Bennett turns 5 months old

We had a big month: Halloween, Bennett's Baptism, and lots of fall fun! We also had an appointment with the neurosurgeon.

Halloween was fun with our little bear and baby bear! Bennett wore Matthew's first Halloween costume, a polar bear outfit. Matthew wanted to be a bear like his brother, so we ended up with two bears! Bennett enjoyed watching all the kids. He was so alert and happy the whole evening! Matthew loved going house-to-house and handing out candy at home. He did have trouble understanding that some houses give things other than candy. He received a pencil at one house and did not know what to do, so he threw it on the ground and started running to the next house looking for candy. It's hard to be a two-year-old! We all had a fun time!

Bennett was Baptized Sunday, November 6th. It went really well, especially compared to our experience with Matthew's screamfest Baptism. Bennett slept right through the whole ceremony! We had a good time celebrating at our house afterward and seeing the whole family.

We had a check-up with the neurosurgeon November 9th. She said that Bennett has healed up nicely, and looks good! She didn't even recognize him because he has grown so much in the past couple of months! She thought his movement looked good, the only trouble being his ankles pulling upward more than down. She still thinks he will be fine walking. His head has grown a little bit above his curve, so she ordered a CT scan to check the fluid and shunt. It came back fine, just a little extra fluid around the outside of his brain. She just wants to keep an eye on it and see him again in February. Overall, he's doing great!

4 Month Pictures

Bennett is now four months old! He continues to amaze us every day!
Just wanted to add some pictures:










We had a lot of fun at the pumpkin patch today!

First Clinic

We attended Bennett's first Myelomenigocele (his form of spina bifida) clinic at Riley on September 27th. It was a long day, but we were happy with how the appointments and testing went. We arrived at 11:00am for a renal ultrasound and pelvic x-ray. Clinic started at 1:00pm, but we were not called in until about 1:45pm. Bennett weighed in at 16 pounds and measured 25.5 inches, our big boy! (He will be 4 months old on October 7th.) We were seen by someone from the neuro team, not our actual neurosurgeon. She checked Bennett's head and thought his soft spot felt okay, and his shunt seems to be functioning well! We will see our neurosurgeon for a checkup again next month. Next, we met the Developmental Pediatrician, Dr. Brei, who happens to have spina bifida himself. He thought Bennett's leg movement was amazing! He even said that we did not need to meet with Orthopedics because there was nothing he would need at this point for his legs! We will meet them at his six month appointment, and hopefully we won't really need them then either. Dr. Brei spent a lot of time with us answering all of our questions and making sure we felt comfortable. It was great to meet him, and very informative! We left with a prescription for a new diaper rash antibiotic cream. Hopefully we will finally be able to get this under control! He's been battling a diaper rash since birth. After our meeting, we were sent to the Urologist for Bennett's bladder/kidney test called VCUG. Bennett started getting worn out at this point and cried for a few minutes. This was his only breakdown of the day. He was such a trooper! The testing went well, and the urologist said that there is still no reflux into the kidneys and we do not need to do anything at this point! We will repeat the VCUG in a couple months, but this is great news for now! We are so thankful that our little Bennett is getting good news and we pray it continues!

3 Months Old!

Baby Bennett is 3 months old! He's doing great! He's reaching for toys and starting to grab them. He loves his paci and little blanket. And he loves his big brother! Matthew loves to take care of Bennett. The pictures below are from yesterday. Bennett's hat would slide over his eyes and Matthew would make sure that he fixed it each time so Bennett could see. He makes sure that Bennett is included when we talk about going anywhere. He always wants Bennett around! He also makes sure to hug and kiss him every night before bed!

Bennett has his first clinic coming up later in September where he will see the Riley specialists. We have not had many appointments in the past month, and it has been great! The only things that we have had are his 2 month vaccines at the pediatrician and First Steps physical therapy once per week. It's really been helping him strengthen and also loosen up where his muscles have been tight. He's getting better at lifting his head for tummy time and control while in a sitting position. He's hitting his milestones and growing like he should! So it's all good news this month!

Two Months Old and Good News!

Bennett turned two months old this weekend! We can't believe he's already two months, but we also feel like he's been in our lives for a long time. He's smiling now, cooing, and is sleeping well at night. He goes to sleep around 8pm and wakes up at about 2am to eat, and gets up at around 6am. Matthew is still taking great care of his baby brother, and now loves to give baby a paci and always says "I'm going to check on Bennett....Bennett's doing okay!".

Last week was our big week for doctor appointments, and we had all good news! The sleep study went well. Bennett easily slept for the three hours because he was all swaddled up and was able to sleep the whole time in a crib (the first time was half crib, half car seat). The pulmonologist gave us good news that this sleep study went better than his first! He still had some obstructive breathing, but he improved from last month. We will see the pulmonologist again in six weeks to follow up.

The other appointment we were worried about was with the neurosurgeon. We worried because Bennett's soft spot had changed and was more sunken in than it had been. She was very happy with Bennett's shunt. She said the shunt was draining as it should, and his soft spot is very soft which is good because it is not full of fluid. She also said his healing on his head, back, and stomach were looking great! We do not have to use bandages on his back anymore, and he is now able to have a real bath! The neurosurgeon said that Bennett was her best news of the day, and she doesn't need to see him back for six weeks! We were seeing her every two weeks, so this means he must be doing well! All in all, the week went well and we happily celebrated Bennett's two month birthday!

First Family Vacation

Call us crazy, but we decided to drive to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last week with the kids for our first family vacation as a family of four. It was a long 13 hour drive with a 2.5 year old and a 7 week old, but it wasn't as bad as we expected. It was a little difficult to figure out new schedules in a new environment for the week, but we accomplished everything we wanted to do, and had a much needed break from the day to day. And it was fun! We enjoyed the beach, kiddie pool, and lazy river at the resort. We also went to Ripley's Aquarium, the outlet mall, and a carnival down the street from our hotel. Matthew and Bennett did so well during the whole trip, and it was great to have so much time together as a family of four. We just got back last night, and we all feel refreshed and happy to be home!

This week is full of doctor appointments for Bennett. Monday, he has a three hour sleep study. Tuesday, we meet with the pulmonologist about Bennett's sleep apnea. (We haven't had many alarms on the monitor lately, so we are hoping this study gets better results.) Friday, he has another head ultrasound to make sure his shunt is functioning properly, and then we meet with the neurosurgeon. We pray that we get good news this week!

One Month Old!

Bennett turns one month old today!

Yesterday, we had his one month pediatrician well visit. He is about 21.5 inches, and now weighs 10 pounds! He's growing well and checked out just fine at his appointment! No shots until next month, so it wasn't too painful! The only bad news that we had is that his sleep study results showed that he has mild to moderate sleep apnea. We have another sleep study and pulmonologist appointment in the beginning of August. Until then, we do not know much about what will this means for him. We will just keep him on the sleep monitor and find out more information at our next appointment.

Since we have been home, Bennett has done so well! He is a very content baby and usually cries only if he is uncomfortable or needs something. He is sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night. He is really alert when he is awake and loves to watch mobiles! He also loves to be held and cuddled. Matthew is doing a great job being a big brother! He loves to kiss, hug, and take pictures with his little brother. He is acting out in other ways, but we are so happy that he is in love with his baby brother!