A quick conversation with my cousin who was holding Cu Dao in her arms:

Cousin K: “He’s strong boy. Stronger than Andy when he was two months.”
Donny: “Oh yeah? So when will Andy have a sibling to play with?”
Cousin K: “We’re done.”
Donny: “Already?”
Cousin K: “Yes. I wouldn’t mind one more if I have a father like you.”

Coming from my cousin K who doesn’t BS, that’s a compliment. Still, I don’t deserve such a high praise. Cu Dao’s mom is the one that do most of the hard work, such as feeding him in the middle of the night and putting him to sleep when I fail to do so. Last Sunday, I was supposed to make him fall asleep, but I got knocked out first. His mom had to pick him up and soothe him to bed.

It’s me who is lucky to have a son like Cu Dao. He changed my world. Before him I couldn’t sleep at night if I had a cup of coffee in the morning. Now coffee hardly works anymore even when he screams at night. As you may have already noticed in the photos, Cu Dao smiles quite often these days. All I had to say is “Cuoi di con” (smile my dear) and he would laugh like I just told him the funniest joke in the world.

In contrast, Cu Dao could me laugh without even saying a word. About a week ago, after he already fell asleep in his crib, which located next to our bed, we laid back to rest and tried to enjoy a quiet moment. The peaceful night was erupted by a loud passing-gas sound from his direction. We looked at each other and couldn’t hold our laugh. It was the most innocent fart we had ever heard. We still crack up every time one of us mention it. It was just price less.

Last night, Cu Dao slept almost six-hour straight. We put him in his crib around 10. A midnight, he made a few coughs (not sure where they come from) and we were expecting him to get up, but he went back to silence. We waited and waited and nothing happened so we felt asleep. Almost 4 o’clock, the train finally came. Dana nursed him and I lulled him back to sleep, but then he got up again around 5:45.

Cu Dao also loves to sleep on the bean bag. Whenever he stays at her aunt’s house, he would sleep on it like a little puppy. He likes the way the bag wrap around him. Just put him on the bag, push the bag around a bit and he would snore like his daddy. (Dana complaint hearing both of us snoring on both side of her ears.) We are going to get him a bean bag as well.

Lil Duke had me good last night. He literally got me whipped. It was midnight and he still didn’t want to sleep. He was crying in his crib. I didn’t want to wake up his grandma who has been with him during the day and his mom who has been struggling at work due to lack of sleep; therefore, I got up and patted him a little. It didn’t help and he cried louder.

I picked him up and rocked him a bit until he felt back to sleep. Half an hour later I tried to put him back down, but he was brawling again. I picked him back up and went downstairs. I tried to sit on the couch and rest, but he wouldn’t let me. I had to walk around the house. Around one something, I was so burnt out. I put him on the kid mat where he usually played in the morning and laid next to him. He started to cry and I determined to let him cried out. I consulted the doctor and he told me it was ok to let him cry. Eventually he would get tired and fall asleep. Half an hour went by and his cries crescendoed.

I couldn’t let him go on any further. His cry was like a knife cutting straight through my heart and mind. My head was pounding and my soul was shattered. I gave up. I held him tight into my arms and the guilt of letting him cried took over me. I didn’t know what to do. If you’ve been through this, please advise.

Saturday morning, we decided to drive 2.5 hours to Lancaster, PA to pay my mom and my sister a visit. Coincidentally, my family was throwing a birthday party for Andy and Sam who are Duke’s cousins. The party was fun until one of my cousins decided to have a little drink. He drove home and brought back a bottle of Mezcal Con Gusano. Between the five of us, we killed the entire bottle plus a case of Yuengling.

Everything seemed to be fine until I got back to my sister’s place. I was throwing up and had one of the worst feelings ever. At this point, I had to relied on Dana to take care of Duke. I passed out, yet in my mind the pain of guilt was even heavier than the pain of the liquor. The next morning, Duke got up around 7:00 and signaled me to take him out for a stroll like usual. He smiled at me as I picked him up, but I had to put him down again. I still couldn’t even stood straight. I had to lied down again because my head was still spinning.

