Heather Rae El Moussa Reveals Baby Son Tristan Had Jaundice and Tongue, Cheek and Lip Ties
Heather Rae El Moussa is openly sharing her journey as a first-time mom.
The TV personality, who shares a 3-weeks-old baby boy Tristan with husband Tarek El Moussa, posted a photo with her new little love on Monday, revealing the newborn has had jaundice and tongue, cheek and lip ties, which causes difficulty latching during breastfeeding.
"Have been in mama hibernation mode for the past couple weeks but soaking up some fresh air today with my loveyš¤š¤," Heather, 35, wrote alongside a pic of herself bundled up with a sleeping Tristan in a cozy, striped hooded onesie.
"As promised, I want to talk to you guys about my breastfeeding journey because it's definitely been a journey !! I thoughtā¦. I'll just pop him on my boob and feed him anytime. Ya no!!!" she shared, expanding on her initial post last Tuesday about the challenges she was experiencing.
"Tristan had tongue tie, cheek tie, lip tie and jaundice which were all caught very early on thanks to my incredible lactation specialist andĀ @tonguetietribe, they're literally baby fairies š§āāļø," she continued. "I'm so lucky to have found them for the knowledge & supportšš» but it made it very hard for him to latch & suck and it made it so that he was burning a lot of calories because it was so hard for him to eat so his weight was dropping."
RELATED: Heather Rae El Moussa Says Breastfeeding Is Hard 'But Very Gratifying, I Love It'
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Heather Rae El Moussa Instagram
"We're now 2 weeks past getting his tongue tie fixed and he's latching so well on the left side and we're still working on the right side using non-traditional positions which were shown to me by the baby fairies š§āāļø," she added of her experience, noting that a mother's "nutrition and hydration" are important while breastfeeding as "there's not much time to take care of yourself."
"Even with all this going on, I genuinely love breastfeeding," she concluded. "I love the skin to skin connection and think it's such a beautiful bonding experience. It might be hard and challenging at the moment but it is such a special experience that I get to share with our baby boy and we're working together to make it easier like we're a little team š¤š¼."
Tarek, 41, and Heather introduced their first baby together earlier this month with a photo onĀ InstagramĀ of the sleeping newborn, wrapped in his parents' hands.
Two weeks later, the couple revealed on Instagram that their little boy's name is Tristan Jay El Moussa.
Heather explained that they chose the moniker as Tarek was originally supposed to be named Tristan. As for his middle name, theĀ Selling SunsetĀ star says Jay is also her dad's middle name.
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RELATED: Heather Rae and Tarek El Moussa Reveal Baby Boy's Name and Share Sweet Inspiration Behind Moniker
On Feb. 14, the new mom first addressed her followers about her "journey with breastfeeding."
"Breastfeeding, for me, is definitely harder than I thought," Heather said while seated in front of the base of her bed in a "BABE," sweatshirt, cuddling her newborn. "Hard, but very gratifying. I love it."
"So I'm sure that I've been having the same journeys that you all went through," she continued, "so I want to tell you guys my journeys and my strengths with everything, some of the challenges I've been having."
As she mentioned in her latest post, despite some of the more uncomfortable moments for her and her baby, she says she is enjoying the benefits.
"But, I love it. I love skin-to-skin. I love breastfeeding," Heather added, saying that "luckily," she has been "producing a lot of milk," but overall, "it was harder than expected."
RELATED: Ā Heather Rae Young Is 'Feeling the Love' as She Kisses and Cuddles Newborn Son
Discussing how Tristan made his entrance into the world, Heather also recently revealed to fans she had a difficult experience giving birth.
"I had scar tissue built up from a biopsy I had years ago, which affected my cervix softening & water breaking. Once at the hospital I was given 1/2 a pill of Cytotec to soften cervix, balloon went in. 2 hours later I was dilated to a 4. Balloon fell out, then 3 hours later dialated to a 6, then a few minutes an 8 then 15 minutes later my water broke," the new mom shared.
"It was time to push!! it all happened really fast. Tristan's heart rate was dropping very low every time I'd push & was staying low. Which was terrifying," she continued. "My doctor told me that we had to get him out right away. I had 4 more pushes and to give it my all & she was going to use a vacuum to help get him out fast or otherwise we would have to do an emergency C-section."
Heather noted Tarek was "on my right holding my hand, talking me through everything" in the difficult moment.
"I pushed so hard all the blood vessels broke in my face and chest. Tarek yelled I see his head, push push push. Our baby boy came out healthy and beautiful, I was in a state of shock it was a surreal experience. I was emotional and drained & so in love already," she shared. "It was scary, but beautiful & I had the best support from Tarek, my incredibleĀ @drlisakaramardianĀ and all the nurses at Hoag."
The new mom concluded, "We have been in our own private bubble but today we are so happy to share Tristan and some of our birth story with the world š¤š¤."
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Speaking with PEOPLEĀ on theĀ red carpetĀ at People's Choice Awards in December, theĀ Flippin' El MoussasĀ stars shared their excitement to welcome their son.
"I'm a step-mommy, so we haveĀ TaylorĀ andĀ Brayden, but a newborn," Heather said. "I mean, just raising a newborn and for me getting to just raise a newborn ā I've raised Taylor and Brayden since they were 3 and 8, and just welcoming a new little soul into the world ā¦ "
The couple also checked in with PEOPLE ahead of theirĀ Winter Wonderland-themed baby showerĀ in November, with Tarek joking about how he planned to continue to support Heather once they brought their baby home, by "doing what I'm told."
"Whatever she needs help with, I'm there to help," theĀ Flip or FlopĀ alum said.
