Category: The Duke

This is a hot topic with much debate on both ends for and against.

Personally, I can never understand WHY other people feel so entitled to have ANY SAY in what a mother (or father) does or doesn’t do with THEIR CHILD.

Unless, I’m clearly hurting my child in any way that is against the law, please leave me be.

I breastfeed (bf) my Duke. He’s 18 months now. I feed him every and anywhere he NEEDS to be fed, just like any caring mother would.

What I can’t seem to grasp my finger on, is why STRANGERS feel they have some authority to tell me I should use a cover because THEY ARE OFFENDED OR DON’T WANT TO SEE “THAT”.

I have a solution to your problems STRANGER.  You have a few options.  Pick which ever suits your needs.

1. Take this blanket/cover and cover YOURSELF up while you eat, and you won’t have to see a thing.

2. DON’T LOOK!

3. Mind YOUR BUSINESS.

4. If you cover YOUR KID’S HEAD WHILE EATING….I’LL COVER MINE.

5. PAY MY BILLS before you feel you have the right to make request from me TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER.

I think I’m going to make a card to pass out the next time someone stares or comments…

At 18 months, what could you possibly fail?!

According to The Duke’s father…a routine PHYSICAL!  I had dad take him to his 18 month check up.  He came home a little concerned and said, “I think my son failed his physical.”

I’m a veteran at physical appointments and was looking at him VERY CONFUSED…and asked what happened?

Heres the recap..

Dad: She asked if he could say at least 5-10 words?
Me: Well…
Dad:I said, “uhhhhhh….no”
Me: YES HE CAN!
Dad:She asked if he could run.
Me: What did you say?
Dad: Welllllll……nope.
Me: YES HE CAN RUN!
Dad: It’s more of a fast walk in my opinion. Then she asked if he could walk up the steps holding my
         hand.
Me: Well…
Dad. I told her nope. He tries, but since he’s so short, he has to lift his leg to his face to do it.
Me: That should have been, yes, just because he’s short and its difficult is not a reason to say no.
Dad: Then she asked if he eats well.
Me: I know he flunked that questions, he barely eats anything except me!
Dad: She asked if he could feed himself with a spoon, and I said not really…he tries.
Me: Yes he can, you feed him once a week so of course you don’t know!
Dad: He also got a Hep B shot.
Me: Ummm, no that can’t be right he’s had all those shots are you sure?! (me paranoid)
Dad: That’s what they told me…let me check….(after reviewing the paperwork)…oh it was a Hep A.
Me: Did he gain any weight or grow? (my son is seriously underweight and under height).
Dad: Yeah he’s 19 inches and 19 pounds
Me: (SERIOUS CONFUSED FACE)….(go check online myself)…his head is 19, he’s 27.6 inches tall!
Me: You are so fired. I knew I should have taken him myself.

After that, I came to the conclusion, dad is off of doctor appointment duty.  He made my baby look seriously delayed.  I also learned moms and dads totally interpret those questions asked by the PCP differently.  Afterwards all we could do was laugh.

All of a sudden out of NO WHERE, my baby boy has learned to throw a FULL BLOWN TANTRUM!

He literally throws himself back, bust his head on WHATEVER is in close proximity of his head. Next, he flip flops and rolls around on the floor like he is trying to put a fire out.  Then the icing on the cake is the screaming bloody murder making my ear drums ring.

My tactic typically would be to ignore him, however, I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself banging his head on everything.  One night he threw himself off the bed and did a black flip on the floor.  SCARING THE HOLY CRAP OUT OF ME!  I just knew he had a spinal injury (4 kids later you’d think I’d be immune to this).  One time while in the tub, he went into a fit and darn near drowned himself fighting me trying to save him.

This type of nonsense is totally new to me.  I NEVER experienced this with my other three to this degree.  I feel like buying him a helmet and letting him go for it!

However I have come up with another plan.

1. For safety, I immediately grab him and place in his crib or bouncer chair for safety…he can only do but so much damage to himself.

