GDExtension adding child to custom node classes and duplicated children

I am new to Godot and it’s been some time since I used C++ (JVM andy). How does one include/add a child node to a parent node using GDExtension? So far I have my parent node (RtsCamera) and children (camera_socket -> camera) being added to the editor; however, after every reload of the project new duplicate children are attached. What is the SOP for adding children to GDExtension node classes?

RtsCamera.h
public:
//Child Nodes
Node3D *camera_socket = nullptr;
Camera3D *camera = nullptr;

RtsCamera.cpp

void RtsCamera::_ready() {
    if (!camera_socket) {
        camera_socket = memnew(Node3D);
        camera_socket->set_name("CameraSocket");
        this->add_child(camera_socket);
        camera_socket->set_owner(this->get_owner());
        //camera_socket->set_owner(this);
    } else {
        UtilityFunctions::print("CameraSocket already exists: " + camera_socket ->get_path());
    }

    if (!camera) {
        camera = memnew(Camera3D);
        camera -> set_name("MainCamera");
        camera_socket->add_child(camera);
        camera->set_owner(camera_socket->get_owner());
        camera->make_current();
        //camera->set_owner(camera_socket);
    } else {
        UtilityFunctions::print("Camera already exists: " + camera ->get_path());
    }
}

I was able to use _exit_tree and free the nodes using queue_free() however this would remove the nodes even if I saved the project. Any help would be greatly appreciated