Benjamin Lane - 1 month

Over the past month I have learned a lot of interesting and fascinating things.

• Babies can go from zero to 90 in a matter of seconds.
  One moment Lane will be laying peacefully asleep and the next he’ll be crying his head off… only to be cooing and giggling a few seconds later.
• Poops come in all colors, smells, and can sneak up on you at any time of the day.
  It really doesn’t matter when Lane had eaten, when he’s ready to poop he will. The sneaky thing is, some times it’s just a fart that sounds and smells like he destroyed his diaper.
• When people tell you that you’re not going to sleep much (or at all) during the first weeks of your babies life, they mean it.
  We have battled with Lane at all hours of the day trying to get him to sleep.  Battling with a baby takes time, and takes away from sleeping.
• One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to beds, pillows, bottles, formula, etc.
  In the past month Lane has had no less than 4 types of nipples/bottles, 5 different apparatuses to sleep in, and 3 types of formula. In addition to that some 0-3 month onesies fit while others are snug.
• You can’t spoil a newborn.
  It doesn’t matter how much I hold Lane, if I put him down and he starts to cry or whimper again, I’ll snatch him back up. Holding my son never gets old.
• You can’t get too comfortable with the way things are.
  Some nights he likes pajamas other nights he doesn’t. One day he’ll love taking a bath the next day he hates it. Just because he enjoyed something once doesn’t mean he will again. He, like his mom and I are constantly learning and changing.

The list could go on and on. I’ve learned a lot about myself and how a child so small can have an enormous impact on my life. Jess and I are all that Lane has. He came in to this world a month ago not having any idea what was going on. He could never comprehend life outside the womb and everything he knows or has learned so far has been by us. I can’t wait until the 2 months, 10 months, 5 years, etc. Just to watch this little guy grow and learn is just a wonderful process. He has changed my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Happy one month birthday my son!

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese breakfast cups

Around here, breakfast on Saturday mornings gives us the opportunity to try something new and delicious. I often find myself wanting to get up and make some sort of extravagant meal involving tons of ingredients and steps and something that takes a considerable amount of time to prepare. Then again, I also find that waking up and having a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal works just as well.

This morning, however was one of those rare occasions when I had a chance to make something that didn’t take up a ton or time and was doubly tasty. We knew that Chase was going to be with his dad and that it would be a good opportunity to try something from Pinterest. Everyone oohs and awws over the offerings on there and why not get to it and make something that we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to try.

For today’s meal I found some Bacon, Egg, and Cheese breakfast cups. There are a dozen or so recipes, but they pretty much all accomplish the same task, put bacon, eggs, cheese, and toast into a bite size portion for easy consumption. Jess got the stuff while at the store yesterday and I woke up nice and early to get these made so we could enjoy them. So while Lane and Jess snoozed away, I made the delicacy you see above. They were super easy, tasted fantastic, and were pretty damn filling. I can’t wait to look for more breakfast or dinner… or lunch ideas.

In case you are curious, here is the recipe:

• 6 slices of bread
• 6+ pieces of bacon
• 6 eggs
• 6 tablespoons of sharp cheddar cheese (or any kind of cheese for that matter)
• 6 gallons of butter (or use your best judgement)

Coat the wells of a muffing pan with a little butter or cooking spray, or bacon grease if you really wanted to. Then using a cookie cutter, knife, sword, fist, or teeth cut the center of the bread and place in the muffin pan. It’s a good idea to keep it about the same size as the bottoms so that everything else (mostly the bacon) will fit in nicely. Cooking the bacon until it is just slightly under what you would normally like it to be. My wife likes her bacon crispy so I cooked it for about 5 mins. The trick is to make sure that it is pliable enough to wrap around the molds in the muffin pan. Once you have the bacon cooked, cooled, and patted down (I wouldn’t hurt to get rid of SOME of the bacon fat you know) place it in the muffin pan forming a little bacon cup. Once you have all of your bacon bread cups made, sprinkle a little cheese in each one. Now crack the eggs and place the yolk in, making sure not to break them. You won’t need all of the whites so I cracked the eggs in a bowl first then just put in what I needed of the whites. After all your cups are full of egg, top with salt and pepper and any other garnishment you would like, I prefer paprika, but this is up to you. Yes, you have a choice in this! Now bake your little meat cups for about 8-11 minutes until the whites are no longer clear and the yolks are good and runny. You might like the yolks a bit stiffer, or you might go all Rocky and eat them raw. But there you have it! Delicious meat, cheese, egg breakfast cups.

