Desmond Archives - Raising Roberts

my baby is one!

We officially have a one year old! We celebrated Desmond’s first birthday today. This year zipped by so fast. Especially after the wait for him felt like so long. When I was pregnant with him, I was sick and in pain almost the entire second half of my pregnancy. I was also preparing to be a bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding as well as in the process of purchasing our first home. It was such a busy season of our lives and I had such a hard time feeling any sort of bond with him before he was born like I had with the others.

I had many worries that maybe I wouldn’t love him as much as I loved the other kids. I had heard other mothers voice this concern before and never understood how they could feel that way. I always knew I would have no problem bonding with my child. But this time just felt different. And while I knew I loved Desmond, I felt like our bond just wouldn’t be the same.

But when he was born, all of those feelings quickly vanished. I then found myself feeling so much in love with him as a newborn that I was wanting another baby pretty much as soon as he came out haha. Ever since then, I still feel a special bond with this little guy, our baby #5. This past year with him has been such a joy.

(It takes a special kind of love to post my swollen pregnancy face on my blog!!)

(photos by Liam and/or Kai)

So as what happens with the 5th child (at least in this home–with all of the busyness) we had a simple little birthday celebration with just our family…getting our free Chick-fil-a for Cow Appreciation Day and eating cupcakes made with a box mix.

Desmond didn’t mind as he dove in, face first, for his first bite.

And now for all the “fun facts” that probably only a mom would love!

Desmond started walking in the past few weeks, perfecting his walk every day. He’s determined to get it down so he can keep up with everyone else.

He loves mimicking sounds and waving and clapping his hands. He can say “hi” “mama” “dada” “uh oh” and “whoa!” (I think that’s it!!) But he’ll only say them when he wants to. He’s pretty stubborn about talking.

He likes to stare at everybody outside of our family with a blank stare and makes them work very hard for a smile. But once he warms up to a person and his surroundings, he’s very carefree and super happy. His personality is hilarious and I spend a ton of time cracking up about everything he’s doing.

He still sleeps in our room (in a playpen) because he wakes up early and I don’t want to have to walk up the stairs to get him in the mornings haha. Part of me looks forward to him moving in with his brothers (and they beg for it all the time!) but the other part loves walking into our room every nap time or at night and seeing the adorable way he’s sleeping. Don and I text pictures to each other almost daily when we catch him in a sweet little pose.

I love this kid to the moon and back. It’s always so crazy to think that one day soon I’ll be saying “I can’t even remember Desmond as a baby!”

But like with all the others, I love that I get to experience the joy of watching him grow. Love you and happy birthday, Desmond Reese!

July 12, 2016

Blog, product review

Tubby Todd review (treating eczema)

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I’m very excited about today’s post! When I come across a product that I love, I want to make sure everyone knows about it. And that’s exactly how I feel about the Tubby Todd All Over Ointment.

I want to start by saying that this is in no way a sponsored post. I say that so you know this is a 100% honest review of a product I purchased and loved. They don’t even know I exist. I don’t want it to sound like a sales pitch. I want to simply spread the news in case you are also struggling with treating eczema or other skin issues!

When my oldest, Liam, was about 3 months old, he started getting horrible, red, dry, itchy patches all over his skin. It was diagnosed as eczema. Little did I know that I would be treating eczema for the next 7 1/2 years (and counting) on 5 little bodies. Over the years, I have tried all kinds of treatments and remedies with little success. The most improvement we ever saw before was with a prescription steroid. But as this thins the skin and can cause issues down the road, I didn’t feel good about applying it to my babies multiple times a day.

When I say eczema, I mean their skin is usually cracked and bleeding from all the scratching. When it showed up on Desmond a couple of months ago, I knew I needed to find something that would be effective.

After debating between an essential oil and this Tubby Todd ointment, I ultimately decided on Tubby Todd because it is odorless (I heard that the oil had a strong smell) and I thought it would be easier to apply because he had so many patches, and also chapped cheeks. I thought that an ointment would be better near the eyes.

I read many positive reviews about the ointment and how well it treats eczema. I’ll admit that I am a skeptic at heart…about many, many things. So I wasn’t sure how I’d really feel about it. But I was so fed up, I thought it was worth the price to try it out.

The Before and After Pictures:

Before

After

I took the “before” pictures last Thursday right before I applied the ointment for the first time and I took the “after” shots today, before I applied. I also forgot to apply yesterday. So this is technically only after 5 applications! I decided to experiment by only applying once a day, and not applying directly after a bath. Can you imagine the improvement if I was more aggressive? I just wanted to test the effectiveness at the “lazy mom” level. And I think the pictures prove how amazing it is!

Before

After

Sorry if it’s a little hard to compare between the two sets. It’s pretty difficult to take pictures of a crawling baby when I have no one around to help me. But I hope you can see the improvement anyway.

Before

After

The Spots Have Definitely Faded!

When I mentioned to Don over the weekend that Desmond seemed like a much happier, content baby all of the sudden, he brought up the fact that we had just started using the ointment and maybe that was the improvement. I really do think that it has helped reduce the itching so much that he has become a happier baby. Happier than he’s been in months. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but I really do think it was because of this change.

A little bit of ointment goes a long way. So this jar will last me quite a while. All products from Tubby Todd are 100% natural. They are created by a mom with sensitive-skinned babies in mind. One of the biggest selling points to me was that this is a small business. I love supporting small businesses and I’m even more excited when I find one that I love. I will definitely be purchasing more products from them in the future! (Like their hair and body wash and their bubble bath!)

If you have a sensitive-skinned baby, I definitely recommend them! Also, if you sign up for their newsletter, they will send you a code for a 10% discount. If anyone else tries it, I would love to know what you think!

March 10, 2016