Hey y’all. It’s been awhile. This summer/fall has been no joke. It’s flying by and we have holidays and birthdays that will continue to make this year a blur.

Today, I’m hoping to take a few moments to reflect on Jaxon’s speech journey. I do not plan on going into it too much as I think the kids should be able to decide what we discuss about them on social media (and Chris for that matter) but let me know if you have any questions.

One year ago today, Jaxon had his ear tubes placed. One year ago today, Jaxon could not say more than maybe 15 words. He had been in speech therapy since he was a baby to help with his feeding issues (wouldn’t drink anything from any bottles), but there weren’t any signs to point to hearing issues. 

We knew he was behind in speaking but that all kids develop differently.  I mean he was walking at 11 months; but there’s always something to point to.  Girls and boys are very different.  Boys speak later than girls.  He’s a physical boy and walking/running/climbing are easier for him.  He had a tongue tie.  His sister is chatty and won’t let him get any words in.  Oh wait, I added that last one only because it’s true. 

Obviously everyone’s lists are different. We are all going through something. But with Jaxon, we finally followed our gut and requested a hearing test once we moved to the PNW away from the typical military Doctor who we were accustomed to seeing. The Audiologist could not perform the hearing test because his ears were so blocked.  No “waves” could get through.  The ENT could not clear out the blockage as it was so backed up along with Jax’s general disdain for doctors. A surgery was scheduled to not only clean out his ears but place tubes because the ENT Doctor was 90% sure there was a fluid behind his ear drums. We consented because we knew something was up.

Jaxon had never had an ear infection. He didn’t rub at his ears.  No Doctors stated he had buildup or may have fluid behind his ear drums previously at his wellness appointments. His Speech Therapist never mentioned any potential issues with his hearing.  The signs for needing ear tubes were not present.  But we knew Jaxon was smart and were trying every avenue to find a solution.  

Today, Jaxon can speak in three to five word sentences. He knows thousand(s) of words. Family and friends understand the majority of what he’s saying now. He’s in preschool.  He’s the best snuggler you’ve ever met.  He will yell at his sister if she doesn’t let him speak.  He continues to attend speech therapy as he needs to work on his enunciation and a couple difficult sounds for him but we want him to be as successful as he can be.

I am so thankful for following our Mom and Dad guts. I am so thankful for speech therapists. What a cool profession!  He has gone from feeding help, to letter phonics to beginning sounds to final sounds to two words to sentences.  We’re still learning but seeing how much this crazy kid has grown this past year has been so wonderful.  

For anyone having any speech questions, please let me know.  We found a site called mommyspeechtherapy.com that has wonderful content to practice at home.  Since slowly talking more about his speech issues over the past few years with others I have learned so many of my friends/family have children in speech.  

To be completely honest, Jaxon’s tubes are still in; however, he now gets ear infections more frequently.  If he’s anywhere near a pool or hot tub, he gets an infection (splashing or swimming are usually the causes here).  Chris checks them regularly and we have a lot of yucky drainage and pricey ear drops to help us along.  But we would do the ear tube surgery again in a heartbeat in order to have conversations with our son.  

Let’s end with listen to your gut. Love your kiddos just as they are but push them to be the best they can be!