Following instructions

I have been wondering if Natalie doesn't hear as well since her ear tubes are out, but the latest hearing test showed that she only has slight hearing loss. But how does that translate into her daily life?

Today when I got up from a 2-hour nap (insert loud whooping and hollering to celebrate a happy and rested Mommy! this was the first nap of that length in several weeks) Natalie and Konrad were waking at the same time. I set Natalie up with her snack and then settled down to feed Konrad.

Like many kids with RTS, Natalie has a problem with over-stuffing her mouth with food. I'm usually not too worried with harder foods like the animal crackers she was eating, because she usually doesn't stuff herself to a scary level like she can with softer food. But I saw that she was putting too much in her mouth, so I spoke to her:

Me: "Natalie, that's too much in your mouth. Let's take a break and finish what's in your mouth before you put more in." I use the term "take a break" a lot when she's eating and put the plate out of her reach.
Natalie: Puts cracker back on plate and pushes plate away from her.
Me: "Good girl, Natalie! Now let's take a drink of milk."
Natalie: Picks up sippy cup and takes a swig.
Me: "Good girl, Natalie!"

Then she kept eating, with a few more instructions to me. But she can hear me, and she did really well (this time) following precise instructions. I think it helps when she's not too distracted with other things (i.e. Lukas) and she can follow instructions pretty well. That's another big challenge of raising a delayed child...how high should our expectations be? This is a continuing question that I know Tom and I will have for the rest of our/her life.