The Newborn & Toddlers Off-Topic Chat Thread

RentDayBlues

Woshy wrote: »

Has anyone taken their child to a private audiologist? Any recommendations? I'm in Bray, Co Wicklow so Dublin or Wicklow are fine.

My boy has been referred by the PHN for a HSE appointment but we think we'd like to get him seen sooner. He's been at his ears a bit recently. The HSE appointment will be a few months and he has health insurance so we'll get some of the cost back as well.

We went to beacon audiology for tests prior to gromit surgery. They were excellent with my then 22 month old, put her at ease, kept her entertained and thorough in their process - took 40 mins

Woshy

That's great to hear - I was looking at taking him there actually and my boy is 21 months so about the same age. I've just been looking at their website. Do you mind me asking what were the signs you saw that meant you got her hearing checked?

RentDayBlues

Woshy wrote: »

That's great to hear - I was looking at taking him there actually and my boy is 21 months so about the same age. I've just been looking at their website. Do you mind me asking what were the signs you saw that meant you got her hearing checked?

Bad parent alert: I didn't notice anything with her hearing really, it was the ENT who was doing the gromits that asked for it to be done.

When we got the results, I felt awful, 90% loss in one ear and 50% loss in another. It was then I realised that we had been compensating for her reduced hearing: speaking loudly etc

She wasn't walking, her balance was poor. We had gone to ENT because of repeated ear infections.

She walked within a week of surgery and her speech has come on so so much since. No more ear aches, and she's a chatterbox. Hearing completely restored

Woshy

Thanks for sharing! My little boy does get ear infections but I wouldn't have said they were chronic or anything but we are wondering if his ears bother him more than we noticed. Both my parents and us have noticed him pulling, poking at his ears more recently. We've been advised to see a speech therapist because of a speech delay and an audiologist appointment is part of that. I'd like to get any hearing problems ruled out now so we know there's not a physical problem.

Most of me thinks he'll probably be fine, he can hear crisps being opened from the next room but I think it's important to be sure there's not something there contributing to his lack of speech.

RentDayBlues

Id get it done, just for peace of mind. My little one was talking and had a few words, but none were clear to a lot of people just us. Once she got the gromits she just became a chatterbox, made me feel like I shouldn't have waited so long to get it checked

Hopefully you'll get a quick appointment and good news

Woshy

Thanks, I think it just needs to be ruled out and I don't want to wait for a HSE appointment.

I'm glad to hear it worked out well for you and your daughter. It must be so nice to have her chatting away. I'm dying for my boy to properly call me Mummy

Woshy

Booked my boy in for an audiologist appointment today - there's a 3 week wait for appointments in the Beacon! If it's that long paying privately who knows how long the public waiting list is.

Fingers crossed nothing is wrong anyway - still no sign of him saying any words though

yellow hen

Woshy wrote: »

Booked my boy in for an audiologist appointment today - there's a 3 week wait for appointments in the Beacon! If it's that long paying privately who knows how long the public waiting list is.

Fingers crossed nothing is wrong anyway - still no sign of him saying any words though

Oh wow! I need to do the same. It's either the beacon or the hermitage. There isn't really a lot of choice. Did you need a gp referral for the beacon? Also is it just an audiology test or will he see an ENT consultant to consider other things? Sorry for all the questions!

Woshy

No, no referral. I just rang them up and said I wanted to get my 21 month old checked. It's €120 for the appointment but some health insurers let you claim back €40 of that.

It's not an ENT appointment - just an audiology check. Our PHN has referred him for an audiologist and speech therapy appointment so I knew he needed one, I just didn't want to wait for the hearing one in case it was affecting his ability to talk because that can be dealt with now. I'm presuming if there is a problem we'll be referred to an ENT consultant

mirrorwall14

Did all of you have hearing checked at birth? Is it like short sightedness where it develops over time?

Woshy

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Did all of you have hearing checked at birth? Is it like short sightedness where it develops over time?

Yes, he had the newborn screening and his hearing was fine then. He has had quite a few ear infections and fluid can build up in their ears which means they can't hear words properly. That's why an audiologist appointment is recommended for speech delays.

