My right hand man

First of all, sorry it has been so long.  Benz has been doing really well since I last updated.  He is now 7 months old.  He rolls from back to front, eats some pureed/mashed foods, and is starting to use a sippy cup (but still mostly breastfeeds).  He smiles and laughs all day long.  He really really loves music which is amazing considering that we didn't know if he would ever hear anything.  The Help Me Grow early intervention specialist and occupational therapist still come once a month to see if he is progressing like he should and meeting all his milestones.  They say he is doing well.  We also have had many doctors' appointments.  Most notably a neurology appointment about 2 weeks ago where the doctor said Benz was still doing great.  His social skills are great and he is meeting most of his milestones.  This is the same doctor that told us Benz may never experience the effects of CMV.  He also passed his most recent BAER (hearing) test, which is great news! 

Having said all of that, Help Me Grow and Dr. Maiteh have noticed that Benzen likes to keep his right hand clinched at times.  He also is not passing toys from hand to hand (although since they pointed this out, he is really trying!).  For whatever reason, he favors his left side.  He rolls to the left more often, he mostly uses his left hand, and usually is looking left.  He can do everything with the right, but just prefers his left.  This can mean a lot of things.  Dr. Maiteh checked his other muscle groups & they are all very strong.  So what does it all mean?  The answer is, time will tell.  We're thinking that maybe due to the CMV his brain is not telling his right hand what to do as good as the left hand. He did have the calcifications on his brain and all the brain damage that was shown on his MRI at birth - that could be causing this.  That is why we need to continue to pray for Neuroplasticisty.  His brain needs to create new paths around these damaged areas. We will work with him everyday.

We are finally getting Benzen baptized on December 23 which is my birthday.  We found it fitting that it is my real birthday and his birthday into his journey with God.  A lot of you may not know this about me but I was first baptized as an adult.  I was 25 when I was baptized.  I made the choice when my sister Leigh and brother-in-law Adam asked me to be Hudson's Godfather.  This was around the same time Amy and I found out Remington was going to be born with Down Syndrome.  I wanted to be a Godfather that was baptized and be a father that was baptized because I knew at that time my life was going to change.  I wanted to be as prepared as I could be and I knew I needed Gods help.  So please continue to pray for Benzen.  Specifically that his right side gets stronger and he continues to pass his hearing tests.  So, he truly is my right hand man in more ways than one...

Goodnight,

Ben