From Hostel to Home

7 months!

Dear Family,
Ezra is turning 8 months in a few days and we thought it'd be nice to start making you monthly cards with updates and photos of our big guy! He's doing great! He still has no teeth, although we've blamed his fussiness on "teething" for months now! I sure do hope that he will pop some teeth soon. We just moved him into his own room and he sleeps in his big boy crib now for most of the night. He's such a little lover! Loves to be held, hugged, kissed and daddy's beard always makes him laugh! He's a happy, sweet little boy. 
Much love, Ben and Sherri

A message from Ezra...

Dear Family,
I'm almost 8 months! Can you believe it? My parents have loved on me more than ever and I am so happy with the heat in Malaysia. I love chewing on drawstrings...they're my favorite. I also like mum mums and rice cereal. It's taking me some time to get used to my fruits and vegetables, but they're growing on me. Mages still comes to take care of me every day and I love her so much. She's nice to me. My mom and dad moved me into my big boy bed and I can sleep there until about 4am, then I like to snuggle with mommy and daddy for the rest of the night. My hair keeps growing and I'm getting to be a big boy! My mommy says she's going to post updates, so I'll try to remind her. Hugs and kisses from Asia.
Love, Ezra

Our buddy turned 3 months today! He's been changing so much everyday and becoming such a big boy! He loves sucking on his fist (and drooling), warm baths, smiling, cooing, playing with his toys and he's practicing sitting up and looking around. He still hates tummy time and being cold! He's such a good boy! Still waking up 3 times per night, but is able to put himself back to sleep once he has a tummy full of milk. I'm is still pumping every meal and he's doing really well with breast milk. I'm also back at work now and still able to make it happen. My goal is six months of breast milk and once he gets to eating solid foods, we'll see if I can keep up the pumping! It's not easy work, but it's so worth seeing our little guy grow so big and strong. I'm not against formula, but I'm so proud of myself for pushing through the really hard times and sticking with breast milk. Ezra now will breast feed at night before bed and it's the best time of day for me! 

 

1, 2, 3 months! He's up to nearly 14 lbs now! Discharged from the hospital at 6 lbs, so he's doing really well!

 

They opened an H&M in Johor, so now we have access to super cute jammies! His new dinosaur jammies make me love him even more!

Everyday's a new adventure with this little guy! We are just so in love...

Breastfeeding

The truth about breastfeeding, it sucks...literally. The first month that Ezra was born, he was a champion breast feeder! Or so, we thought he was. He would cry, eat and fall back asleep. We'd tickle his toes, stroke his face, talk to him to try to keep him awake, but he loved falling asleep when he ate. At our first month appointment, he has only gained a few ounces and there was concern for weight gain. I pumped milk to make sure I was producing enough, and he ate what I was producing from a bottle. From that day forward, he's only wanted bottles. It was heart wrenching when he screamed at my breast and wouldn't eat at first. All I wanted was to be able to breastfeed. I continued pumping so that he could continue eating. We quickly watched his weight increase as he bottle fed rather than from the breast. It was incredibly stressful at first because I was pumping just what he was eating. There were a few nights where I was pumping a bottle for him as he slept and if the sound of the pump woke him up, he'd have to wait until I was done before eating. I stayed vigilant and keep pumping every 3 hours. I ate the cookies. Tried the herbs. Saw consultants. And now all I wanted was for him to get breast milk, and I didn't care how. It's funny how quickly I went from only wanting to breastfeed, to only wanting him to eat breast milk, bottle or breast. My supply, like Ezra's weight slowly increased over time and now I double what he eats and store the rest. I'll be honest though, pumping sucks. It's hard work and I'm  slave to the pump which means I have to time my outings to be 3 hours or less. I go back to work tomorrow and I hope I can continue making this much milk.

