After two weeks of doing some tummy time exercises, I’ve noticed that Ezra’s neck support is stronger, and he has been getting better at raising and holding his head up while on his tummy.

His pre-tummy time exercise consist of getting him to grip my fingers as I pulled him by his hands and raising him to a sitting position, as well as stretching his legs by taking his ankles and gently pushing his legs towards his body. I do each exercise five times, before each of his twice-a-day tummy time. I think he particularly likes the leg stretches, since he always gives this satisfying long grunt with a smile every time he stretches — it’s really funny!

Our family and the locals here have this habit — or rather, tradition — of calling a baby’s one-month old birthday as the baby’s “full moon”, and today is that day for Ezra. I was wondering what was going on when my husband and in-laws came home this afternoon with an armful of fresh food ready to be cooked, before realizing what day it was today.

It’s going to be a small celebration with just the family members. Tomorrow will be our big family trip to Tuaran, my hometown. Apparently, my in-laws have never been there, and it was something I didn’t find out until a few weeks ago. Oh well.

By the way, someone dropped me an e-mail today saying how cool Ezra’s name was (yeah, I know!). I couldn’t have done it without the Web and the myriads of site dedicated to baby boys names as well as girl. Thank God for the Internet!

Poor Ezra. I don’t know why it took me as long as yesterday to figure out that his gas is due to his milk formula. I’ve been using the Anmum brand intermittently with breast milk ever since he was born. Anmum was something I’ve never used before, as I always stick to baby food products made by Nestle. However, I decided to give it a try after getting a number of small tins of Anmum as free samples from the medical centre.

Last night was the last straw for me, as I looked at Ezra’s bloating tummy and hardened stool, making sleep the whole night impossible for the both of us. Since I made sure to stock two tins of Nestle Lactogen, I changed his formula and ditched Anmum without hesitation. I fed him an ounce of water, and started giving him his new formula. By morning today, he’s no more bloating, and stool filled his diapers. Hallelujah!

Always stick to Nestle, Mommy. Always.

Ezra is 10 days old today, and all’s well in the Dony household. His jaundice is clearing off, and his umbilical stub fell off on the seventh day. So far, he’s gained a little more than 0.1 kg from what we found out through our follow-up visit to the pediatrician last Thursday.

One issue I’m having with this little one is his feeding habit. Since I’ve never had this issue with Eric and Joel before, I was slightly baffled at first that Ezra can’t finish his feed at one go. He kept falling asleep halfway through, so I usually end up spending time feeding him for at least 20 to 40 minutes at a time. I suppose, due to that, he has a little problem letting out gas, and that makes him uncomfortable at times.

But really, they are more of an inconvenience than something I would worry about. At least he can finish 2 ml every two to three hours, as well as wet his diapers and stools frequently. I’m also using the tried and true method of rubbing his tummy with a little eucalyptus oil and that made him pass gas better.

I’m eager to see how he will be like in a month’s time!

Yes, Ezra Yoel Dony has safely been born on May 22, 1.52am at Sabah Medical Center, Damai. I initially find it hard to believe I’ve given birth to him 3 weeks off his due date, and he’s just so small, weighing in at only 2.3 kg. The pediatrician said that he is as normal as a healthy full-term baby, though, so I’m very happy with him.

What I’m not very happy with is the condition of my home. Everything’s still in a mess, the baby cot’s not prepared, Ezra’s clothes are barely washed, stuff are not sterilized… I blame myself for taking for granted Ezra would be born on or later than his due date on June 16, and thinking that I still have lots of time to clean up and prepare. I’m glad my husband’s around to help with the clean up together.

OK, off I go to tend to my little one!