Elbow Milk

After Michael has left for the day and Theo gets up for his early am feeding, I have a tendency to bring him into bed with me and snuggle him before the day starts.  Once he has had his fill and he lulls back to sleep, I get the house going for the day.  Rob quickly discovered that if he gets up and dressed fast enough, he too can have some 1 on 1 snuggle time with the littlest Wix.  This morning Sam also crawled up there.  So there sit 3 monkeys on my bed while I brush my teeth and try to jump start monkey #1, Ray.

"Mom!  Teddy is being silly.  He's trying to eat my arm."  Rob announces.

I smile in spite of the toothbrush hanging out of my mouth to acknowledge Rob's comment.  My boys are very much aware of the breastfeeding process.  I have nursed all of them and I refuse to constantly hide myself and baby away every few hours to simply nourish my child.  In our home, I nurse anywhere and everywhere from the kitchen to the the couch to bedtime story time.  Out and about I also nurse just about anywhere.  I try to be discrete and cover fairly well.  In my opinion, if someone sees something they don't want to see, they were looking to hard in the 1st place.

"Ha ha ha!  No, no silly baby.  You can't get milk there.  Mom, now Teddy's trying to suck on my chest!  Boys don't have milk!"  Rob continues.

"Yea, boys don't have elbows!  Milk comes from elbows that are right here," Sam says pointing to his chest.  "Only mommies have elbows here for making milk."

I almost sprayed toothpaste all over my bedroom.  We've been through the proper anatomy terms, but I guess Sam needs a refresher.

"You are silly baby Theodore!" Sam concludes.

"Whoa!  Sam did you just call him Theodore???"  I inquire with wide eyes sure I must have misheard him.  He did almost break down in tears yesterday because some referred to the baby as Theodore.

"He he he!  I did.  That was silly.  His name is Teddy Roosevelt Bridge!" Sam laughs at himself.

Mom with a Mustache?!

Sam seems to be very fixated on gender lately.  Here is a dialogue we had the other day.

"Mom, did you ever have a mustache?" inquired Sam on afternoon.

"A mustache?  No, I've never had a mustache," I replied while making a mental note that I better double check the mirror.  I did just have a baby, maybe hormones are messing with me.

"Yea a mustache.  Remember?  Didn't you have one when you use to be a boy?"

"Um, Sam, I've never been a boy."

"You've NEVER been a boy?

"No, I've always been a girl."

"You've always been a girl?  No.  Remember?  When you were little and you use to be a boy."

"Sam, I've never been a boy.  I have always been a girl.  Even when I was little, I was a girl."

"Oh.  Well, I'm a boy."

"Yes you are."

"So I am going to have a mustache!"

Should I get into how some women do have mustaches or how some women were boys when they were little?  Nah.  He'll get to all that in his own time.  Let's just keep it simple for a few more years.

"Okay Sam, you go right ahead and do that."

The Stork

"Where do babies come from?" is a question that every parent must face at some point and time.  We start our children off with some real basic information on that matter.  At this time, Robby knows that Daddies have special seeds that they put in Mommies and God can help that grow into a baby.  He also know that the babies grow in Mommies' tummies until they are big enough to come out, at which time a doctor helps baby come into the world.  A simplistic, but fairly honest version in my opinion.

So when Robby learned about the idea of storks from Dumbo, he was a little confused.  I explained to him that was an old, silly story that people use to tell children about where babies come from.

"Oh.  That's good, cause one time, at Grandma's, I saw a stork.  It was a really big bird, and I was afraid it was going to try to take me," Robby confessed very relieved.

"Why were you afraid it would take you?" I inquired trying to hide my amusement both at his genuine concern and belief that he had seen a stork at Grandma's.

"I thought maybe it was going to take me to a new mom and I didn't want a new mom."

Aw, I love my Robby Roo.  I don't want the stork to take him to a new mom either.

Am I Still Your Son?

Driving home after taking the big boys to school, Sam randomly began the following conversation.

"Mom," Sam began with a very serious look of concern on his face.

"Yes Sam."

"Am I still your son?"

"Yes, you are still my son.  You will always be my son."

"Always?"

"Yes, always and forever."

"He, he, he!  Good!  That means you'll always be my mommy!" Sam enthusiastically concluded with an ear to ear grin.

Yes, yes it does, but I'm sure there will be days he will be less than enthusiastic about this fact of life.  I will enjoy it while I can.  :)

Teddy Roosevelt (continued)

Maybe Theodore John was too formal sounding to Sam, or maybe he didn't have anything to associate it with, but he continues to call his baby brother Teddy Roosevelt, but he's added on to it.  Sam has officially named Wix #6, Teddy Roosevelt Bridge.  (We live near Roosevelt Bridge and it was under construction all summer thus the topic of much car conversation.)  If you want to be corrected, I dare you to refer to the baby as Theo or Theodore in Sam's presence.  You are welcome to use the whole name, but you can also get by with simply Teddy, or occasionally, even Teddy Bear, "but his name's NOT Theodore John!  He's Teddy Roosevelt Bridge!!!"

Welcome Teddy Roosevelt!

On October 4th, 2012 at 9:09 pm, the Wicks family gladly welcomed Wicks #6 to the mix.  As much as the name Six had grown on me, Iwe weren't sold on it as a forever name.  The delivery was less than ideal, in fact I told Michael if I ever heard blow it off as fine or a generic "it went well" I would have grounds to beat him.  I also told him I earned the right to name baby any name I like.  Of course I did let him have input. We both gave our lists and discovered that Theodore was the only name on both, so Theodore it is.

Grandma Wicks shared the baby's name, Theodore John, in the morning. Robby liked it. Ray would prefer Johnny. Sam was down right irked. He was SURE we should have named him Pluto.

When Sam came to meet baby, he was still not sold on Theodore but decided he could live with Teddt, Teddy Roosevelt that is. Sam continues to call him by the presidential name. He will also tell you that we named our baby Teddy Roosevelt because he's dead, so we used his name. Oh, and so you know, George Washington is dead so you can use his name too. But, Barack Obama is president and he's alive, so you can't use his name yet.

Dr. Coppes, my OB, was impressed with Sam's knowledge of American history, and so is pretty much everyone else Sam can get to listen about his new baby brother.

Which One is the American?

After two plus years of his inquiring, we cracked and let Ray join the YMCA swim team this fall.  Following swim practice, Ray makes his way to locker room to shower and dress and believe me, he takes his sweet, sweet time with this process.  (Apparently the Y has a better hot shower than we do at home...)  That leaves me, my big round pregnant belly, 5 year old Rob, and 3 year old Sam waiting patiently (or as patiently as a 3 year can) in the chairs outside the pool while the big kids start their practice.

"Mom!  Which one is the American?"  Sam loudly asks.

"They are all Americans, Sam."

"They are ALL Americans?"

"Yes, Sam.  We are in America, and all of the kids are Americans."

"And they are all human?"

"Yes, they are all human boys and girls."

"So ALL of those humans are Americans too?"

"Yes Sam.  They are all humans and they are all Americans."

"Wow.  Then how do I know which one to cheer for?"

"They are all on our team Sam.  You can cheer for them all."

"Oh, okay."

Once again, we provide the entertainment wherever we go.