Suucee

My daughter never had the test at birth (will be 3 next month). Due to recurring ear infections and lack od speech we went straight to ent.
She needed grommets . We paid privetly for consult was 150. We dont have health insurance so we were put back on public list with a view fot 6 mnths plus for opp.
But my parenta paid for it as she ended up sick again.
14mnths later her speech is flying. Has had about 3 infections since but have all come with tonsilitis ent thought at the time the tonsils would need removing but she was and still is too young.
So we are back on public ent list . She still says occasionaly her ears are sore and when theres lots of load noises (parade , baby crying) i see her holding 1 ear in particular.

Every time i see my lil guy even pull at his i freak. Hoping we wont go down that road with him.

Woshy

How often were her ear infections? I wouldn't say my boy has had it bad - we've only been to gp 3 or 4 times for ear infections. However, he is at his ears a lot and I'm become very conscious of it since the speech delay has come to light. I'm wondering if he suffers with his ears more than I actually think.

It must have been tough on you all, ear infections are so painful and it's horrible seeing them in agony

I'm not sure what's going on with my boy though, he can point out so many things in books and around him - even distinguishing colours/shapes and seems to understand me very well he just doesn't say any real words. I'm not sure if hearing problems would affect his development that way or not. He can obviously hear me. I'll feel better when it's checked anyway.

yellow hen

Thanks woshy. Hermitage told us they needed a referral. Might call the beacon tomorrow to make the appt. I'd love to hear him talk some more.

Woshy

Good luck! It's just nice to feel like you're doing something to help I think - getting things ruled out and checked on.

We're doing everything we've been advised to do with the speech and we'll keep going at it but it gets very frustrating when it doesn't seem to be helping. I feel like it's partly my fault because I'm the one home with him all day I know 21 months is still young enough but it's hard not to compare him to other babies who have a good vocabulary. There's always something to worry about!

cyning

We had newborn screening here too: perfect 1st time but by the time it came to needing grommets you could stand behind her clapping banging and calling her and she wouldn't react at all. 8 ear infections in 10 months. Im going to have her hearing checked when she's older to make sure there's no residual damage.

Succee we've had another bout of tonsilitis here too her third something to watch Id say

Suucee

Ah no cyning . Poor S.
With A she had maybe 1 or 2 ear infections from jan 13 to sept 13. Then had croup and her immune system went to pot. Had about 5 -6 infections in 3 months thats when i also started worrying about speech. She was 18mnths . Though in our case she had previously had words but had stopped saying them. So by dec 13 phn and gp said ent first before any speech and language as they suspected ear issues. Paid for private consult in dec. Had grommets jan 14.
It was tough as i was pregnant with a not so easy pregnancy but all worth it.

The opp was so quick and her speech came on great. I reckon still a little delay but will be starting preschool in sept for 2 days so will see then. she went a good 9 mnths without being sick but has had tonsilits now about 3 times and has had a few throat and ear infections that werent really that bad. But Most recent 2 weeks ago that she was so bad was hardly even drinking and her voice was so strained too. She was gagging trying to eat. She lost weight and only now is her appetite returning.
She was reffered privetly for ent in either dec or jan due to sensitivity with the ears but gp glad she sent it now as tonsils acting up since.
They wont do tonsils before 3 anyway . We knew it was most likely on the cards for us as when getting the grommets ent said she had fairly large tonsils but getting the grommets may mean that she wont get as many infections.
In fairness it has worked for this long and thankfully she isnt very bad so glad to be on the list at least.

With regards helping the speech i found reading to her to be a great help. And those picture books. Point to the picture and say what it is and eventually she started to repeat me.
I still get excited when she comes out with something new. ( her latest is telling me or her brother "love you") .
they really do all progress differently though. My lil boy will be 1 next week and has loads of words and is always repeating us. I think he has more than she had this time last year when she was 2.

Woshy

It must be reassuring that your little boy's speech is good after having gone through all that with your daughter! I'm due number 2 in 9 weeks and I worry that will have a detrimental effect on my boy's speech because my attention will be so divided. It must be lovely to hear her coming out with new stuff now.

