Ben's Life Lately

Happy New Year to all of Ben's fans! We had such a wonderful Christmas! J.P. and I both feel so incredibly blessed to have three happy, healthy boys. Our only wish for 2011 is good health!!

Ben's first birthday was spent in Florida, as I mentioned in my last post, but we had a big celebration for him when we got home. I think he deserved it!! We invited all of our family and some friends too. In lieu of gifts, we asked out guests to make a donation to the Jorge Posada Foundation, which helps children with Craniosynostosis and also creates awareness. It felt wonderful to know we were helping someone else who is going through the same thing. Here are some party pics: Soon after Ben's birthday we were discharged from his physical therapy! He began physical therapy for his torticollis, and then they kept us around just to make sure he progressed normally. Because his head is so large, he was still considered at risk for some delays. Ben exceeded their expectations and met all of his goals. We had two wonderful therapists, Kea and Liesa. Ben really loved them both and loved to go and show off all of his new skills. They were wonderful, but I must admit, I am happy to be all done with it! Here is a picture of Ben and Kea.
Ben is doing so great! He is not walking yet, but it could be any day! He stands on his own and looks like he is about to take a step- you can see him thinking about it, but then he gets down and crawls. I am pretty sure once he takes his first steps he will be off chasing his brothers around in no time! Jack and Luke didn't walk until 14 months, so Ben is not any slower moving than they were.

We are 10 months post-op now and we go back to see Dr. Genecov on Monday, January 10. I will be so relieved when this appointment is behind us. I am excited about getting the "all-clear" but still a little nervous that we might not get it. We emailed with Dr. Genecov about two months ago, and he said he was very pleased with Ben's results. At our appointment on Monday we will have a scan at the helmet place, just to see how his head has grown since he finished with his helmet. We will also meet with Dr. Kolar, the anthropologist, to measure Ben's head (like 100 different measurements) for the on-going study on the procedure Ben had done. We will then finally get to see Dr. Genecov. I am really hoping he will just want to see us once a year until Ben is three or four. Keep your fingers crossed!

I will do one more post next week, and I am really hoping that it will be the final post on this blog. Okay, I might do one more in March on his "Cranioversary," but it would be a fun one! I love using this to brag about Ben, but I would much rather just brag about him and not talk about his head!

I would like to take this opportunity, once again, to thank everyone for their love, prayers, and support. It has been such a crazy journey, but we are so grateful to have all of the support we have had. We are so lucky to have such an amazing little boy!!