Oh, and knowing that most people won’t read the whole paragraph, here’s a summary:

• Spray muffin pan
• Cut bread into circles
• Put in pan
• Cook bacon about 5 mins or long enough where it is almost done
• Wrap bacon around the wall of the wells in the muffin pan
• Put cheese in the meat cup
• Put some egg in there
• Cook about 11 minutes
• Eat it

6:30 bed time

Sleep has quickly become a topic of much discussion around the Turner house. We’re to the point where we’ll take it any chance we can get.

Recently Lane has had some stomach issues that keep him up more than a 3 week old should be. And as everyone knows, when the baby is awake, we’re all awake. For now, he’s snoozing in his little bed, so mom took this opportunity to grab a little shut-eye as well.

I’m sure it’ll all work out soon, but for the time being we’ll just keep on snoozing on the couch or going to bed at all hours of the day.

Jess get's to touch Lane for the first time

Around 2:45 Jess texted me saying that she was having contractions. This was nothing new since she had been having them off and on for the past week or so. This time however they didn’t go away. She had a bath and tried a few different techniques, but the contractions persisted and eventually got worse. We chatted back and forth and she kept me in the loop since I was roughly an hour away at work. When 4:00 rolled around and they were getting worse I knew it was time to leave, so I packed up and hit the road lickety-split.

By the time I had gotten in my car and on my way, she called and told me that she had begun bleeding. It wasn’t just a normal bleed, but something a bit more constant and indicative that the baby was on his way. She spoke with a doctor who told her that it would be best to not wait for me and that getting to the hospital was her priority. This, was not an option for me. So I made like Vin Diesel and got home Fast and Furious style. By the time I got home Chase had already gotten the car packed and ready to roll. It was now 5:00 and we were heading to the hospital…another 20 or so miles away.

Jess was in a lot of pain, Chase was kinda freakin’ out and my baby was on his way. So again I made like a bandit and high-tailed it to the hospital. Luckily we had been to the hospital before for a tour, but in our panic mode we didn’t exactly remember how to get to the maternity section. As soon as we got out of the car Jess’ water broke, however it wasn’t just water, it was blood and a lot of it. She went to the bathroom and I rushed to the front desk to find some help. The ladies, though they were nice were extremely unhelpful. Eventually we got someone to come and help out and get us to the maternity ward where we could find out why there was so much bleeding.

The doctors examined her and found that she was not dilated at all. So for her to be contracting, bleeding and not dilated it meant that something was wrong and she had to have a c-section, now. The room was a blur with people. From doctors asking family history questions, other’s getting papers signed and putting wrist bands on the both of us. Chase was hanging out in the bathroom to avoid all the blood, but he was a trooper! Due to the fact that she had lost all the blood and Lane needed to come out immediately, they were going to put Jess to sleep. Since she was going completely under, I couldn’t go back with her. When I found this out I was torn. I wanted what was best for Jess and the baby, but I wanted to be with her. Eventually they took her away and off Chase and I went to the waiting room. By now it was 6:15 and it would be just a matter of time before my baby boy would be born.

Heather, Jess’ mom and sister were in the waiting room and I updated them on all the deets. We had some food and all guessed the time, birth weight, and length. None of us were right. Benjamin Lane Turner was born at 6:30pm. In less than 15 mins they had taken Jess back to surgery, put her under and delivered our baby.

Around 7:15 I got to go back and see him. Words really can’t express my feelings when I saw him for the first time. He was so beautiful. Lane was smaller than either of us had thought he would be. In addition to that, he had a head full of black hair! Jess had been wanting a baby that looked like her, and she finally had one. He had her hair and lips, but he has my eyes and it looks like he’s got my stature. You can tell he’s our son and he’s wonderful.

Eventually they brought Jess around and man was she in pain. They had her pretty drugged up to deal with the pain, but she was coherent enough to see our son. Happiness was all over her face despite the pain she had from the surgery. It was still too early for her to hold him or for her to have visitors, but they got to be close to one another. Witnessing my wife and our baby laying there beside one another was a moment I’ll never forget. I wanted other’s to be able to see the baby so I went out the waiting room and got my mom. She went back and saw Jess and Lane.

Around 8:15 they moved Jess to a room where she could rest/recover and see more visitors. My mom, her mom, sister, best friend, and Chase were all waiting on us. I doubt Jess remembers all of being back there, she was pretty out of it. Unfortunately Lane was not going to be able to join us. Due to the nature of his delivery he had to go to the care unit/nursery to recover. We were all getting antsy to see Lane, but the doctors insisted on keeping him back there. By 10pm everyone was getting tired and we still didn’t know when Lane would be joining us.

