Benton is Walking!!!!!!!!

On October 5th, Benton defied all odds and took his first independent steps.  Since then he has been getting better and better - taking up to twenty steps at a time and walking all over the basement. 

Walking to Mama

Walking with Tutu and Abuelita

Seeing Benton take his first steps was magical and awe-inspiring.  Not only had the doctors told us Benton may never walk during his terrifying moments in the NICU, but seeing your son struggle to learn this skill makes you appreciate it so much more.  Benton's first steps at home and at therapy:

Benton has been crawling since January and while most kids crawl for approximately 3-4 months before walking, Benton crawled for 9 solid months.  While Benton had been cruising for ages, his balance was very tenuous and he needed orthotics so his ankles wouldn’t buckle when he stood.  But all of that work, all of the physical therapy and daily exercises, has been worth it - Benton is walking independently!!!!!!!!

Benton’s first steps brought many of us to tears, including his therapists, as this was a tremendous moment in his life.  Now Benton can go wherever he pleases and boy does he love the independence.  God is so good.  He has blessed our beautiful son with mobility and we are forever grateful. 

This blog post is dedicated to Benton’s new skill and we wanted to show off a bunch of photos and videos of him walking. 

This is the a video of Benton using his walker before he started walking independently.  This walker helped give Benton the confidence he needed to start walking all on his own :)