2. I never say one word to him while he is going through his motions and I’m transporting him to his safe haven.

3. Once he is in his safe location, I tell him when he is done crying I will come back and get him and we can play or read a book.

4. Once he stops crying, I go get him and thank him for calming down.

I just started this process and hope after a few rounds he gets the point, because I REFUSE to be THAT PARENT out in public with THAT CHILD for a LONG TIME!

Let’s face it, we all get a dose of embarrassment with toddlers!

My Duke is 18 months now.  He’s very smart, but very stubborn.  This boy does not do ANYTHING until he is GOOD AND READY.

I am partly to blame for his stubbornness, but he gets it honest on both ends.  When I say my son borderlines concern with reaching milestones….it’s an understatement.  He didn’t crawl until he was 9 months, walk until he was 17 months, and he still refuses to talk and eat table food.  Again, he’s 18 MONTHS!  All he wants is his ba-ba (boob), and a snack.

With the exception of my oldest son, my other children were potty trained by 18 months.  NO pull-ups or pampers whatsoever.  My oldest was almost there until a winter stay with his father’s family set him back.

So naturally, I figured baby number 4 must follow suit…..NOT!!!!!!

Knowing he was a little….patient with milestones, I cut him some slack and gave him a few extra months to get started.  My first problem was finding underpants to fit him. My child is a runt! He is so small, he’s not even on the growth chart for his age.

Despite this, I still brought a potty, and the smallest undies and rubber pants I could find.

Guess what he did with the potty….

My Duke and Princess both have TERRIBLE HORRIBLE NO GOOD VERY BAD SKIN (and allergies)! Ironicially, they are the 2 of 4 out of my litter that I breastfed.  Both of them are allergic to eggs, milk and a host of other environmental substances and animals.

When winter hits, their skin gets so dry and itchy that it is painful to look at.

It only gets this bad for the baby when he stays overnight with his grandma. I’m not by any means calling her a bad mimi.  She just don’t have the same products at her house for him that I have.  A day without mommy’s remedy can prove detrimental to their skin.

Their skin feels like rough, bumpy sandpaper. My princess develop patches of dry skin behind her knees, in her elbow crease, inner thighs, bum, and back.

The duke gets red itchy patches on his chest, belly, and bum.  The moment his clothes and diaper are removed he goes into a scratching frenzy! Sometimes he looks like he’s been attacked by a cat.

1. When their skin gets to the BAD phase.  My first go-to remedy is Aveeno Oatmeal Bath.  I let them soak in this for at least 30 minutes neck to toe.

 

2. IMMEDIATELY after bathing, I pull out my 3 secret weapons.  Johnson and Johnson Oatmeal Lotion.  This is mainly used for fragrance.  It helps that is has oatmeal in it as well.  However, ultimately I just want my babies to smell like babies.

3. Weapon number 2 is good ole Vaseline. It don’t have to be brand name the generic or dollar store brand works just as well.  This is the sealant of moisture.

4. The last secret weapon is Aveeno Eczema Lotion. This lotion is not cheap, so don’t let your children use it unmonitored.  You can find it at BJ’s or Sams Club for discount.

I love nursing my baby boy aka The Duke.  I had the goal of nursing him to one year and being done with it.

Although, he totally has a different goal than mine.  It appears he has NO PLAN whatsoever to give up his boo-boo ANYTIME SOON.

oming for his bounty!

To make matters worse, he rarely eats solid foods, table foods, or drink juice/water.  All he wants is ME!  I’m exhausted and starting to feel like a true cow!

He even looks at me like I’m a piece of meat.  I hold him and he INSTANTLY collapse into a cradle position, pulling my shirt up!  I have to admit that it’s cute watching him learn how to access his food, sometimes even dances after he gets his milk all by himself.  However the cuteness is GONE come night time.

Being groped, and fondled in my sleep by my toddler and not my man is not my idea of a good night. Especially when I’ve been lax with his grooming (nails not clipped).

