Changes...

It is really incredible the changes that a mere 24 hours can bring in your life.

Posing
rays of sun highlight hair
birds song
summer suit, outdoor play
spring

Posing
shadows bring darkness
winds whistle
turtleneck layers, stuck indoors
spring...I think

Today was a big day of change for sweet Benjaminh as well with many many firsts:

• Not one single choke or gag on one single bottle (and only the bedtime bottle was thickened).
• Ate pears and mixed cereal and chicken stew and a rice mum mum with a great appetite (even put the rice mum mum in his own mouth at one point)
  
• Went from his belly to a sitting position
• Pulled himself up to stand by the foot stool
• Wore a pair of brand new never worn (but hand me down nonetheless) size 2 1/4 wide walking shoes (and independently stood frighteningly well in them for 15 seconds or more over and over again)
  
• Found the hall socket and tried to stick a plastic toy in it (then went shopping to buy more plug covers, so we did end up venturing out in the storm late in the day)
• Got up on his knees over and over again and actually (but accidentally) moved forward more than once...he does so much better with the crawling thing with bare legs...so the heat was up for a bit this afternoon

So very scary how very quickly he is changing right now.
Very scary.
To think that 3 months ago today I had never kissed his sweet little neck or nibbled on his tiny elfin ear.
K and I were flying around the globe.Seriously, I'll never be that "3 months ago person" again.

Sweet thing...

For Auntie Kristen

I don't give out smiles and giggles and chuckles to just anyone!

I love when my Auntie Kristen comes for a sleep over (and so does mommy...Auntie is a good tidy-er). But my girlfriend made a few disparaging remarks about my new sideburns so....I went for a big boy cut today. I rock the big boy look. Mommy took advantage of my big boy look and pleasant mood to do a bit of a doggy shoot.
We look great, don't we? (notice the tidy shelves???) Soon though I had to tell her ENOUGH!
She understood. Right after I tried to swan dive off the couch.

Love this shot...

A picture says a thousand words...

Who? Me?

Please note, at this point "O" wanted to move away from Benjaminh.
Remembering the fist full of hair from the last visit perhaps?

Where did everybody go?

Sorry , I left you all hanging...

Before we get to the health crap these two photos are for Nana. She made Benjaminh this sweet sweater (starting I'm sure in 2006)...and sweet little matching pants (in 2008-2009). He looks absolutely precious in this sweater set and wears it all the time. Thanks Nana.

Went to the Doctor last Thursday and I was very happy with what he had to say.

He has documented my concerns from our 3 previous appointments carefully, had clearly researched prior to our meeting with respect to Benjaminh's eating troubles and any possible relationship to his South East Asian heritage, had spoken to a pediatric gastro guy ahead of time to describe symptoms and was ready and very willing to make a referral.

So, I'm waiting to hear about when Ben will have an appointment with the pediatric gastro guy where he will probably have a barium test (drink the barium and have images taken to see where the fluid travels) to either rule in or rule out a fistula (hole between the eating passageway and the breathing passageway that shouldn't be there).

From there, depending on results (no fistula but rather a suck, swallow, breathe coordination difficulty) there may or may not be occupational therapy support with eating...

In the meantime I've been in contact with the agency and they are working to get me more information for the doctors about Benjaminh's early eating habits. The in country rep was at the orphanage Friday and at the medical centre getting immigration assessments done for the next group of babies. The agency asked her to speak with Benjaminh's nanny and I sent a couple of specific questions from Ben's doctor. We shall see.

The history is that when I met with the nanny and had an opportunity to ask questions she went on at length about how he was a "weak and sickly baby" and needed to be fed a very thick formula in 2 ounce servings through a gigantic hole each and every hour...the dude was leaping about in my lap and was anything but weak so with a bit of questioning we were led to believe that she was referring to an "acute" eating difficulty based on the bronchitis he had at that time rather than a chronic problem that may very well have been the CAUSE of the bronchitis...It will be interesting to see what is said. Benjaminh was very lucky to have the same primary caregiver for his entire 7 months in the orphanage so I am confident she will be able to speak to whether the eating difficulties were present from orphanage entry (near birth) or whether they occurred much later (closer to when he came home).

I've included a couple of pictures from today for your viewing pleasure. He wasn't in the best of moods and had just had an applesauce disaster but this photo clearly documents he two brand new upper teeth so it is worth seeing...

This photo shows his tendency to burst little capillaries around his eyes and across the bridge of his nose when he is having a particularly bad attack while drinking his bottle or in this case, an attack while having his diaper changed yesterday. This little "freckle" effect has happened 4 times now, during our blood work disaster, twice in during wheezing/choking/drinking attacks and yesterday's diaper change fiasco...the boy has a temper. He doesn't scream loudly but holds his breath and wheezes and scares the living shit out of his mommy...

If you click on the photo the spots show up better and you will see what I mean.

So, life with Benjaminh is never dull.
And I'm loving every single minute of it...except perhaps the moments that are scaring the living shit out of me.

Watch Me Grow!!!

It was a big day in Benjaminh's world today. Little Manh was a busy boy today who for the very first time

• sucked on a piece of pizza crust for a minute or two while holding it in his own hand
• stood unassisted for more than 10 seconds
• got up into 'crawling position' and rocked without slipping backwards
• stuck his not so little cloth diapered butt into the air so he was up on all fours
• took 4 steps with his little Fisher Price walking toy
• bum scooted more than 5 feet across the room towards his favourite puppy (without really realizing the scoot as a meaningful transportation method just yet)
• mastered the game chase...using the walker and the dog. The dog is certainly NOT amused.
  

Tomorrow will also be a big day. We are off to the Doctor to start demanding answers about the big problems the little Manh is having drinking liquids...I'll be looking for a feeding clinic or pediatrician.

In the meantime, a couple of comparison shots...