It's been a pretty good month

I last wrote right after Ben's clinic appointments. I just realized I haven't updated in a while. Ben started school the first week of June. We liked having him start in the summer because there are less kids there and it's less likely he would catch anything serious. So, we could get him used to being around other children and other germs. The teachers are so wonderful with him and extra cautious about sanitary precautions. I watched one day while he was eating breakfast there (we had been running late and he was sleepy and didn't eat at home). Another child tried to come up and  take his breakfast and the teacher was right by Ben and not letting the other child touch his bowl at all. The also take any toys that are mouthed at all and put them up high where the kids can't reach them until a teacher is able to sanitize it. Ben did catch a cold within a few days of starting school, which we kind of expected. His cold lasted about 3 weeks. But, he seems to be feeling better from that now.

The teachers are also really good about not calling us about things that are medication related. One example is, they have a policy of if a child has diarrhea, vomiting or a fever, they must stay home for 24 hours. Well, Ben's meds make him have diarrhea all the time. So he would never be in school if that were the case. We had explained that to the teachers and they do not call us for that. But, there was an incident where he did throw up a lot at school and had to stay home the next day. We think it ws mot likely due to phlegm because he still had his cold at the time, as well as possibly from the meds, since they can make him nauseous. Now, if Ben is just a little spit-uppy or has a tiny bit of vomit, they don't call us, but if it is a lot, they still call us due to the fact that it could be illness related. We still do have to rule that out with him as well since he easily catches any GI bug around, unfortunately.

In other good news, Ben saw his physical therapist on Thursday. It went very well. He had recently gone down from once a week to twice a month. Well, when she came in and saw him running around and picking things up off the ground and able to throw a ball to her and many of the other tasks she had as goals for him, she was just amazed. We decided that we are going to go down to consult only for now. We can always go back to weekly or bi-weekly if needed. But, she told me, "this is NOT a kid who needs weekly or even bi-weekly therapy anymore. But, I definitely want to keep tabs on him." So, she will be emailing me some exercises to do with him to increase his low trunk strength and help with his pronation in his feet. But, other than that, she will only see us every other month, just to check in and make sure he is still on the right track and doesn't need orthotics or further therapy.

All the kids also just completed one session of swimming lessons and have just started another session. The girls advanced from level 2 to level 3. They are now jumping in the water and swimming back, with the help of an instructor. They have to go under water numerous amounts of times and have to float. They are really loving it. Ben is still in level A of the babies class because he does not love going under water as much as his sisters do. In fact, as soon as I give him the prompt to go under water, he starts screaming and clawing for me. I don't think he's going to advance after this session either. But, we will keep trying. I want all of the kids to be comfortable around the water. And, Ben is pretty comfortable, as long as no one makes him go under :)

We also had some fun at my mom and stepdad's house for the 4th of July. The kids got to spend a lot of time with their grandparents and cousins, who happened to be staying there for the summer. And they got to play outside a lot. We also let them stay up late and watch the fireworks. All 3 kids loved it. Ben kept saying "wow! pity" (His word for pretty) I was glad we got to stay for so long, not only because I love seeing my mom, but because the first day, Ben was a little skittish and nervous since it had been about 2 months since he had seen her. But, by about the second day he was fine and having a ball. the girls, of course, know their grandparents and remember them no matter how long it has been.

So, that has been our month. It has been pretty good. Hoping that the rest of the month goes just as well!

Benjamin-Heart hero!