He loves books and we read a lot together - we spend ages asking him where is x, where is y and he'll point it out but there is absolutely no effort to say the word after us. If you ask him "what's that" he'll just look at you. He has one word - nana for banana which he has been saying for almost a year. He loves to say it if he sees a banana anywhere but if he's hungry and wants a banana he won't ask for one.

I dunno - I get myself all upset about if I think about it too much! I think pregnancy hormones don't help I know when he properly calls me mummy I'll be sobbing. He says mama now but it's more like mamamamama and we're not sure it's aimed at me.

Suucee

Woshy by the way theres no way it could be your fault. They are all different. Get the ears ruled out and take it from there.
My daughter understood things too but we always over compensated with raising our voices ( hadnt realised at the time). And showing her things.
Its hard to explain over a forum but with our daughter her hearing was muffled. Like her ears were blocked.
So when we said triangle pointing at a picture she couldnt hear it properly but she coresponnded that sound we made with a picture of a triangle.
So for example she heard rrrrannndle while we pointed at a triangle . When i would aske where the triangle she would point but wouldnt say it or make much sense cause she hadnt heard the sounds correctly.

I hope that makes sense.

Woshy

Suucee wrote: »

Woshy by the way theres no way it could be your fault. They are all different. Get the ears ruled out and take it from there.
My daughter understood things too but we always over compensated with raising our voices ( hadnt realised at the time). And showing her things.
Its hard to explain over a forum but with our daughter her hearing was muffled. Like her ears were blocked.
So when we said triangle pointing at a picture she couldnt hear it properly but she coresponnded that sound we made with a picture of a triangle.
So for example she heard rrrrannndle while we pointed at a triangle . When i would aske where the triangle she would point but wouldnt say it or make much sense cause she hadnt heard the sounds correctly.

I hope that makes sense.

That's actually helpful - thanks! That's what I'm wondering, can he hear us but the sound is muffled so that's why he can't say it back properly but he does understand the sound corresponds to a certain picture? He is very chatty and babbles away.

Will be interesting to see what the audiologist says. If it comes back all clear though I don't know what it could be or what to do apart from wait for speech therapy!

Suucee

Ah its all alot worse when hormones and playing havoc too. I was the same. Heavily pregnant when it was all happening .
I was actually chatting to loads of people though whos kids just never spoke and then started one day.
Either way just wait for your appointments and keep doing what your doing. No matter what just remember its not your fault anyway. even if it is a delay it doesnt matter you will get him sorted. Hes not even 2 yet so im sure by the time he is 5 and in school he will be well caught up.

Woshy

Thanks! I've also heard lots of stories where kids just suddenly started talking one day and were caught up within 3-4 weeks. I keep hoping that'll be us and it'll magically come together

Woshy

Thanks Merkin I'm trying to relax about it. My husband, who is usually the big worrier when it comes to our son is much more laid back than me. He just says if his hearing is fine, we'll wait for the speech and language therapy and he will catch up.

RentDayBlues

Woshy wrote: »

Thanks Merkin I'm trying to relax about it. My husband, who is usually the big worrier when it comes to our son is much more laid back than me. He just says if his hearing is fine, we'll wait for the speech and language therapy and he will catch up.

He will! My niece never spoke a word until she was 3 years 3 months! Nothing! She had a big sister who spoke for her. Her sister started school in the September and within a week she was talking, full sentences non stop!!! She knew how, she just never needed to. But from nothing to full sentences in a week shows you that kids are incredibly resilient

Once my little one got her ears fixed her speech came on so quickly and now she's non stop less than a year later

triggermortis

yellow hen wrote: »

Oh wow! I need to do the same. It's either the beacon or the hermitage. There isn't really a lot of choice. Did you need a gp referral for the beacon? Also is it just an audiology test or will he see an ENT consultant to consider other things? Sorry for all the questions!

We went to The Hermitage with our son a few years ago. He kept getting a lot of ear infections and was sick quite often. The audio test said his hearing was perfect, but he still ended up getting grommets, and a while later, was back for his tonsils out. Staff there were great and he's had zero problems since

Roesy

Thinking of bringing my 16 month old to the swimming pool for the first time this weekend. she's a fearless little thing, do people recommend armbands or swim vest or what? Obviously I know that I'll have to be with her all the time but this is a child who likes to run around and to climb on windowsills and try to get out windows, danger is her middle name!!

