11-Month-Old Can't Stop Giggling When She Hears Mother and Sister Speak for Very First Time
It’s incredible to watch children learn about their world, to see them discover and adapt to life around them. They bring joy to daily routines by helping you see things from their fresh, unjaded perspective.
At times, something stops them from being able to fully experience the world, and caring parents do all they can to make sure their child is not at a disadvantage. You’ve probably seen videos of babies hearing their parents’ voices for the first time, but you may not have seen a reaction quite like this one.
Scarlet is a bubbly baby who was born three months prematurely, weighing almost 3 pounds, according to WAGA-TV. She contracted necrotizing enterocolitis, which led — in a roundabout way — to her losing her hearing.
Her parents have been doing all they can to get her hearing back ever since she failed her hearing test.
“We have spent the last 8 months going back and forth to Athens, Milledgeville, and Augusta to try to figure out where she was on the spectrum,” Carol Benjamin, her mother, said. “No one could get a good read on her scans.”
Eventually, they managed to get hearing aids for little Scarlet, and when they took her in and tried them out, the difference was instant and overwhelming. Benjamin posted a video on Facebook, where it quickly took off.
“As everyone knows when Scarlet was born she was 3 months early,” Benjamin wrote. “She ended up getting NEC (and certain stomach infection) and the antibiotics that she needed cause hearing loss. It has been a LONG and emotional experience.
“She reacted to most sounds so we thought she could hear fairly well. After what I witnessed today, it was not as well as I thought.
“Hearing aids make a WORLD of difference! I am so blessed and thankful for Atlanta Hearing Associates in Milledgeville for all that they have done for our baby girl. Anyway, enjoy one of the absolute best days of our lives. By the way, I’m crying, you’re crying, everyone is crying. ?????”
In the video, Scarlet’s older sister chants “baby sister, baby sister!” in a sing-song voice. After a moment of processing, Scarlet breaks out into peals of laughter — and keeps laughing joyous, body-shaking belly laughs.
After laughing, Scarlet tries out a few screams, her face showing utter surprise at the noise coming from her own mouth. Perhaps it was all a bit too much, as she soon breaks into a teeny tiny cry session, but she’s quickly back at it with the laughter.
“It was the first time she heard anything clearly, that’s for sure,” Benjamin explained afterward. “It has been such a blessing! She is much more active and tries to talk more. You can just tell it has had a major impact.”
After realizing her video was being shared and appreciated by so many people, Benjamin commented “I’m so happy that this video has made such an impact. Keep sharing!
“I love bringing awareness to things that are hardly talked about. It is a terrifying experience, and I feel for everyone that has to go through this. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel! We are beyond blessed!”
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