Congrats on your B-day
I had extractions done 11 months into the process. My Ortho decided to wait on the extractions because :
1) I was terrified of the idea of pulling teeth ( I had never had a tooth pulled)
2) He gave me the option of seeing for myself that I really needed 2 pre-molars extracted to correct my overbite. He also stated that if I chose not to have them pulled he would correct as much as he could.
3) He knew my impacted wisdom teeth were going to need to be extracted (even though I was against any procedure that required me being put to sleep) and wanted to give me time to make the decision so that everything could be done at the same time.
I am glad I waited. I was so upset about the prospect of oral surgery I probably would not have gotten the braces if he had insisted I had the teeth removed before being braced. He "let me think"

I was in control. I am sure he knew once I started seeing results I would agree to the extractions.
Anyway...........I am glad it played out the way it did.
Good luck on your journey,