How Strange

I'd suggest just holding her yourself. Definitely not using any aids as they may give her and you a false sense of security. If the pool has a waddle thing (long foam tube thing!) to put under her arms use that but nothing else.

Woshy

Roesy wrote: »

Thinking of bringing my 16 month old to the swimming pool for the first time this weekend. she's a fearless little thing, do people recommend armbands or swim vest or what? Obviously I know that I'll have to be with her all the time but this is a child who likes to run around and to climb on windowsills and try to get out windows, danger is her middle name!!

As someone with a fellow mad toddler we use arm bands at this stage. He's actually a bit afraid in the water compared to his normal fearless self but he comes around after ten minutes or so and then gets braver. He'll happily kick about with his armbands on but he wants to hold onto us as well.

Just be extra careful holding onto her outside the pool. My boy runs off on me and as he has no fear or sense he doesn't understand how slippy tiles are. Obviously you don't want to have to chase after her and fall yourself. I've had one or two close calls. Our pool has a baby pool with little steps going into it and he can walk to a certain depth and he loves splashing about there. I just have to stop him leaving the water ir he'll be gone.

Roesy

How Strange wrote: »

I'd suggest just holding her yourself. Definitely not using any aids as they may give her and you a false sense of security. If the pool has a waddle thing (long foam tube thing!) to put under her arms use that but nothing else.

Was thinking that but was wondering about extra security. Would only be in a kiddie section but was slightly worried about the little wriggler getting out of my arms. Might try just holding her myself so. Thanks!

Roesy

Woshy wrote: »

As someone with a fellow mad toddler we use arm bands at this stage. He's actually a bit afraid in the water compared to his normal fearless self but he comes around after ten minutes or so and then gets braver. He'll happily kick about with his armbands on but he wants to hold onto us as well.

Just be extra careful holding onto her outside the pool. My boy runs off on me and as he has no fear or sense he doesn't understand how slippy tiles are. Obviously you don't want to have to chase after her and fall yourself. I've had one or two close calls. Our pool has a baby pool with little steps going into it and he can walk to a certain depth and he loves splashing about there. I just have to stop him leaving the water ir he'll be gone.

Thanks! Of course I wait until I'm 26 weeks pregnant before getting around to bringing her swimming, so yeah last thing I need is a fall! Will bring my husband and let him do the wrangling

Woshy

Roesy wrote: »

Thanks! Of course I wait until I'm 26 weeks pregnant before getting around to bringing her swimming, so yeah last thing I need is a fall! Will bring my husband and let him do the wrangling

That's it, nobody wants a pregnant woman falling on tiles! I was roaring at him last time to stop while I waddled after him trying not to fall. He, of course was laughing thinking it was a game. I got an awful fright. Luckily my husband returned from the bathroom and nabbed him quickly.

If you have your husband you'll be grand. We only take our boy when the two of us are free, I just wouldn't be able for it by myself. Like I said we have armbands on him but also hold him all the time. The armbands just kinda keep his head from accidentally going under water and causing him to freak out!

loubian

I hold on to her as she clings. I will try arm bands the next time, but for now she's just in my arms.

contrary_mary

My fella has just turned 10 months and is still having 3 7oz bottles a day alongside his food. He drains them all - the first is around 1 hour after breakfast, the second 1-2 hours after lunch, and the third before bed. Ideally I'd like to start cutting the afternoon bottle but he seems really hungry/thirsty for it. He eats reasonably well in that he'll take any veg/meat/fish - but he wouldn't eat huge portions. He also takes water from his sippy cup at mealtimes.

How did people go about cutting down bottles? It kind of happened "organically" when he was younger as he was only taking a couple of oz from certain bottles so it was obvious which to cut but I'm at a loss this time!

Woshy

Is there a particular reason you want to cut down on milk? Do you not think he eats enough?

My 21 month old still has three bottles a day (but of cows milk). He eats well so I don't have a problem with it. The afternoon one is is the only one where he has lots of milk that he guzzles though.