The next several hours would be spent waiting for news. The doctors said that since he wasn’t delivered vaginally he didn’t have the opportunity to get a lot of the fluid out of his lungs. In addition to that he was having fluctuations in his breathing. They wanted him to be monitored until it was consistent. I got to go back and see him once, but for the most part it was just Jess and I waiting in the room. Jess was still in a lot of pain so she kept up with the morphine drip. The nurses kept coming in throughout the night so neither of us ever got any real sleep. They were going to bring Lane in around 1am, but he started his irregular breathing again. So back to the recoup room for him. We finally got him in our room around 5. Nearly 12 hours after he was born.

We had done it 2 hours after leaving work our beautiful baby was born. 24+ hours and about 45 mins of sleep. We were both exhausted, but had a long next day ahead of us. I love my son. He is everything I could possibly imagine, and much more.

January 3rd, 2012 @ 6:30 PM

February brought us Gracie. A Great Dane that would put us to the test.

Click here to view the embedded video.

March ushered in some Spring little league for Chase. He really got into the ‘swing’ of things and enjoyed himself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I don’t think much happened in April. Well… I mean Chase did get to go a Wrestlemania Art show, meet a bunch of wrestlers and then go to the actual PPV. Oh, and there was Tax Day. Hmm… something else happened… Oh that’s right, WE GOT MARRIED!!!! It was a wonderfully magic wedding. Everything we had hope for. I got to finally call the love of my life my bride, and it was the beginning of our forever. The honeymoon was in Vegas, and well… and we know good and well what happens in Vegas, doesn’t always stay in Vegas. In addition to finding out we were pregnant (but really what could top that) we spent the May kinda floating around in happiness and bliss.

Every summer we like to take a family vacation, and a pregnancy this year wasn’t going to slow us down. For the 2011 Summer Vacation we decided it would be a lot of fun to head to Disney! We loaded up the car and drove down to the most magical place on earth. Chase had never been and neither Jess nor I had been in SEVERAL years so it worked out perfectly. It wasn’t easy for Jess with the heat and the walking plus being pregnant, but we made it. It was a great vacation and a birthday I don’t think Chase will ever forget.

The rest of the summer went on by, carrying with the ups and downs of being pregnant. We found out we were having a boy and man, that made me excited. I was the last male Turner and to be able to continue the name, meant a lot to me.

As August rolled around we started getting read to go back to school, and doing just normal family things. Chase was doing great and really getting into the spirit of being an older brother. He was helping around the house and he just felt a little more grown up. October would creep upon us before we knew it and in addition to me getting a new car and turning 32 it started to really sink in that I was going to be a daddy, very soon.

Between Halloween and right now it’s all kind of a blur. It’s as if time sped up and didn’t really wait. We had our first, and second baby shower and started getting the nursery ready. Baby clothes, diapers, wipes, toys, bottles, all of it started coming in and every time we would get something new it would sink in just a bit more how soon this bundle of joy would be here. Lane’s nursery looked fantastic and in no time at all everything was in its right place and we could start getting ready for the holidays.

Baby Lane's Room

Our Christmas tree was up BEFORE Thanksgiving, and the house was all set and ready to go. We made our rounds to friends and family. Did the gift exchanges and then it was Christmas day at the Turner household. I couldn’t have asked for a better holiday season. My wife was glowing with that baby glow, Chase was happy and doing all the big brother things and I was doing everything I can to make the house and my wife ready for this baby.

In contrast to the rest of the year, this past week has been filled with lots of taking it slow. Everything we could possibly do to be prepared for Lane, we have done. The bags are packed, the car seat is in, clothes washed and put away, house is secure, etc. You name it, we’ve done it. Now all we need is for Lane to come home.

It’s been such a wonderful year. I’m sure I left things out, but it’s all good. They say that the first year of marriage is the toughest thing you’ll go through other than the 9 months your wife is pregnant. Well, I’ve done both at the same time and I’m more in love now than the day I got married and I don’t see signs of this ever stopping.

That's my boy!

Thanks for all the memories 2011, but it’s time for 2012!

~SB

Look what Santa left for Christmas!

Christmas has come and gone, though not by much. The tree is still up, there’s still remnants of wrapping paper, bows, and tape lying around. The ‘new car’ smell on all the toys is still there, but the actual day has passed. That by no means, indicates that all the joy and happiness of the season has moved on as well.

