We had Eden's hearing appointment at Children's Hospital this morning. Despite not being allowed to eat after 2am, and having to be kept awake after 5:30am, she did really well and wasn't all that crabby. They gave her a small dose of Chloral Hydrate to sedate her. It worked right away and she slept like a dream all morning and didn't have any problems with her breathing or oxygen saturation. The testing took about an hour and confirmed our worst fears. She has profound hearing loss. They didn't get ANY brain responses at any frequency, meaning that she most likely has no hearing.
The next step for us is to make an appointment with an ENT and have an MRI or CAT scan scheduled to check out the structure of her brain and inner ear to make sure she has all the parts necessary for hearing. While we were at the appt they made ear molds for hearing aids. With the degree of loss, it is doubtful that she will respond at all to amplification, but it is something we have to try before thinking about a cochlear implant down the road. Eventually, if we do end up going the route of the implant, it would be done after she reaches one year old
developmentally
. That would be sometime after Nov 17.
On top of just trying to absorb all of this, and come to a place of acceptance, we have to contact early intervention and start thinking about Eden's educational future. I am a school psychologist, so of all people I should feel like I have a clue about what to do, but I am at a complete loss. I feel completely imcompetent. I can't begin to imagine what this would be like for a parent who has no knowledge or background in special ed or education. Apparantly we will have to make a decision regarding whether we want Eden to learn in a "whole language" environment (Dearborn Schools), or in a oral based program (Redford Union Schools). So far, my understanding is that in whole language they learn to communicate with sign language, in in an oral based program the emphasis would be more on learning to speak and listen. From what I gather, children who learn sign language early may come to rely on it more heavily and may not learn to speak as well. I also need to know if Eden will have to be full time in a hearing impaired program, or if there is any hope of her going to a regular school with her sister. I hate the thought of them being separated and having to go to different schools. I suppose I have LOTS of research ahead of me. I hope I will be able to make good decisions in order to get her the best help possible. I'm sad, and afraid... But I also love my babies and feel very lucky to have them...no matter what.
So, since Holland has mastered the rolling over thing, she won't stay swaddled at night and is a crazy baby moving all around in her sleep. Every night she ends up sleeping on her belly. It wasn't working out for them to sleep together because Holly was always waking Eden up, so we finally made the big move into their own cribs in their bedroom. We had been contemplating the move after they came off the oxygen, but were finally forced to take action. Holland has really adapted well to the transition and is sleeping much better at night, mostly on her belly. Each time we go in to check on her we find her sleeping in a new position. This morning she had somehow managed to make a 180 degree turn in the crib, as well as rolling from her back to her belly, all while sound asleep. In fact, it was the first time ever that she didn't wake up to nurse, and didn't get up until 8:30am! 
Eden has had a little more trouble adapting to the move. The first two night she didn't sleep well at all, but she did a little better last night. I think she misses her sis, or sleeping with mom and dad. She is still sleeping swaddled, but does get her hands out more to suck on her fingers.
