bumpy. We finally call the dr and the dr says 5-6 minutes apart for a hour then come in. WHOO HOO! so I am texting everyone we know and saying baby may be here soon! and walking and packing andys snack labor bag.
9-30 pm..driving to hostipal- contractions still going........
10 30- still having contractions but they slowed down- my mom shows up at the hostipal all ready to meet her grandson. They said I was only 3 cm dilated but had bloody show but DR will not decide until morning.. what to do. mom heads home sadly.. and says.. call me if you start labor. any time!!!
17th-
the BIG day is here.. 8:00 am. Dr asks if i want vincent out today or if i want to wait. I said NO i want him out hes getting too big. Ok, so off we go on the inducement- they broke my water right away and let me sit like that and said let's see if we get things moving. my water breaking didn't do anything, so they put me on pitcoin by 10 am. I thought oh for sure we would meet vincent that afternoon. they kept upping pitcoin and by 1 pm i was in pain and only 4-5 cm dilated. I felt like it was FOREVER. I opted for the epidural because I thought I had "pain' (I laugh now because of my birth experience with Tori) The epidural helped a lot but they missed a spot on my right side on my lower right hip side.. so I felt contractions and pain the ENTIRE time. Carrie and Andy begin to talk about "sweet baby jesus" from talledga nights- hey sweet baby jesus lets hurry up and get this baby out, sweet baby jesus less pain please. This was going on while i was getting the epidural- Carrie and Andy were laughing their butts off, my Epidural doctor was full of jokes.. he said a joke abbout a elphant or some stupid crap.. I was like JUSt PUT IT IN then tell me the jokes. People. I was not amused at all. around 3pm that day Andy eats a bag of jalpeno chips.. and it stunk up the whole room and I couldn't eat anyway! I looked at him and was like what the hell are you eating it stinks?!!! and he looks at me and smiles and says jalepeno chips. I am like stop eating it. it stinks. I don't like it. and he breathes jalenpeno chip air on me like AHHHHH. I promptly flipped him off. My mom was in the room with me and she LAUGHED and laughed. glad i could amuse her but boy was i annoyed. how dare he!
6pm- I was defteinetely feeling more pressure and pain.. I kept saying I gotta go poop and theyre like no thats the babys head moving down. I'm like whatever it HURTS. I was surpised i was able to feel as much as I did. I suppose the epidural was probably a bad shot. (ha ha!) I was about 6-7 cm dilated so the nurses are like you are almost there.. maybe a hour-two you will start pushing.
7:30 I was 9 cm... finally.......... 8:00 i was complete on one side and 9 and half on the other side. so flip flop lauren like a pancake and a few minutes later I was done.
so around 8:05ish- I started pushing........ and pushing............I swear to god it was the hardest thing i've ever had to do.. and I was so tired.. and you know these scenes in the movies where the mom says she is so tired and she wants to give up and the baby can stay inside her forever. I said that. I told everyone im done.. Vincent can stay inside where he is and I am perfectly fine with that. No, everyone said no you can do it you can push you're just almost done. REALLY... fine..
9:13 pm... vincent was born and our lives were forever changed. He was placed on my tummy and blue and purple. Andy and I expected to see a happy pink baby and not a purple little guy so we were both freaked as first time parents as what to expect and do... but they said because of me taking so long to push and the long labor.. about 12 hours of labor then a hour 10 minutes-ish of pushing. Vincent was screaming and breathing ok. We were so happy to meet him though :) I still remember holding him and being amazed at how little he was and how sweet he was.
The whole deafness thing didn't stop me from having a baby. we had a awesome interpreter in the birth room.. and she jsut translated whatever the nurses were talking about (if) i was awake. I slept a lot through this labor because i was in pain and not feeling good. I thought it was hard before I had vincent to have a interpreter but in the end I was SO glad she was there because she helped so much.. and andy was able to enjoy being there for me and being a dad and not having to... "work" for me. haha.
Victoria's part......