It’s a great feeling knowing I’m the source of his survival (literally), and rewarding that I’m afforded the opportunity to do so exclusively.  However, I’ve always had the mindset that once they turn one, I’d be done.

With him having so many allergies, I feel compelled to keep nursing him, but I really want my body back.  I can’t go far without him or without having to pump (which I hate), and it’s driving me crazy.  I need my independence, but feel selfish for wanting to cut the cord, when obviously he’s not ready.

I wish there was a way to have the best of both worlds, but I’ll have to suck it up and put my baby boy first.  Being a parent means we come last, one day he won’t want anything to do with me. So I’ll enjoy these moments while they last.

For whatever reason, my baby boy prefers to nurse more than anything, mainly when with me.  The only problem with that is, HE IS ALWAYS WITH ME!

At one point he would eat about 5 to 6 containers of baby food a day, and has dwindled down to 2 maybe 3 a day when he’s with me.  If I leave him with his mi-mi (grandma) he will always eat 2 to 3 containers in one sitting with her.

Due to his increase desire to nurse, I really haven’t pumped much in the past few months (I believe since August).  So no one has SEEN my milk in the house, so they think there IS NO MILK.

This past week we were in Vegas, flew round trip nonstop from Philadelphia to Vegas.  The boo-boo was my flying, shuttle riding savior.  Every time my hub blinked, he was under my shirt.  Due to the atmosphere change, my baby boy lips became very dry (mine as well) and my hub asked, “is he even getting any milk or is he just sucking? I think he’s dehydrated.”  This from the Engineers lips to the Registered Nurse’s ears.

REALLY?! Let’s think about this for a sec….do you really think, I’m going to let my baby go all day for DAYS…WEEKS…MONTHS with only eating 2 to 3 jars of baby food and then just sucking on me FOR FUN?!

I politely told him of course he’s getting milk, that’s why he keeps coming back for more.

This evening, his mi-mi, who has been on a traveling spree for work the past two months, decided to keep him overnight.  Therefore, I had to pull out my old best friend…the PUMP.  I pumped a little over 10  ounces (and I wasn’t fully empty) and politely showed my hub and said…”GOT MILK?? ANY MORE QUESTIONS??”

I have to admit it did feel good seeing my milk outside the body building up another supply in the freezer.  I know within 24 hrs, I’ll have at least 6-8 bags of milk.  The only bad part is, my duke hates drinking from anything that’s not ME.

The first time I flew with my son, I never really paid much attention to the faces passengers made when I boarded the plane with him.  Maybe it was because I was going to Orlando, and it was several other children aboard.  Maybe, I just did not care. Who knows!

Despite everyone’s fear, my son was an excellent baby considering!  He did NOT CRY at ALL, and everyone praised him when we landed both trips!

Here were the things that kept him occupied for 5 hours

1. The PHONE: He loves electronics and pushing buttons, so that kept him entertained for a good 40 minutes, along with playing candy crush with me.

2. SELFIES! He loves seeing himself and taking pictures, so we had a mini photo shoot that lasted for about 30-40 minutes

3. IPAD: Dad took the initiative to recored his favorite sprout shows, and he watched them for about an hour or so.

4. The BOO-BOO: Breastfeeding never came in more handy! Whenever he got restless or irritable he would simply nurse and go back to being a pleasant little boy

5. The WINDOW SEAT: He enjoyed looking out the window, and more importantly opening and closing the window. I swear this kept him busy for over an hour!

6. TIMING: Try to plan flights early in the morning, late at night, or around baby’s bed time.  If they can sleep the majority of the trip, it will make your life that much easier.

7. SNACKS: We were sure to pack his favorite snacks to keep him occupied and some juice in a sippy cup.

I also made sure I changed his diaper right before boarding the plane, and boarded LAST! I did not want him on the plane any longer than he needed to be.

My son also is a very hot temperature baby so I would suggest dressing baby in layers to be able to keep him or her comfortable.  I literally stripped my son down to his onesie and socks for maximum comfort.

I think each time we fly we both get better and better at it!