3 bottles a day for a 10 month old seems pretty normal to me.

contrary_mary

Woshy wrote: »

Is there a particular reason you want to cut down on milk? Do you not think he eats enough?

My 21 month old still has three bottles a day (but of cows milk). He eats well so I don't have a problem with it. The afternoon one is is the only one where he has lots of milk that he guzzles though.

3 bottles a day for a 10 month old seems pretty normal to me.

I suppose it's just that all of my friend's kids would have been down to 1-2 bottles by 1 year old - with some just having milk from sippy cups or just a morning and night breastfeed. Most of them would have been breastfed for longer than my baby though so maybe it's difficult to draw parallels. I know the PHN said for the bottle to be gone by 1 too - to be honest I'm not in a rush to get rid of the bedtime one but I thought I would see him starting to drop a few oz by now.

Maybe I'm overthinking things. It's just that he's currently drinking over 600ml of formula a day and I know the recommended amount of cows milk for a 1-3 year old is 300-350ml so it seems like a big drop. But maybe he'll cut down by himself over the next few months.

Woshy

Well, my thinking is the WHO guidelines say to breastfeed until 2 years - so I don't mind him having milk if he wants it and my boy is almost 2 now! If I was still breastfeeding he'd still be getting milk from me. I drank a lot of milk as a child (and still do!) so I'm happy for him to have it. Although I made the switch to cows milk and not formula as soon as I could.

I tried switching to sippy cups for milk but he wasn't having any of it. He drinks a lot of water from them though. Some of my friends were also told to get rid of the bottle by 1 but it's never been said to me. Personally I'm doing what works for me and my family and I know that's not the same as other families. I think it would be ten times worse if he was drinking a lot of sugary juice (which I don't allow him to have) then still drinking milk from a bottle.

I've noticed he doesn't need the morning and night one as much anymore and we've reduced the amount of milk so I think he'll drop them himself.

It's up to you but if what you're doing currently is working for you I wouldn't change it because you feel you should! Also, with regards to you worrying about they're needing to be a big drop to 300mls at 1 - those guidelines are for 1-3 year olds so I wouldn't expect the minute he turns 1 that it should be that way, it will happen gradually over that time period!

sillysocks

Both my kids were off bottles around 1, but they both continued to get a beaker/glass of milk every morning and evening even now at 4 and almost 2. I thought the getting off bottles by one was more a think for development of their muscles for speech and ability to use beakers and straws rather than that they shouldn't have milk.

contrary_mary

Thanks both! Just to clarify I'm not trying to get him off milk altogether! I suppose it's just that from around 6 months when he started solids he was dropping off on the volume/frequency of bottle feeds but we seem to be at a standstill for the past couple of months and I wasn't sure if I should be doing something different or encouraging him to take more solids.

He drinks water from a sippy cup - once he's 1 and starting on the cows milk I'll try to replace one of his bottle feeds with that and see how he goes. He hasn't got the hang of tipping it back yet but hopefully by then...

Woshy

Hopefully he'll take milk from a sippy cup better than my boy does! Thankfully he's big into drinking his water so I know he can use them ok, I'm hoping to get rid of 2 out of 3 bottles in the next few months.

contrary_mary

Woshy wrote: »

Hopefully he'll take milk from a sippy cup better than my boy does! Thankfully he's big into drinking his water so I know he can use them ok, I'm hoping to get rid of 2 out of 3 bottles in the next few months.

My guy is great with the water too but only since I got him one of the cups with the soft spout and valve. I persisted with the free-flow one for ages before that and he just didn't seem to be getting much from it. Sure we'll see how the next few months go... I must say I'm looking forward to moving to cows milk though - much handier!

dori_dormer

What type of weaning are you doing? If its blw, it's inadvisable to cut bottles before 1. My phn told me to get rid of all bottles by one, and have him on cows milk within a few days. I thought she was mad. It doesn't need to be so strict.

My fella only dropped his noon bottle there at 13 mths a few weeks ago. And that was mainly because his naps changed from 2 to 1 . And he was going down at 11 for 2 hours. So I gave him a snack before his nap and had lunch ready after so he doesn't miss it.

He hates sippy cups so ill be keeping the bottles for a while longer!