Victoria was born April 23rd, 2011
I also had braxton hicks with Victoria for about a month as well but these were stronger so I never knew if it was the real thing or not. I spent many a night on the couch watching t.v. and contracting and watching the clock. I was so exicted to meet our little girl.. and give vincent his little sister... I was thankful we had her healthy and alright. :)
Thursday the 21st-
I was planning on begging my dr to induce me.... because I wanted her out and it was my birthday- i really didn't care if i spent it in the hostipal. I just wanted her born. Looking back now, maybe i knew I should have her sooner than later? mother's inutution? Dr had said that Bellin was full of patients and they wouldn't send me unless i was contractiong- great the only day I wasn't contracting all week. I was 4 cm so i could go anytime.. just had to start contracting. I made the desicion to send Vincent to Nanna B's house because I knew i could have her that night, fri or sat... or sunday... and I figured well if the dr knows I could go anytime and im 4 cm. this baby could move quick...... so off he went for his first sleepover without any practice.. and poor mommy had to deal. I missed him horribly but i had time to prepare for Victoria's arrival and clean... I was SO mad she still hadn't arrived on friday afternoon. I finally decided i was going to eat lunch/dinner and take a nap- well deserved after all the cleaning. I ate Arbys and off to dreamland i went.......
I woke up in a middle of a contraction....... and It did not feel right... and I've had one of those a few times but this was super scary. my contraction would not stop............. and it would keep going for number of minutes and nearly kill me. I was laying there thinking ok i want this to stop now. andy finally helped me sit up and it kind of subsided- and I thought i need to go to the bathroom and walk around or something. I went to the bathroom and....... then Victoria just wouldn't move. I poked her i shook my belly- my tummy was hard as a rock but no baby movement..... I started to freak out as any mom knows when your baby isn't moving espically after a bad contraction like that you freak. I told andy she wasn't moving and he got very nervous and.. told me to call the dr. it was right at 5pm when they were done for the day at the doctors office so they had to beep the dr and have him call us right back.... I was pretty sure we would end up at the hostipal because that was just WEIRD. Dr called back and andy explained in man sense what happened LOL and he is like have her drink some orange juice, lay down for a hour and the baby should move...... if not then call me back and we'll meet up at the hostipal. so lay down i went on my left side........... and victoria did start kicking............ and SO did my contractions..... they went from 7 mins apart to about 3-5 minutes apart. Andy is like well, screw it, I am sick of waiting to see if its the real labor so we are going in and we are NOT leaving without a baby. HAHA andy. thanks.
We go in............ my contractions stopped (what the hell?!) but the nurse said the dr did want to talk about inducement on sat morning since i am almost 40 weeks. (40 weeks monday) but wanted to send me home. Andy is like NO. we are not leaving here because our ins will make us pay twice. dr said ok fine you can stay and then asked us to do a non stress fetal test with tori where I had to feel her kicking and press a button. that was fun. Not.. Carrie and I and andy all hung out for a few hours watching my contractions and watching t.v.
Andy went home to sleep to get ready for the big day- I was so sure dr would let me go and have this baby. I was ready! 3 am..... I had a KILLER contraction the same one like at 3pm that afternoon............ and it went for i think about 5 minutes long or 6 min. and there were a couple dips. the nurse came back in and said, ok this is called triple chain contraction. which means you have 3 contractions that are happening at the same time on top of each other. Great...... I don't want that. Thank You - it hurts. No food. great. damn it.
7 30am- they wake me up to wait for the dr to meet about inducement.... what a quack. I couldn't eat breakfast because of the stupid contraction at 3 am. Carrie and I filled andy in what happened at 3 am........ and he was like but they said ur ok right? uh yes if i wasn't they would have gotten the baby out right away and you would have gotten a phone call.
finally at 10 am after a Long time of waiting........ the dr shows up.. I am a little irriated because i could have slept until 9 30 but WHATEVER. I want to meet HER. Dr says: ok fine, I will induce you..... but if it doesn't work then you have to go home and wait for her to come on her own terms. Dr also DX me with Irriatable uterus..... and the only cure: is having the baby. Great. thanks. she better come. so they got the water IV in, the pictoin started.. and that took about a hour to do because they couldn't figure out the machine....
so at around 11 30 they got the pitcoin running and i am drinking apple juice, orange juice and popsicles and chilling and chatting.
