We are home and settled in. Oh microwave, toaster, hot showers, clean water, how I missed you! Our little peanut is settling in quite well. She loves EVERYTHING. Big smiles all day long. She is sleeping 8 hours in a row at night in her crib and waking up so happy.
I forgot to update that she was seen by the pediatric audiologist that flew in from Hawaii while we were in Majuro. Bottomline, she most likely has reversible hearing loss. Her nerves and brain work fine, but her middle ears don't contract to sound. Most likely cause of this is fluid in the middle ear. Apparently very common in Marshallese babies. They reflux their liquid food (breast milk or formula) into their eustachian tubes because of their unique anatomy. We were told to start feeding her at 45 degree angle or higher to help prevent this. As she gets older, her tubes will get larger and longer and this fluid should drain on its own.
We changed how we fed her and now we think she can hear sometimes. Not soft sounds, but loud sounds seem to startle her. Yeah! We are having her rechecked here by specialists at home, but it looks like she will be just fine and will grow up with normal hearing afterall. Phew! We would have loved her regardless, but we are so happy for her.
That will be all from us. We hope that you find our blog useful for your pathway towards an international Marshallese adoption.
Yokwe!
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