Hannibal Smith

Baby showers...are they really a thing now?

yellow hen

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

Baby showers...are they really a thing now?

I hope not:cool:

kandr10

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

Baby showers...are they really a thing now?

Unfortunately. Under the guise of 'just a laugh'. i found it hard to know what to do about the present - you have to bring something to the shower but then you also have to give something the first time you see the baby.

Sligo1

kandr10 wrote: »

Unfortunately. Under the guise of 'just a laugh'. i found it hard to know what to do about the present - you have to bring something to the shower but then you also have to give something the first time you see the baby.

No way! I'd bring something to the shower but definitely wouldn't bring something again when baby was born!!?? There was a thread about this recently and tbh I'm indifferent. If people want to have them... Grand. But I'm sure most people would not expect a load of presents? I understand the idea of bringing a present to the shower. Fair enough. But Where on earth did the idea come of bringing another present when the baby was born... when they already brought something to the shower??? Surely that's just a misunderstanding??? Anyways... If I was going to a shower if defo bring a pressie. But that would be it. I'd visit mam when baby was born and maybe bring a box of chocolates or pack of biscuits to have with a cuppa tea... But that'd be it.

kandr10

Sligo1 wrote: »

No way! I'd bring something to the shower but definitely wouldn't bring something again when baby was born!!?? There was a thread about this recently and tbh I'm indifferent. If people want to have them... Grand. But I'm sure most people would not expect a load of presents? I understand the idea of bringing a present to the shower. Fair enough. But Where on earth did the idea come of bringing another present when the baby was born... when they already brought something to the shower??? Surely that's just a misunderstanding??? Anyways... If I was going to a shower if defo bring a pressie. But that would be it. I'd visit mam when baby was born and maybe bring a box of chocolates or pack of biscuits to have with a cuppa tea... But that'd be it.

that's what I did - I brought scones when I went to see the baby. It's just kinda strange to give a present before a baby is born. It wasn't that much fun either, but it might have been a bad example!

Sligo1

kandr10 wrote: »

that's what I did - I brought scones when I went to see the baby. It's just kinda strange to give a present before a baby is born. It wasn't that much fun either, but it might have been a bad example!

Any idea where the notion of bringing 2 presents came from Kandr? That seemed to be what a few people were saying in the last thread aswell. And I just wonder if it was just something people thought the "should" do or is it something that is always done? I'm by no means tight at all... But I'd draw the line at that. I've never actually been to a baby shower. Hopefully you enjoy the next one more . I'd say it could be a bita craic. Knowing my friends from old tho they are a bit mad so would prob be a laugh. None of them pregnant or even thinking of it yet tho....

kandr10

Sligo1 wrote: »

Any idea where the notion of bringing 2 presents came from Kandr? That seemed to be what a few people were saying in the last thread aswell. And I just wonder if it was just something people thought the "should" do or is it something that is always done? I'm by no means tight at all... But I'd draw the line at that. I've never actually been to a baby shower. Hopefully you enjoy the next one more . I'd say it could be a bita craic. Knowing my friends from old tho they are a bit mad so would prob be a laugh. None of them pregnant or even thinking of it yet tho....

I think it's just cos it's not very common here yet so an etiquette has to evolve around it. A few people I spoke to we're bringing something small to both - just so as not to show up with arms swinging I suppose but for sure its a bit much. I think it's largely people not knowing what to do though.

Hannibal Smith

Ive been invited to my first. I turned it down. I can't be doing with that sort of thing!

madeinamerica

Yeah I second that it is down to people not knowing what to do. I haven't been to any baby showers in Ireland but I've been to a few here in the states recently. I brought a present to the shower but also brought a present when I first went to visit the baby and new mum. Apparently it isn't the done thing to bring a second present but it felt wrong to me to show up without a present at the first visit. Culture clash I guess! I had two baby showers thrown for me here. At the time I found them both cringey and awkward but in hindsight it was lovely as it is the american way of celebrating the new baby and my friends were great. I still kind of missed having a party thing after the baby arrived which they don't really do here (in my city at least) so I had everyone over to the apartment for a 'squeeze the baby' evening before I went back to work.