Surgery date, milestones, etc.

Wow, it's been a month since I last posted. Time flies....

Here are some pictures of his 1, 2, and 3 month pictures. You can really see the changes when you put the pictures side by side.

Benjamin is doing great! He's adapted well to daycare and loves Janet and Doug and all the kids. He has a girlfriend there that likes to give him lots of kisses and cover him up when it is nap time, they are so cute to watch together! His babysitters are so great to him and treat him like a grandson.

This week Ben has bumped up his formula intake to 6 ounces every 3 hours. Every once in a while he decides he doesn't need as much, but typically he is drinking 6 ounces. It won't be long before he has rice cereal in his milk and eating regular food! He went to the doctor last week because he had some congestion and cough and he weighed 13 lbs, 9 ounces. Turns out, Ben had an ear infection. He is such a good baby and rarely ever upset that we would have never known. He is typically sleeping from 10:00 - 7:00!!!! I am excited for his 4 month doctor's appointment (besides the shots) to find out how long he is. I think he has really grown a lot this last month. He is now growing out of his 0-3 month clothes :(. The only good thing about that is I get to go shopping! :)

A milestone for Ben this past week is..... BEN HAS DISCOVERED HE HAS FEET! Who knew feet were so interesting! He has yet to get them to his mouth and it makes him mad that they don't easily reach that far. He has been trying to roll over from back to stomach but has yet to accomplish this. It's so funny to watch him and see his personality take shape. He is definitely got my attitude in that he gets mad and frustrated when he can't do something he wants to be able to do. :) I assume that soon he will be rolling over and having a nice feet treat! Gross!

Ben has great head control and tracks objects very well. Daycare said he is meeting his developmental milestones perfectly which is a relief to us since the craniosynostois can cause some delays. I can't remember if I told you this before but the people who watch Ben while we are at work is a husband-wife team. The lady is retired from the school district and worked with special needs kids and the guy is retired from the post office. The lady is deaf and therefore they teach the kids sign language! At three months they started him with his first sign, milk. I think he starts being able to sign around six months, so it will be nice to know what he wants even though he cannot speak.

We were anxious to let him play in his new toy-the exersaucer and he loves it and is getting the hang of all the toys. It says to start them at 4 months, but we figured it was close enough! It's so fun to watch the brain development that is taking place when he tries to figure out how it all works. Next up, Johnny jumper!

There is nothing better than watching Seth with Ben. He is such an involved Dad and so patient with Ben. He sings to him all the time and makes up songs as he goes. I think he might have a career in writing children's songs-maybe he could be Charlie Sheen's replacement! :)

We got a call last week and they told us Ben's surgery will be November 22nd. The date was bitter sweet. It felt good to be moving forward and have a date so I can plan for it, but we realized we would be in the hospital during Thanksgiving. From what I have read, they are usually in the hospital 3-5 days. His first week of pre-op at home will be during his 1st birthday. I think there is some kind of symbolism there- it gives us a lot to be thankful for and it's like Ben is being reborn and coming home from the hospital for the first time. Being that the surgery is over Thanksgiving, it will give Seth and I some extra time off to take care of our little guy. I have read to plan on 3-4 weeks post op after they leave the hospital. His sleeping pattern will more than likely be messed with and I've heard he'll start acting like a newborn again. I guess the good news is we will more than likely be able to see the Crown Center Christmas lights come on-hopefully they will give us a room with a view!

I found some more pictures that describe the surgery and I think they explain it much better. This diagram shows where they will remove the part of his skull.

And this one shows how the put it back together. It just amazes me something like this can be done and the child is perfectly fine afterwards.

On a side note, Sophia is doing great. Seth built her a ramp for the couch and to go outside. She is using all of them and doesn't seem to be in pain, which we are very happy about.

Seth and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary this past month. Grandma and Grandpa Westin came down and watched Ben while we went out to eat. Grammy Arth watched Ben a couple of weeks ago while Seth and I went and played cards, it was good to get out but I am getting too old for staying up 'til midnight! Ben and I have about the same bedtime these days.

That's about all for now. I hope all of you are doing well. Until next time, take care.