Ben's Check-Up at 12 Months

Last Monday was Ben's 12-month well-baby check-up. 12-months is a rough one. There were five different shots and a finger prick to test for anemia. The latter was especially not fun. He was very upset so he was bleeding faster than normal. A bandaid wasn't enough so they made him a little gauze mitten. He was not a fan of either one!

He has grown a lot, but he hasn't gained much weight it seems. He weighed 20 lb and 7 oz, just 3 oz more than when I brought him to the doctor at the end of March. I didn't catch his height, but the tech said that he was in the 85th percentile for height and the 30th for weight. The pediatrician wasn't worried though since his overall growth curve is normal. Besides, Ben does not look skinny. I almost wonder if their scale is right because he even has a little tummy.

Later on that evening, Ben made some more news. He took his first steps! Joe and I sat across from each other and made him walk back and forth to us. He still can't go too far but he's getting braver (and steadier) every day. He is also getting more skilled and pulling himself up and cruising around. For example, this weekend we stayed at a cabin. I was in the kitchen and Joe was playing with Benjamin in the living room. I heard a noise and turned to see Ben standing there. He had pulled himself up onto the coffee table, walked along the sofa and another table, and was holding onto the wall in the kitchen. I was very surprised! I was even more surprised when he did it a few more times.

Ben's Check-Up

Yesterday, we made another trip to London for Ben's helmet. It looks like there has been a lot of progress made. He is now down to 15 mm of asymmetry. (Originally, he was at 22. Last appointment he was at 19.) Joe and I thought it looked much more rounded, but we thought that we were just being optimistic. It looks like he'll probably stop wearing it about the same time we head to the States so that is great news.

The trip to London was long and tiring, but it was also our best one yet. Ben was very well behaved on the train to London. After his appointment, we went to Joe's friend Henry's house in a neighborhood called Fulham. Fulham is a fun area and is only about three or four tube stops from the clinic. Ben took a nap and his lovely parents got to relax. When he got up, we had dinner at Bodeen's, a tasty BBQ place. Proper BBQ. Yummy!

Our little detour also meant that we were able to get on a later train back to Ely. Usually, we are on the 5 or 6 pm train with all of the other commuters. It is amazing the number of people who commute between London, Cambridge, and even further out. But our train had only a few people so we had room to spread out. We even had room to let Ben play on the floor for a while. It was fairly late when we got back last night, but the joy of that is that Benjamin slept an hour later this morning. All around, best visit to London so far and only two more to go!

* Disclaimer: This picture is actually from our trip to Paris. It was quite hot and around his bed time so his helmet was off. He loves to hold onto the handles in the tube also. So cute!

Ben's First Birthday

Benjamin had his first birthday on Monday.  Joe was off from work so we did our best to make it a special day for him.  I decided against a birthday party, but I know he still really enjoyed everything we did.  I ordered two big balloons from the party store and put them on either side of his high chair like a cool throne.  (One was a number one.  The other was a rocket ship.)  He thoroughly enjoyed looking at them.  His friend Brooke came over and we all ate pizza.  Then came the moment we were all waiting for.  I gave him his "remote control" cake and stood back.  At first, he poked at it with his index finger.  But then he dove right in!  Ben got the cake everywhere, but he really seemed to like it.

After a few minutes, he got frustrated with the stickiness of the cake.  I cleaned him up as best as I could.  Time for presents!  Joe and I got him a Little People farm, as well as blocks, books, and a few odds and ends.  Ben and Brooke loved the farm!  It was so neat to watch him figure out his new toys.  He also throughly enjoyed the Duplo (big Lego) blocks his grandparents sent him.  Actually, I think Joe was pretty excited about them too.  He has enjoyed showing Ben how to take them apart and put them back together.