What the hell did I do to myself? I let both Duke and his mom down for just a moment of drink. Thankfully, Dana who is a wonderful mother had been there for him when his daddy couldn’t. Sorry kiddo for daddy’s irresponsible behavior.

Duke has been doing great even after the shots and the long drive. He’s a strong boy.

Yesterday Duke took four shots: DTaP, HIB, IPV and Prevnar. He screamed when the needles poked his thighs, but he stopped crying altogether as quick as the fourth needle pulled out. I was very proud of him.

He is growing 50% across the board: 11bls 2oz (weight), 22.5″ (height) and 15.25″(HC).

I took off yesterday to spend the whole day with him. After the doctor, we drove to his mom’s workplace. Three of us went out for lunch. Duke got to visit his mom’s co-workers and then he drove to GW to greet my gangs. My boss adored him.

Duke came down with a fever last night from the shots. He was quite feisty. I hope he’ll get back to normal soon or else his parents don’t get to sleep much.

My humanized alarm clock rang an hour earlier than usual this morning. Around 5:30, Duke started to whine and caused his mom who had been restless with him all night to be grouchy. I picked him up and went downstairs to let his mom catch some sleep before work.

Changed Duke’s heavy and poop-filled diaper. Poked our head out the door and felt the cool morning wind. We took a long stroll around the block before Duke eyes almost closed. Went back into the house, cleaned up the kitchen and took out the trash for today’s pickup. Went back upstairs and get ready for work.

Half an hour later, Duke woke up and all curled up in his grandma’s lap. They looked at each other and smiled. Duke mouth was wide opened and occasionally stuck his tongue out. The bonding between Duke and grandma grows stronger the day his mom went back to work. We are very grateful and thankful that Duke is under his grandma’s care while we are away.

American University:

The study, published June 11 in the Journal of Human Capital, looked at the academic achievement of siblings—one of whom was breastfed as an infant and one of whom was not—and discovered that an additional month of breastfeeding was associated with an increase in high school GPA of 0.019 points and an increase in the probability of college attendance of 0.014.

Keep breastfeeding your baby, mommies!

Each morning, my humanized alarm clock would ring no later than 6:30. With a regular alarm clock I can snooze it and go back to sleep for a little longer. With the human one, he would scream until I get up. After brushing and dressing for work, I would take a stroll with Duke around the block. It’s one of the best bonding times between us. We would stare at each other until he falls asleep. His sweet, innocent face with his worrisome eyes still gets me every time.

This morning the rain prevented us from strolling, so his mom stayed up with us and made him laugh. Although I couldn’t capture the moments, the picture already recorded in my mind. I wish I could paint so I can put it down on canvas. Then I gave him a tummy time, balanced him by rocking him on a rolled blanket, and bicycled him.

After an hour with him, I headed to work feeling rejuvenated. What a perfect way to start a morning.

Jay Heinrichs teaches his kids to argue because “persuasion is powerful.” He argues:

An argument is good; a fight is not. Whereas the goal of a fight is to dominate your opponent, in an argument you succeed when you bring your audience over to your side.

I have also added a category called Parenthood.

My wife has made a wise choice on the Baby Trend Jogger Travel System. I have been using it for five weeks now and each day I can’t wait to take Duke out for a little ride. Every time I take him out for a jog, he would sleep the whole way through.

As soon as I start to jog, Duke’s eyes begin to close as well. He enjoys the jog more than the walk. With the big back wheels, the stroller runs smoothly even though Duke prefers a little bit rocky. Even when I hit a hump or a pothole, he still sleeps. The nice thing about the big wheels is that I could just pull the stroller up the porch steps without waking him up. Dana and I took him to the mall last weekend and he behaved really well in the stroller until he was hungry or wet.

Space wise, Baby Trend takes up almost the entire Acura’s trunk. Still, folding the stroller is a piece of cake. Just pull the triggers and press down to close. To unfold, just lift up the stroller handle until you hear the clicks. It is very convenience. If you want to take your baby out for a jog or a stroll without breaking your bank, Baby Trend Jogger Travel System is highly recommend it.