Swimmer!

Today was Ben's first day of swimming lessons. This is his third year of lessons, but his first as a hearing boy. Last year Ben had both implants, but we took them off and he swam without hearing. He wasn't happy in the water at all. So, this year I did LOTS of research and bought a silicone swim cap and a water proof bag.

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We practiced wearing the swim cap around the house for a few days.At the pool, Ben walked around and assessed the situation.He decided he was ready to go in and the work began!

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I put his processor in a waterproof bag and folded it up.

Then I tried to get the magnet to connect through the bag. As long as the magnet is connected, he is able to receive sound. It doesn't matter at all where the rest of the contraption is, just the magnet (the circular portion pictured at the top of the bag- technically called the coil). Part of the cap's job is to keep the magnet in place, as long as I can keep it in place AND pull the cap over Ben's head.

He could hear me even with the microphones inside the bag when I stuck it on like this.

The hard part was keeping the magnet in place while I slipped the cap on over the bag and his head. Addilyn looks worried for a reason.

Grandma and I tucked and stretched.

And pulled. Finally, Grandma talked some sense into that cap and we prevailed.

He was off, lookin' as sharp as ever, ready to swim.

The whole time we swam, I asked Ben if he could hear me and he always answered. I did have to talk much louder.

We didn't go underwater, but the cap got pretty wet.

When we got out and uncovered the bag, the outside was wet and the processor on the inside was DRY! Yeah Ben!

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As we ate dinner that night Ben said, "Where's tongue?"

Me: "Your tongue? In you mouth."

Ben: "No my tongue. Silly Mommy. The man in the water. Tongue."

Me: "Your swimming teacher? Tom?"

Ben:"Yeah. Tongue. What he doing now?"

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I realized I had only talked about TOM, the swimming instructor, while we were in the water- with the swim cap on.

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Tongue. Of course.

How else would 'Tom' sound through a waterproof bag, a swim cap, and a cochlear implant?

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Silly mommy.