12 30 they brought me a cup of broth and some jello.............. real food. seeing as I hadn't ate since 3pm the day before (except for some M and M's carrie snuck me she is awesome) carrie was fixing my table.......... and my water broke......... I was like...... I think...... my water broke........im not sure but.......... gush....... yes.... carrie is like can i look? im like uve seen everything haha! she checked and yep it broke... and what a MESS. so the nurses came in and we're like water broke... and they looked and confirmed that my water did indeed break. Great. so they changed my sheets, changed my gown and i went pee... Yay they went to report to Dr that i was going to be having the baby in a few hours.....around 1pm... things were moving right along, my contractions started getting worse, and they were coming really fast and strong. Please god don't let this kill me now!!! At this time I opted to ask for a epidural. Lamaze class was the best thing EVER for this birth...... I think if i never learned the technqiues from this class. I would probably have been throwing stuff at everyone in the room.. and swearing. I only swore once.... and my nurses knew exactly what i just said- and theyre like Yep we know and it was funny. I told andy quite a few times we were NOT having anymore children...............and how much it hurt. holy cow. 2:30 rolls around.. my epidural guy strolls in and asks how i am doing and how dilated I am...... and the nurse says 8 cm.. and hes like do u still want the epidural.......I m like PUT THE damn THING IN now. hes like you have to be nice to me..... Ugh i just want IT IN now (thinking: what?! I am in Fooking pain and you're asking me to be nice to you, you are a man, you do not understand, you deserve to have ur balls chopped off in order to understand why i want the epidural NOW) so he puts it in, and I cried the whole time because my contractions were killing me.. the needle didn't hurt much the contractions hurt more. that was 3pm... the epidural was put in in just enough time to take away the pain of the contraction.....and they said yep ur a 10 ur ready to roll. so they called the 30 people in the room that they have to have in a room for a birth. and they asked if it was my first or 2nd? I was like my 2nd. the nurse said oh it will go much faster with her now. I was like uh ok i just want her out. 5 big pushes and she was born a little grayish-pretty pink looking little girl. Victoria Marie 7 lbs 13 oz I immediately start shaking like I had the chills or seizures. I feel bad but I was just not interested in holding her at all at that moment.. i looked at her and i was like ok shes out and shes fine...... now i just need time to stop shaking and feel like myself. andy was worried about me since with vincent i was able to have him and push him out and hold him right away. It took me 50 mins after tori was born to want to hold her. Its not to say I loved both of my kids any different, its just the birth situations were VERY different. I love both of my kids more than anything else in the world... it is because of them, I know I was put on this earth to be their mother. I feel it every time vincent hugs me in that "only for mommy" way and Victoria leans her head on my shoulder and snuggles. In those quiet short moments I have with my babies............ I realize over and over, I was blessed with 2 amazing gifts that I will hold for a lifetime knowing they both have left their handprints on my heart. I will never forget the memories, the joy.. the love of raising 2 kids. the struggles with having 2 kids 2 years apart is hard but I wouldn't trade any minute of it. My kids are meant to be mine. :)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Deaf Awareness week
DAY two-
Deaf awareness week is "celebrated" September 26th-30th or around the last week of September- it gives us a opporunity to celebrate and socialize with other people that are deaf- and also to educate the general public and students and co workers about what deafness is all about.... and really.. ask anything.... we have heard everything a-z- I am almost never shocked anymore.
being deaf doesn't mean I live in a world of silence... It means my life is more enriched by having 2 cultures. I grew up in a hearing household and my children are growing up in a bilingual culturally life and household. they are so lucky. I often say I am just on the bridge between both worlds because I can talk and sign and hear with my cochlear implant so everything is "open" to me so to speak. there are people that choose to stay in the deaf world- marry a deaf person and maybe luckily have deaf children someday and work in a deaf supported enviroment.
Now, going to the deaf panel yesterday- my job isn't working or being a student right now- it's being a mom and teaching my 2 beautiful kids all about ASL and trying to raise them to the best of my ability and hoping someday to make them into amazing, wonderful young people that I love. It was so much fun talking about my kids- I have stories and stories full of just "vincent" :) Victoria is too little to start telling stories about but she has her own development milestones that I love to brag about as well. it doesn't hurt they are cute.
Now... for today I will fill you in on some common deaf awareness things so you know for future reference- in case you come across a deaf person and you.......... want desperately to know what to do?
first of all.. don't feel stupid- there is no such thing as stupid questions really.. and we don't bite...
1. just make sure we are looking at you when you approach.... I've noticed now with my kids espically- if I have my kids with me I am often focused on them and not really thinking about if someone else will approach me- so tap us on the shoulder if you want to converse.
2. about 90 percent of hearing parents HAVE deaf children. Often times- deaf people have hearing children- it is about 10 percent of deaf people that go on to have deaf children (depending on genetics)
3. gesture if you need to- don't be afraid to look stupid.
