MOVI Inc.Holly Madison is officially a mommy times two.
The reality star gave birth to her second child, a boy, with husband Pasquale Rotella on Sunday. While the couple has not yet revealed the baby's name, they did confirm he weighed in at 8 pounds and 14 ounces. The infant joins the couple's first child, 3-year-old big sister Rainbow Aurora.
"I'm holding my beautiful son at the hospital reading amazing birthday wishes from all of you," Rotella wrote on Instagram on Monday. "Definitely one of the most memorable weeks of my life! Lots of love to everyone who took the time to post, tag or send me a message online. I'm grateful & touched! We'll be heading home from the hospital later & I'll be posting photos of the new baby soon. Thanks 'n love you ALL!"
As Madison geared up for the arrival of her newborn these past nine months, she also offered some insight into motherhood by way of her personalized celebrity blog posts on E! News. Having already been through a pregnancy in 2013, the 36-year-old shared personal advice you won't find in the traditional guide books. Here's a look back at six bits of her best insight.
1. Don't stress out about your "body after baby."
Despite maintaining a healthy diet and working out regularly while pregnant with Rainbow, Holly described how returning to her pre-pregnancy weight was not easy nor predictable. "It took me a full 11 months to lose the 30 or so pounds I gained and truly get back to my pre-pregnancy, 'ideal' weight," she explained in her baby blog.
Even though the number on the scale matched the number she had seen before getting pregnant, she also noted that pregnancy can have a lasting physical effect that you can't change with diet or exercise.
"My belly button looks different and my skin is a little looser around my ribcage. Did you know a woman's ribcage can expand up to two inches during pregnancy to accommodate the extra lung capacity needed for a growing baby? I suspect my ribcage never went back down to normal. I have several dresses that I can no longer zip up past the chest, and it's not because my boobs are any bigger."
Ultimately, Holly encourages all moms to go at their own pace with their bodies after giving birth—and give the magazine headlines little mind. "All the body after baby hype isn't really doing anyone any favors. Feeling pressure to drop the pounds fast isn't making anyone healthier. I know because I did it the healthy way and it took me almost a year to get back in shape," she wrote. "If you just gave birth and are feeling bad about not losing the weight fast enough (especially compared to all the celebrities in the magazines), you shouldn't feel that way. Trust me, most of these miraculous, Hollywood weight loss stories are most likely aided by a lot of retouching, liposuction, undergarments or all three."
2. Breastfeeding is no cakewalk.
While it's the oldest method of feeding a child and sometimes a controversial subject, it's not the part of being a new mom that Holly is "most eagerly anticipating." Madison breastfed her first child and plans to do it again, but she notes that it is far from the easiest process. According to the star, it takes up copious amounts of a mother's time, can be tricky to do in public and sometimes just does not cut it.
"Despite the 'breast is best' ideals I started with, I ended up having to supplement with formula. Even though I devoted a lot of time to feedings and pumping, I found it difficult to get enough of a supply for all of my daughter's feedings," she wrote. "At the end of the day, as long as a child is safe, nourished and loved, who are we to judge breast vs. bottle? Making sure your child is fed is the goal, not beating yourself up because you aren't doing it the 'best' or trendiest way possible."
3. "Mommy brain" can be a lot more than a short side effect.
After giving birth, Madison recollected how she would forget every day tasks and things her husband asked of her. While guide books mentioned "brain mush" as a potential side effect of pregnancy, Holly had experienced it on a higher level than she had ever expected.
"Even the most common pregnancy guides will list forgetfulness as a symptom of pregnancy or postpartum recovery, but it's usually mentioned very briefly as if it's not a big deal. To me, it felt like a really big deal. It felt scary. It felt like one of my major organs, in this case my brain, was starting to fail me in a way I had never experienced and it was frightening," she described.
To manage the forgetfulness, Holly advised making lists, exercising and taking fish oil supplements to combat the lapse in memory.
4. Not everything you hear about being pregnant is true.
The reality star noted that throughout her pregnancy, she would get weird looks for ordering coffee when medically, pregnant women are permitted to drink up to 200 mg of caffeine a day. "
If you decide to take a ride on the baby train, be sure and talk to your doctor for peace of mind before making any personal decisions. In the meantime, take comfort in the fact that your lifestyle may not have to change that much if/when you get pregnant," she wrote. "Yes, you can still work, exercise, have sex, color your hair, drink coffee and even wear heels if you want to."
5. Sometimes a healthy diet will upset your stomach.
Holly kept a healthy diet during her first pregnancy, but couldn't stomach some of the items she ate the first time around while carrying her son. In her words, "Green juice makes me want to vomit."
"Despite having the same motivation and the same knowledge of nutrition as I did during my first pregnancy, I just can't stomach the same diet, for whatever reason," she explained. "Is it hormones? The baby's gender? I may never know, I'm just taking each day to try and eat healthier."
6. Make a capsule maternity wardrobe.
With so many other things going on during a pregnancy, Holly advises building a maternity wardrobe for seamless everyday dressing.
"[It's comprised] of 35 pieces (example: seven pair of shoes, seven tops, seven bottoms, seven dresses and seven pieces of outerwear/coats). Ideally, most of the items should all be able to mix and match and you should love every piece, making getting dressed on an ordinary day the easiest, most thoughtless process possible, because, let's face it, you have more important things to think about," she wrote.