It has been far too long since we updated Ben’s journal, but today we aim to put that right with this entry, and what a day to come back to it!

Ben has his first tooth! Ben has his second tooth too!

For the last few days he has been running his tongue over his gums and making faces like a chimp. He has been sore for a few weeks and we have given him ice cubes and teething aids of all devices, but none has had much of an effect on him. The teeth aren’t huge fangs, in fact they are just sharp bits on the top of his gums, but they are there, and it’s a start. There are only another twenty-six more of them to go.

So, what’s happened since we were last here in May? In mid-September we went to Leeds for a friend’s wedding. Ben stole the show and the poor old bride hardly got a look in! He was the most popular boy there and broke many hearts. Also on this trip he saw his Nana and Great-Aunts Alice and Nina again. This was quite a time because the last time they had seen Ben he was hooked up to various monitors and machines that were keeping him alive. Now he is independent and has his own huge personality which charms everyone he meets. Ben also got to meet his great-aunt Nora for the first time, which meant the world to her as Ben is named after the late husband, Athol.

Although he is not yet crawling forwards, he can spin himself round in a circle and pushes himself backwards around the room. It’s only a matter of time before everything within 6” of the floor is covered in sticky fingers marks and baby spit. When Ben first became mobile, it was a simple roll from his back on to his right hand side, now he is all but break dancing.

Unfortunately for Ben he has inherited his dad’s hair. It is fixed in position when he gets up out of bed in the morning and stays that way for the rest of the day, regardless of how much effort goes into taming his mop. Courtney has been known to dip her hands in puddles in order to get his hair wet and able to be spiked.

Ben can be quite a vocal little boy. He can say “Hiya”, “Mamam”, and “Ow”. He also sings just to let us know he is awake if we can’t see him in his cot. One night recently we had put Ben to bed in the middle of his cot, and when we came up to bed ourselves he had manoeuvred himself to the side and got his legs out of the bars and was straddling one which dangled him about an inch above floor level.

As his parents we had always known that Ben was not ten weeks behind in his development, but this was confirmed by his consultant at a recent hospital check-up. She said that in almost all pre term babies there was a delay in motor skills development, but this was absolutely not the case with our little man.

Ben has also been to Belfast Zoo where he developed a love of other people’s ice cream and gorillas.

All in all Ben has kept us very busy since we were last here, and that is why we haven’t put any new journal entries on since then. Maybe now we might be able to keep up with him. We shall see!