When Ezra was born, my goal was to breastfeed for one year. Now that I exclusively pump, my goal is 6 months. A few weeks ago, my goal was the end of the day, everyday. It's too bad that breastfeeding from my breast didn't work out for longer. We thought it worked for the first month, but he wasn't getting enough milk that way. His second month of life taking breast milk from a bottle has rapidly increased his weight and he is doing a lot better! He will breastfeed in between meals to soothe or "snack" but his main meals come from bottles so we can track his ounces. 

It sucks that breast feeding wasn't easier for us, but I am so proud of myself for sticking with pumping and giving our little guy my milk for as long as I can. It's not easy, but it's so worth it.

***We had to buy a larger fridge yesterday because our freezer has run out of room for storing milk. That's a pretty big deal considering just one month ago I was frantic worrying if I was going to make enough for his next bottle. Patting myself on the back...

Big Boy

Ezra's 10 weeks already and he's been turning into less of delicate/fragile baby and more of a "big boy" baby! He smiles now, which melts our hearts! He loves to suck on his fist and tries really hard to single out his thumb, but he's still working on that. I do think we have a thumb sucker in training. He is more interactive with his toys (bats at them, stares and turns his head to different sounds). Because I'm going back to work (on Tuesday) we've been having him practice sleeping in his crib at the end of our bed, rather than the co-sleeper. I wanted to wait until he was 3 months before moving him into his crib, but we figured we get an early start and keep him in the room with us. He's outgrowing his co-sleeper that we bought for him because he's so long! He's doing an excellent job sleeping in his big boy bed and we put him down when he's sleepy and he puts himself to sleep. He's had two great nights, so hopefully he keeps it up!!! He's gaining weight and doing great!

Smiles...

Play time!

Big Boy Bed

 

 

The months are flying by!!!!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

It's off to work I go...

I've dreamed of having a baby ever since I was a little girl. I think my dad always worried about me starting a family too young because I was so in love with babies as a kid. Little did he know, I'd wait until I was older and really ready. Now that Ezra is here, the joy and love is more than I could have imagined. In that dream of me having a family, I worked. I worked because I like to work, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I was nervous throughout my pregnancy that once he was here, I wouldn't want to go back to work and I would complicate life. Alas, the time has come and although it's not easy to swallow this early, I do still hold the feelings of wanting to be a working mom. 

And how lucky are Ben and I that we get entire summers off to hang out with our family? And a month off for Christmas. And one week for spring break. Pretty Lucky! 

I'm going to miss him terribly when I leave and I'll wonder what he's doing all day with our nanny. I'm going to treasure the time we have together after work and on the weekends. It's been a great two months hanging out with this little man all day, but now it's time to go back to work. Papa will be watching over him when Ben and I are away from the house, and that gives me a little sense of comfort.

He's still getting up every 3 hours at night and I'm up pumping every 3 hours, so that should make for an interesting work day for me. I suppose it'll be a lot like when I was pregnant and not getting any sleep, somehow, I just made it work.

Here is Ezra playing with his nanny, Mages.

And now that he's two months old, he can talk more and those beautiful smiles are shining through.

Talking to mommy...

And the smiles have not been caught on camera yet, but here is my attempt.

 

Happy two months old little man, and GO HAWKS!

Friends, Shots and Pool Time

Ezra had his first baby play date, which was so fun (for mommy)! He had never been around other babies, so it was interesting to see him looking around and taking in all the sounds. He really is very curious and alert! He was a good boy and I think he made some new friends!

He had his two month check-up a bit early and she gave him his first vaccination! If you see in the pic above, his little band-aid on his leg. I thought it was going to make me cry, but I did alright. He was sleeping right before, so when she gave him the shot, he let out a huge scream and then went back to sleep. He's been a little fussy, but overall, same great baby! Here he is at his doctor appointment before getting the shot!

He also had his first trip to the pool! We weren't so sure about him enjoying it because he fusses if his bath water is slightly warm and not hot! When we dipped his little feet in, he wasn't too sure and cried a bit, but he got over it and enjoyed himself for the most part. Here are some pretty cute pics...

