The Boy Can Move

This Boy!

 

Physical Fitness

At practically 19 months, Ben isn't walking.  He's not exactly crawling either.  He is quick at army crawling, but until recently, he resembled a swimmer rather than a soldier.  He would put both arms out in parallel and use his elbows at the same time to pull himself across the floor.  

Ben has started to use his arms and legs in a regular army crawl!  He alternates his left and right arms and knees as he goes.  This may seem like a little thing, since he's still not really on his knees, but it is good developmentally for him to use his arms independently of each other.  

And ... drum roll please ... while Grandma was here, they made a game of playing on the stairs.  We have a short section with only two steps and Ben tried repeatedly to climb up both stairs.  He is motivated to bear weight on his knees and even tries to stand in order to get up those stairs!

Other Medical News (Praises!)

He attempts to do his own nebulizer treatment.

He had his cardiology visit on Tuesday, and he doesn't have to go back for six months!  The hole in his heart has not gotten any smaller, but he is growing and thriving, so the doctor said we don't need to monitor it as closely.  The plan is to help him grow so that when he is older, the hole can be closed by a cath lab procedure instead of open heart surgery.  We have seen the cardiologist every 6-8 weeks since Ben was born, and it feels wonderful to have six months until our next visit!

Ben was fitted for Sure Steps last week as well.  Sure Steps are soft plastic braces that will fit around his foot and under his shoe to help give his ankles more stability.  I think they will help him in his quest to dominate our stairs.  

Sure Steps are not covered by our insurance without a diabetes diagnosis, but after some running around on my part, and some letter-writing and form-submitting from assorted therapists and doctors, I believe our insurance will cover them at 80%.  So thankful!

Lots of good news for Ben lately, and I am glad.  He's having a developmental spurt, and it's delightful!

I hope to post a communication video soon.  He's been signing a lot, but he's been uncooperative on video.  And I'm still mastering our camera - that's why the photos are few and a little blurry.  :)