South American beauty queen Caroline is feeling stressed out–she has terrible morning sickness while planning a wedding to Christian, who she only dated for a few months before they started their family. She's adjusting to their new life together and preparing for the baby, but still worrying about what happens after the baby's born–and how she's going to get that modeling body back.
The star of tonight's episode of MTV Tr3s' new show, Quiero Mi Baby (9 p.m. EST), talks with Mamás Latinas exclusively about planning a wedding while pregnant, how she's losing the baby weight and her plan for teaching baby Chase five languages!
Read more ¿Qué más? Jada from 'Quiero mi baby' on being pregnant in the US while her husband is stuck in Mexico (EXCLUSIVE)
How did your families react to the news that you're pregnant?
Christian and I didn't tell my dad until we were four months pregnant. The reason we didn't tell my dad is because I'm an old school type of girl, I wanted the ring first. I didn't really want to go to my dad and say "hi dad, this is going to be my baby's father" so I said "baby, let's get engaged first and then we can tell my father." My mom is my best friend. I confided in her after a month and a half and, to be honest, I had a feeling she knew from the beginning. Telling my dad was a little difficult because I didn't want to disappoint him. My dad wasn't too happy that we hid it for a while. But after that he realized he was going to be a grandpa and I think that's what made him super happy. And now he loves my baby more than anything. The bond they have is incredible.
Was it stressful planning your wedding while pregnant?
It was super stressful. I'm on a budget, almost seven months pregnant and it was really starting to sink in that I'm about to be a mother and I'm still going to school, filming the show–it was a whole bunch of emotions involved. I remember the day of my wedding it was extremely stressful and I just had to pray to God to give me the patience to enjoy my day and not let the stress get to me. Every girl dreams of that day and it was beautiful. Stressful, but I loved it.
How was the pregnancy? Difficult? Easy?
In the beginning of my pregnancy, it was horrible. I was throwing up all the time. I had this urge to eat pickles constantly. Like, it would be three in the morning and I would wake up my husband and go "babe, can you go get me a pickle?" And he would just look at me, he had no idea. I also craved a lot of chocolate. Then I would brush my teeth and gag because of the toothpaste. I was just hating life the first few months. It was miserable. I couldn't sleep well. But once I got into my second trimester, everything calmed down. I was happy and nothing made me throw up anymore. From then on, everything was amazing. I was a happy mom.
How did childbirth go? You seemed to be in a lot of pain.
I wanted to give birth natural. I wanted no epidural. The pain was like nothing I've ever felt before. It was like something on the inside and it was hurting everything, an excruciating pain. I went against everything I said before, I told the doctor "please give me the epidural." Once I had the epidural, I was a little bit more calm and dealt with it very well. When it came time for the delivery, I think, besides the pain, I was just scared. I had no idea what was going to happen. I understood that a baby was going to come into my life but I remember sitting on the table, the doctor's telling me to push but in my mind all I could do was pray. All I could do was just ask God to let me be the best mom I could be.
How are things now?
Once I laid eyes on my baby, everything changed. It was no longer about me. Now it was all about my baby. Any mother knows what I'm talking about. It's a feeling like no other. It changed my life completely.
How have you tried to get your body back?
I'm extremely fortunate that I'm nursing a lot. I'm not using any formula whatsoever so I dropped all the weight, which is good. I weigh less than when I first got pregnant. I'm not too happy about that because I look skinny. I used to work out once a day, five days a week, and on the weekends I would go running. I was all for working out and now, to get back into that rhythm, it's really difficult for me. My husband and I just moved again. The process of moving and all these different changes, I have gotten back to my weight and I'm very lucky for that but now I just need to get back to that rhythm of working out. Whether it's running, whether it's jogging, even when I'm at the house doing abs, I just have to make my mind want to do that again. It's something you have to teach your body, and it's hard to get back to it after taking a break.
Are you planning to get back to work, to modeling?
Yes, but I'm not too sure about modeling…becoming a mother has made me change a lot of things that I once wanted and now I just want to be someone of significance in a sense where I want to make my son proud. I want to do something where he'll say when he grows up, "mom, I'm so proud of you." I'm also in school full-time so my main priority right now is to finish that. Plus, I'm more focused on my baby than on myself.
What did you and Christian decide about circumcision?
That was a little difficult because he wanted his son to reflect his image. All I knew about circumcision is that there is a lot of pain involved and it's a personal choice. It isn't really good or bad, everyone has different opinions. But Christian wanted the circumcision and finally he convinced me and ultimately I let him run with that one.
How are you going to teach the baby about his different cultures?
Well, I'm Brazilian, Peruvian and German and Christian is Haitian. Our son is very lucky that his parents come from two completely different backgrounds. I've assigned roles to everyone in the family. For example, my dad will only speak Portuguese to the baby. My mom and I will only speak Spanish, I'll speak English with my husband, my husband will also speak Creole to the baby. And my mother-in-law will only speak French. I want my baby to have a taste of every country and I want him to speak every language. I just want my baby to know that he is multi-cultural and I want him to embrace it. I don't want him to be ashamed of it, I want him to be proud. I think it's a beautiful mix.
Do you have any help taking care of the baby?
No, I'm on my own. On the weekends my mom will spend a lot of time with him. My husband works, so I stay home with the baby. My baby is my life and I don't believe in babysitters. I told my husband, "I can take care of my child". I love him and I want to protect him.
What's been the most surprising part after the baby was born?
The most surprising part was the attachment that comes. I never in my entire life I never believed that I would bond with someone the way I have bonded with Chase Valentino. It's an incredible feeling. He is my flesh, he's my blood. I'm nursing him, too, and that to me is extremely powerful. He needs me, you know? Now I understand why my mom loves us to death. I love the relationship I have with my son.
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Did you breast feed your baby to help you lose weight? Are you going to watch tonight's Quiero Mi Baby episode? Share with us in the comments below!
