Ben update - 5 months

It's hard to believe we've had 5 months with Ben already! He's a sweetheart!

His brother and sister certainly think so. :)

Over the past month and a half, we've had several different appointments:

(1) Audiologist: Ben had to have his hearing tested. Kids with Down syndrome often have small ear canals, and they can have frequent ear infections and hearing problems. We wanted to make sure Ben was hearing OK. And he is! Passed the test in both ears!

(2) Pulmonologist: Because of Ben's heart, he qualifies for a special vaccine called Synagis. It works to prevent RSV (a respiratory illness that shows up in the winter). The only catch with this vaccine is that you have to get it once/month. Ben's had one shot, and he'll probably have 3-4 more (through the end of RSV season).

(3) Cardiologist: The hole in Ben's heart remains about the same size. He is still on two different medications; these help his body process fluid so that his heart doesn't have to work as hard. The doctor that we saw a month ago said that we would consider surgery if Ben stops gaining weight. The doctor we saw yesterday seemed to think that we might be able to wait and do a catheter procedure (much less invasive than Open Heart Surgery) in another couple of years. That sounds good to us!

Unfortunately, Ben lost 5 ounces over the past 6 weeks. He saw the pediatrician today, and we are going to start bulking up the expressed breastmilk with rice cereal. Get that boy some calories! We just started solids, so hopefully that will help him gain some weight, too.

(4) Early Intervention: He sees a speech therapist twice/month, and he'll be assessed for physical therapy soon.

Ben's current weight is 11 lbs, 15 oz. (He was up at 12.4 before Christmas!)
He's wearing size 1 diapers, but moving into size 2. And he's wearing a mix of 3 month and 3-6 month clothes.

Ben loves to play with his little activity gym. He kicks to start the music, waits very deliberately for the music to stop, then he gives it another good kick. It's fun to watch him play.

He has a huge grin. He loves to be bounced on your knee. He gets a big kick out of play time with his brother and sister.

Ben sucks his thumb. Or his two middle fingers. Or his blanket. He tries hard to get toys into his mouth, too!

He's an all star sleeper. We're working on a schedule; currently he sleeps from 9:30 p.m. - 7:30 a.m. and catnaps during the day. It's harder to protect his daytime sleep since we're out and about at appointments and with the other kids.

Ben, you are precious and we love you!