4. if you converse with a person that is deaf and can read lips... don't overextragge lip movements or try to talk reallly slow (like hoooooooooooow aaaaaaaaaaaaareeeeeee yoooooooooooooooou) its very annoying to us and we ARE used to reading lips and if we need you to slow down or write something down we don't understand- we WILL ask
5. how do deaf people know when sounds are happening? we have flashing lights or some people have a hearing dog for this purpose- OR have a hearing person around. Pretty much now days with texting you could actually text a deaf person now and tell them you're coming and they will expect you.
6. deaf people live and die by texting. its the newest mode of communication other than IM- and it's made life a LOT easier because now we can text a hearing person too and it is like "chatting" on the phone.
7. deaf people have videophones that we can call anyone and sign. It's really cool
8. remember always... deaf people ARE just like you- we are normal human beings and our ears simply don't work- there are deaf people with more disabilities as well but MOST deaf people are normal.. we vary as well there are people that can talk and sign, people that don't talk but sign... and different SIGN choices like (ASL, PSE and SEE)
I hope I educated you a little bit about what to do around deaf people... oh yeah.. it doesn't hurt to learn a few of the basic signs as well... don't be afraid to ask a deaf person to sign with you- we are always willing to help you learn our language. :)
Deaf awareness week is "celebrated" September 26th-30th or around the last week of September- it gives us a opporunity to celebrate and socialize with other people that are deaf- and also to educate the general public and students and co workers about what deafness is all about.... and really.. ask anything.... we have heard everything a-z- I am almost never shocked anymore.
being deaf doesn't mean I live in a world of silence... It means my life is more enriched by having 2 cultures. I grew up in a hearing household and my children are growing up in a bilingual culturally life and household. they are so lucky. I often say I am just on the bridge between both worlds because I can talk and sign and hear with my cochlear implant so everything is "open" to me so to speak. there are people that choose to stay in the deaf world- marry a deaf person and maybe luckily have deaf children someday and work in a deaf supported enviroment.
Now, going to the deaf panel yesterday- my job isn't working or being a student right now- it's being a mom and teaching my 2 beautiful kids all about ASL and trying to raise them to the best of my ability and hoping someday to make them into amazing, wonderful young people that I love. It was so much fun talking about my kids- I have stories and stories full of just "vincent" :) Victoria is too little to start telling stories about but she has her own development milestones that I love to brag about as well. it doesn't hurt they are cute.
Now... for today I will fill you in on some common deaf awareness things so you know for future reference- in case you come across a deaf person and you.......... want desperately to know what to do?
first of all.. don't feel stupid- there is no such thing as stupid questions really.. and we don't bite...
1. just make sure we are looking at you when you approach.... I've noticed now with my kids espically- if I have my kids with me I am often focused on them and not really thinking about if someone else will approach me- so tap us on the shoulder if you want to converse.
2. about 90 percent of hearing parents HAVE deaf children. Often times- deaf people have hearing children- it is about 10 percent of deaf people that go on to have deaf children (depending on genetics)
3. gesture if you need to- don't be afraid to look stupid.
4. if you converse with a person that is deaf and can read lips... don't overextragge lip movements or try to talk reallly slow (like hoooooooooooow aaaaaaaaaaaaareeeeeee yoooooooooooooooou) its very annoying to us and we ARE used to reading lips and if we need you to slow down or write something down we don't understand- we WILL ask
5. how do deaf people know when sounds are happening? we have flashing lights or some people have a hearing dog for this purpose- OR have a hearing person around. Pretty much now days with texting you could actually text a deaf person now and tell them you're coming and they will expect you.
6. deaf people live and die by texting. its the newest mode of communication other than IM- and it's made life a LOT easier because now we can text a hearing person too and it is like "chatting" on the phone.
7. deaf people have videophones that we can call anyone and sign. It's really cool
8. remember always... deaf people ARE just like you- we are normal human beings and our ears simply don't work- there are deaf people with more disabilities as well but MOST deaf people are normal.. we vary as well there are people that can talk and sign, people that don't talk but sign... and different SIGN choices like (ASL, PSE and SEE)
I hope I educated you a little bit about what to do around deaf people... oh yeah.. it doesn't hurt to learn a few of the basic signs as well... don't be afraid to ask a deaf person to sign with you- we are always willing to help you learn our language. :)
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