The last 10 days

Since Cannon's birth, we have already fallen in love with this little person and feel so thankful for the blessings of his life. The day after he was born, he didn't pass his hearing test. We weren't too worried because they saw lots of fluid in his ear and rescheduled him another testing to be done after 10 days. As we were about to be released from the hospital, Cannon's temperature dropped, so the Pediatrician wanted to keep him a few extra hours to monitor him and make sure he wasn't fighting an infection. Luckily, after being in the warmer for a little while, he returned to a normal temp and we were able to take him home. Grandpa and Grandma had helped Ethan and Ella put together a birthday party for little Cannon. There were posters, balloons, even cake and ice cream!





At Cannon's check up 2 days after delivery, he had already lost nearly a pound and the Dr thought he had jaundice so we were sent to the hospital for testing. The next three days continued that way, where we had to go to the hospital and prick Cannon's foot to monitor his biliruben levels. On the third day of testing, he finally was out of danger and was not considered jaundice. I hated poking at him so much. He is such a calm baby, so when he cries it breaks my heart. Speaking of calm, we were a little worried that he was too calm. I know- that sounds crazy to not just be thankful (which we are) but after our two older kids being nightmare newborns, this seemed too good to be true. The fact that he did not pass his hearing test started to concern us. Cannon can sleep through anything. We started to notice that he didn't respond to loud noises as we expected him to. While he was sleeping, we popped a balloon next to him and he didn't even startle. So we popped another one with the same result. Okay, maybe he is just in a deep sleep? The next day we took him to Ethan's basketball game. The buzzers went off, the referee's blew their whistles, people yelled and clapped. Nothing. He slept through it without any repsonse. I was trying not to think too much about it, but my I couldn't completely ignore it. Later that night, Kent downloaded some dog whistle noises on his phone that we put near Cannon while he was asleep. Nothing. We played the themesong for Spongebob as loud as we could. Nothing. We clapped and shouted. Nothing. Kent and I looked at each other, trying to be brave, then I went to the bathroom to wash my face and get ready for bed. The emotions let loose. I cried and cried. After all that little guy has faced throughout my pregnancy, all the odds that he has beat, he still keeps facing new hurdles. I felt ungrateful asking Heavenly Father for just "one more miracle" for this little baby. I thought about the heavy bleeding I had during the first trimester and read that trauma can cause hearing loss. I feared that there might be a connection there. I also read that jaundice can cause hearing loss and since he had been border line after birth for jaundice I was nervous. Kent heard me crying and came in to comfort me. "He is perfect no matter what." he said. I know that to be true. I am so thankful for my husband and the man he is. I always trust him and know that he will always take care of his family. We prayed together and waited. Two days before the follow up hearing test, Cannon had another Dr. check-up. I expressed my concerns to the Dr. and he checked Cannon's ear canals. He said they are a bit kinked instead of completely straight, which should straighten out in the next few months. He also told me that if the bleeding during pregnancy caused any hearing loss, most likely it would have affected his vision too, where Cannon's vision is right where it needs to be. I left with more hope of a positive follow up test. Two days later, we returned to the hospital to have the hearing test repeated where he passed without complication! We are so thankful for the many miracles that we have been blessed with. Cannon is the mildest, most calm baby we could have ever asked for- and we did ask for that! :) He loves to be held and his older siblings love to hold him. We love our little Cannon and are so thankful for his part in our family. The first morning after we brought him home, Ethan and Ella both climbed into our bed looking for little Cannon.