Chase is off at his dad’s, playing with his toys there while his other pile awaits him here. Jess and I both are enjoying each other’s company and all the wonderful things ‘Santa’ has brought us. We had a very modest Christmas this year, especially when compared to years past. No extravagant over the top, out-doing each other. We kept it simple, because stirring around in Jess’ belly is the greatest gift we could have possibly gotten this season. With Lane on the way we knew it would be a whirlwind of going here and there, doctors appointments, late nights, early mornings, feeding, pooping, and all the things that come with having a newborn in the house. We have done everything we can to get ready, and now that Christmas has come and gone we are ready.

This house has been filled with the highest of highs, and some of the lowest of lows the past few weeks. The stress of the season plus the preparations to get things ready for Lane has certainly taken its toll on this family, but we have weathered through it. We have grown stronger and closer with each passing day. Lane doesn’t know it yet, but he has made this family stronger. Chase and I are now closer than we’ve ever been. Jess and I are a lot more understanding and patient with one another, and we, as a family are generally a lot more open and happy with each other. In a few short weeks we will have a little one to care for. A baby that was born from two people who love each other more than they ever thought possible.

This Christmas I have received the greatest gift of all, my family. It is growing in size and happiness and love, and what more could I possibly ask for. Well a Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time would be nice. But then again, I’d probably shoot my eye out.

So now we just have about 7 more weeks until there is this tiny baby in the house. Jess has had the ‘joy’ of carrying him around for the past several months and I can’t wait to share in on that. We got some family/maternity pictures done and it’ll be fun to look back on those when Lane is older. We’ll get the pics posted soon. For now we’re just making our way through the holidays. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and we have a lot of food we’ll be cooking. The smells and sounds and happiness from the holidays is upon us. I’m excited to be in the kitchen cooking with my family.

Speaking of cooking with my family, I reckon I better get in there and get to it! Pics and videos soon!!

In a typical day, I’ll wear clothes from Banana Republic or Target or maybe some other random store I’ve shopped at. Some times I wear shorts and a t-shirt, sometimes I wear jeans and a nice shirt. I drink coffee from Starbucks or maybe Folgers that I brewed at home. On Friday’s I go with my family to a gas station to get what we call “Zombie Biscuits” from an old lady who is there 6 days a week serving food to truckers, teachers, and business people. I drive my GMC Terrain into the city and get approximately 19.5 miles to the gallon. I pass a dozen or so people who are homeless as well as people in suits. I listen to Spotify on my iPhone 3Gs today, but tomorrow it’ll be on my iPhone 4s.

While at work I use the computer my company provided. This is the same computer that my wife also uses at home for doing her grad school work. Sometimes for lunch I have leftovers from the night before, some times I go to Subway and Eat Fresh, other times I let the company pay for my over priced kobe beef hamburger at a local steak house. In a typical 9 hour day, I cram in about 7 hours of work. The other 2 hours I’m eating lunch, peeing, or just chatting with co-workers who are sharing the same typical day as me. Some days I work late, and other days I head out early to beat the traffic, but I always hop on line later to check in. I work when I get home, when I’m on the road, on the weekends, and while on vacation. But I also think about my family 24/7, regardless of work.

After work I go to the gym, or go to my son’s ball game/practice, or maybe I go get dinner at La Parilla, or Olive Garden, or some other chain restaurant. Most of the time I have dinner that my wife cooked using the groceries we bought the weekend before. After dinner, we watch the shows that are on the DVR and skip all the commercials. Some times I play World of Warcraft, some times I play the Wii or PS3 with our son. Regardless of what we do, we are together.

The next day, I repeat my routine… or maybe I switch it up a bit. Maybe I work from home.

In the end, I am mainly concerned about the wellbeing of my family. They occupy me. I don’t really care about Wallstreet or big corporations or anything beyond the scope of my day. I know there are families in other countries, states, cities, houses, that are struggling, but I refuse to give up that which provides for my family. I wish the best for all the others in the world. I want the best for everyone, but I also want the best for me. I will continue to work and push upwards get the things I need and want.

So that’s that. My family occupies me. I occupy me.

Below are some pics of Lane in all his baby glory. I’ve not seen his face yet, but I know he is going to be beautiful and amazing.

UPDATE:
This post was originally made back in Sept, and I’ve yet to get around to actually uploading the photos. That doesn’t change the fact that my little boy is still safe, and warm, and kickin’ like a soccer player. I’ve had the joy of feeling him move around in SJ’s belly and it brings me to such a happy place. I can just picture him squirming around, being all baby like and happy. We got his room set up and I know I’ll be spending many hours in there with him, cleaning up poop, sleeping, doing my best to get him back to sleep at 2am, and all the things that come with being a father to a newborn.

I can’t wait. My life is changing, and it’s all for the better.