Read our newest mom interview with Mariliana Arvelo
Name Mariliana Arvelo
Occupation Owner Stylish & Hip Kids, our favorite photographer!
Babies Joaquin, 8 months; Anaya, almost 3yo
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Describe your feeling the moment you just came back home with your newborn. My second baby came 6 weeks early and we spent 2 and a half weeks in the Intensive care unit. So when we came home, I was scared for the first month. The NICU felt safe, we loved the nurses, and after a couple of weeks you start talking to other moms with kids in the NICU going through the same thing you are. He was a preemie and small, so when we got home he was basically on me 24 hours for the first month. After that first month though we relaxed everything felt more stable. It was then that we really got to start hanging as a family of four.
What & when was the first time you did something just for yourself again? Good question! I head out with friends for a drink from time to time, but I don’t go to yoga classes or dance classes, which I would love to.
Name the thing your partner is the best at doing with your child. Singing and dancing!
Did you nurse your baby? How did that go for you in the first weeks & months? First few weeks was pumping and the nurses would give him a little taste of the milk, then in the latter part of our stay at the NICU, I started nursing. It was difficult at the beginning, just like it was with my first kid. Then when the demand/supply gets under control is a total pleasure to breastfeed.
Or how did (or do) you deal with sleep in the first few months? Did you sleep train? First baby sleeps nicely in the crib all night. Second baby sleeps between his crib and our bed—although mainly in our bed. When he turns one, we’ll start keeping him in his crib more.
How did you deal with the first time you left him for the day? one tip for new moms? We recently started a nanny share two days a week. First day he cried a lot, poor baby. But then he realized he gets to hang a friend his same age—a friend of ours’ kid—and now he is happy.
How/when did you start on solids? Do you have a fun story about first meals? We started when he turned six months. He was eating, but he wasn’t very into it until I gave him mango. He went crazy about mango.
What makes her/him laugh the most? His sister! They laugh together all the time. She is the best entertainment.
What's your favorite game to play currently? Peekaboo
What was her/his first word? How did it make you feel? I say his first word was mama, and his dad says it was papa :). He’s not talking yet though beyond that.
