Ben turned nine months old on Thursday. He now weighs 17.5 pounds and is 28 inches tall. He has grown so much from the tiny little 5 pound baby he started out as. Ben is now eating solids (sweet potatoes are his favorite). He has tolerated everything so far, he makes the funniest faces when he first tries a new food, especially fruit! Most babies love fruit, so they tell you not to start with them because then they will only want to eat the sweet stuff. Not Ben, he acts like it tastes sour or something and almost gags on it at first. We waited to start him on solids because he had a rough start with feeding and wanted to make sure he was well established with the bottle before starting something new. I'm glad we waited because when we did give him solid foods he was ready, he knew just what to do. 
Another new thing for Ben is rolling, he figured out how to roll from tummy to back fairly quickly, but just barely started rolling from back to tummy. He doesn't like to be on his tummy for very long. Now that he has figured out that he can get around and reach toys while on his tummy he likes it more and is beginning to roll around to get to where he wants to go. Last week Ben was playing on the floor near his crib and I left the room for a moment and when I came back this is what I found. . .
Ben loves to interact with people, especially Logan who can make Ben laugh by just walking by sometimes! He has the sweetest little personality.
As some of you know, Ben was born with a rare chromosome disorder called 17q21.31 Microdeletion Syndrome. This is where a tiny piece is missing from the 17th chromosome. The tiny missing piece increases the possibility of developmental and speech delay and learning difficulties. There isn't a lot known about this syndrome due to so few documented cases and individual cases vary. So, even though we have talked with a geneticist twice, we still don't have all of the answers.
So far I would say Ben's biggest challenge is his low muscle tone. He is unable to sit without support and it seems that his muscles get tired quickly. He works with a physical therapist and occupational therapist twice a month, and a developmentalist once a month through the Early Intervention program. All of his therapists are great and have shown me things to work on with him that I would never have even thought to do on my own! It's hard to watch Ben try so hard to do what comes so easily for other babies. But on the positive side, it's so rewarding to see Ben accomplish things. I remember the first time I heard Ben coo and laugh, I almost cried, it was the most beautiful little sound. And the other day when I went in to check on him sleeping and found him sleeping on his tummy, it was the cutest thing ever. He amazes us everyday with the things that he can do. So, do we know what the future holds for our sweet little Ben? No, but does anyone really know how their child will turn out? I love my Ben so much and nothing will ever change that. From the moment our babies are born, we know that we will do anything for them and that doesn't change. I just hope that we will be able to do whatever we can to help Ben reach his full potential.
