My Deaf child is not a tragedy. As Ez has gotten older and more communicative, my decision not to tell strangers that my child is Deaf doesn’t really work. When he was little, I always let the little old church lady, the waitress or that nice neighbor down the street go all goo goo and gah gah… [Read More]
Adoption: Being Diligent
Early last fall, I shared with you that my family was considering expanding via international adoption. It was a thrilling few weeks with an overwhelming level information. I prayerfully knew that our family was meant to adopt from China and felt very comfortable with the agency that was recommended by a friend. At the time,… [Read More]
Rear Facing Entertainment #DeafBaby
*This post may contain affiliate links. Car rides with the little one have become a bit of a nightmare. He and I commute about 40 minutes each way and he is becoming more antsy and unwilling to get into his carseat. I am a firm believer in “extended” (past the age of 2) rear facing… [Read More]
Sign Development – 12 to 14 Months
Ever have one of those conversations about something that you wish you would have approached differently or that it might have gone a little more smoothly? I had one the other day with a random mother at a birthday party. I was caught off guard when I saw a little girl swimming in the pool… [Read More]
UB2 – Urban Baby Bonnets Praise & Giveaway
When Lu was around 18 months, I came across the most adorable booth at a local festival. Her fabrics were absolutely stunning and her product, a modern uptake on an old fashion baby bonnet was just lovely. Right out of a storybook, they were the perfect mix modern, trendy, funky and practical. I totally fell… [Read More]
Baby Signs: Expanding the Use of MILK
A couple of weeks ago I shared a video showing Ez’s first intentional sign – MILK. For several weeks he was only using this sign when nursing or just prior to nursing. In the past week, he has started to use the sign to also mean Mom, anything in a cup and when offered other types… [Read More]
The Silent Beat of My Heart
Any mother who has ever had a fussy or sick baby knows that it is heart wrenching. You are up at night, wandering the halls, singing sweet lullabies and whispering shhh shhh shhh over and over in your little ones ears. You jiggle them. Rock them. You do the magic combo – jiggle, rock, shhh shhh Mommy thing. It’s natural. Almost innate. Except, when… [Read More]
Breastfeeding & {First} Baby Signs
Warning: This is a breastfeeding video. Therefore you might see something that you don’t necessarily want to see. So if you are uncomfortable talking about breastfeeding or watching women breastfeed, you should probably stop reading right about now… One of the perks about having a bi-lingual home is that our little guy has been exposed… [Read More]
Response & Update: Is a Cochlear Implant Right for Our Son
I am deeply humbled and surprised by the massive response to my January 13th post: Is a Cochlear Implant Right for Our Son. I have been blogging here at Sunshine Praises for almost 4 years and have never had such a passionate response to one of my posts. (Nor have this many men visited, really,… [Read More]
Is a Cochlear Implant Right for Our Son?
Unless you live under a rock, you have probably seen at least one You Tube video showing a cute little toddler sitting on his mother’s lap while the Mom says the child’s name and an audiologist flips some magic switch turning on the child’s cochlear implant. The child’s face becomes very alert. His eyes dash… [Read More]