He's nearly two months! Time is flying fast!!!! I'll be back to work before I know it! I'm going to work on letting go a bit and allowing his nanny to take over some of the responsibilities. I may even go get a massage next week and let her give him his bottle to see how he does. Right now, I'm nauseous at the thought of leaving him with her, so I need to take some baby steps so that when the day comes, I feel "okay" with going back to work.

 

Baby Update

It's been 5 weeks that Ezra has been in our lives and I now couldn't imagine life without him in it. He's been such a blessing and has really taken us on one hell of a ride in the last 5 weeks! From frantically crossing the border to see his doctor in Singapore for a goopy eye, to worrying about how much weight he's gaining as an early newborn...it's all a learning experience. He's teaching Ben and I to love each other more (if possible) and to have fun with loving him. The first few weeks were spent worrying and honestly making sure Ben and I kept him alive and safe. He came so small and seemed so fragile at first. We made sure his chest was moving when he slept. We made sure his hands were covered so he didn't scratch himself. We made sure his belly button was cleaned. That he was loved. Safe. That every need was met as soon as possible. 

I'll be the first to admit that parenthood hasn't been easy these first 5 weeks. The amount of love that I have for Ezra is overwhelming and I'm learning to find a balance between worrying about him and letting his body run it's course. I think Ben and I are doing a great job with him and this little guy is one lucky dude to have such great parents who love him so much. 

He's starting to hold his neck up when we put him over our shoulder and look around. Here's a picture of him getting to know his nanny, Mages.

He's a very curious guy. Loves looking around and taking in the stimulation. One of my favorites things about Ezra is how well he sleeps at night. After he eats, I lay him down in his sleeper and he talks for a few minutes and then puts himself to sleep. I'm not bouncing him around the room at 2 in the morning, thank god. We've only had one bad night (knock on wood) and I'm pretty sure he was going through a growth spurt. Other than that one night...he's a dream!

Ezra also tried his first bottle at 4 weeks! He loved it so much that it's all he takes now for the most part. I'm still working on getting him to nurse, but he prefers the bottle (of breast milk). Life got a lot more complicated when he decided that bottles were better for him because now I'm pumping his meals and trying to keep up! It was really hard for me at first, but I'm realizing that a happy baby makes for a happy mommy and that's all that matters.

Sleeping with mommy and daddy is one of his favorite things to do! One of my fav's too...

He's a very active boy! It's challenging to change his diapers and get him dressed because he's always on the move!

Bath time is always an adventure! First of all, the kid LOVES to be warm! If he's cold at all (even wipes at diaper changes) then he throws a fit. So, his baths are nice and toasty and he loves them! That being said, he HATES getting out! As soon as his little body hits the cold air, it's over. He screams until it's story/feeding time and it makes for one stressful bedtime routine. Ben and I are working on strategies to keep him warm and happy between story time and bath time.

He sneezes in threes, just like his mommy!

OB love...

Finally, sleeping in his new straight jacket! Best present ever! His nap times downstairs have never been better!

So there you have it...our life with a newborn. It's been an adventure for sure! Thank you to Grandma Pam for coming to help us our first month of life...we couldn't have done it without you!

 

One Month Birthday!

Ezra turns one month old today! He's been such a good baby this past month and we love him more everyday!

Things we know about Ezra...He loves to be warm, bath time, story time, bottles of mommies milk, being patted, sleeping on mommy and daddy, lights and stimulation. He doesn't like to be cold, getting out of the bath, being burped, belly time and his back rubbed.

Aside from a few fussy nights, he's a rock-star at night (only getting up to eat) and he's generally happy throughout the day. He is very alert and loves to look around and check things out. He really is such a sweet little guy.

 

Welcome Ezra James Banner

Birth Story:

4th of July- Ben and I had decided to get a room at the Traders Hotel after having our weekly doctors appointment. We had some burgers at Chili's and went swimming at the hotel pool. I woke up in the middle of the night not feeling great and felt like I had ate something yucky at dinner. I made it through the night and couldn't wait to get home the next day. I felt better in the morning and we went across the border back to Malaysia.

Night of July 4th- We had a marathon night of watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians and I was feeling much better! Ben made us dinner, rubbed my feet and I was off to bed early. At about 1:30 am, I woke up for my normal middle of the night bathroom break. Everything was fine until I felt a second huge gush of liquid come out of me! I thought to myself, "huh, I'll have to google what it feels like when your water breaks, because that was weird." But then I wiped myself and the tissue was full of blood, and so was the inside of the toilet! Now scared to death, I yelled for Ben to come help! When Ben came into the bathroom, I was standing up and the blood was pouring out between my legs onto the white tile, so it pretty much looked like a horror show! Ben called his mom first (she's a nurse). Second call was to our doctor who very calmly told us to get in the car and come to the hospital. I sat on the bed (continuing to bleed) while Ben threw together a bag of clothes for me, him and the baby. Then, off to Singapore.

It's now about 2:00 am and we decided to take the back jungle road because it's faster. At this point, we're a lot calmer. I'm not having contractions, but I am still bleeding quite a bit. The jungle road is very bumpy and Ben did a great job of driving slowly and keeping calm. We reached the border and there was not one car in line, so we breezed through both sides. It took us about 45 minutes from door to door to get to the hospital in Singapore. Ben parked in the front of the hospital, ran to get someone to help and they brought me a wheelchair. We were brought up to the 5th floor where they hooked me up to the machines to monitor my contractions and the babies heartbeat. The moment I heard his heartbeat...I could breathe again. The nurses checked me out and confirmed that my water did break and combined with my bloody show, it caused the water breaking to be full of blood. My cervix was closed and contractions were weak and spread out. Time to prep for emergency c-section.

The nurses transferred me onto an operating table and pushed me to the operating theater. I wanted to cry when I saw my doctor out of relief. First the heartbeat, then my doctors face and I knew everything was going to be okay. Once the delivery team arrived, they pushed me into the theater and Ben had to wait outside. In went the epidural and then Ben was allowed to come be with me. 

I've never been so scared in my life. I was shaking uncontrollably because of the epidural and Ben was such a great support by my side. Holding my hand and looking at me in the eyes as he reassured me that everything was going to be okay. 

Because they baby hadn't dropped, one of the doctors had to push him out which was a very uncomfortable feeling. But then...crying baby was out and on my chest in a matter of minutes. I was crying tears of relief because of feeling so scared with all of the blood. The baby was calm when they put him on my chest and I instantly fell madly in love with this amazing little person. 

He was perfect. Lots of hair, perfect lips, perfect nose, perfect big eyes, just perfect. He was taken to the nursery to be weighed and checked over while I was stitched up and sent to recovery. I was only in the recovery room for about 20 minutes before they sent me to my room where I met up with Ben. They brought the baby in after about 20 more minutes and he was just the sweetest little person.

We're not really sure why baby Banner wanted to come out early and surprise us in the middle of the night. He was born at 4:18 am on July 5th here in Singapore, but it was July 4th in the United States and everyone was out enjoying fireworks and having a good time with friends and family. Kind of fun to think about...

Ezra James Banner

Born at Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore at 4:18 am on July 5th, 2014

I was 37.3 weeks pregnant

Weighing in at 6.7 lbs, 20 inches long

 

***Ezra is now 11 days old and he's such a sweet baby boy. He's very chilled out and likes to be warm. Ben's been amazing with all the crap he had to do to get Ezra an emergency passport and he succeeded and got his family home. We thought we were going to have to stay in an apartment in Singapore for one week waiting on his passport, but Ben managed to get us home after spending one night in a hotel. Check out some pictures in the album on the right.