Heather Rae Young’s “very hard” breastfeeding journey left her feeling “so defeated.”
The “Selling Sunset” star wrote candidly about her ups and downs nursing her son, Tristan, on Monday, revealing the 3-week-old experienced tongue tie, cheek tie, lip tie and jaundice.
“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,” she explained via Instagram.
“I thought…. I’ll just pop him on my boob and feed him anytime. Ya no!!!” Young, 35, joked.
However, with the help of a “baby fairy” lactation specialist, the reality star’s little one is now “latching so well on the left side.”
The “Selling Sunset” star felt “so defeated.”theheatherraeelmoussa/Instagram
As for the right side, Young is still “working on” nursing Tristan in “non-traditional positions.”
The Netflix personality clarified that she still “genuinely love[s] breastfeeding” and having a “skin-to-ski connection” with her baby boy.
The new mom is getting help from a lactation specialist.theheatherraeelmoussa’s profile picture, theheatherraeelmoussa/Instagram
“It’s such a beautiful bonding experience,” she gushed. “It might be hard and challenging at the moment but … we’re working together to make it easier like we’re a little team 🤍🍼.”
Young’s co-stars showed their support, with Emma Hernan commenting, “CUTIES!”
Before giving birth to Tristan in January, Young had parenting practice as a stepmom to her husband Tarek El Moussa’s two children.
The “Flip or Flop” alum shares daughter Taylor, 12, and son Brayden, 7, with his ex-wife, Christina Haack.
The “Flip or Flop” alum is also the father of two children with Christina Haack.theheatherraeelmoussa/Instagram
In July 2022, El Moussa and Young told their Instagram followers that they had a baby of their own on the way.
“Surprise!!!” the then-pregnant star captioned a maternity shoot photo. “Baby El Moussa coming early 2023!!”
The duo wed in 2021.theheatherraeelmoussa/Instagram
Young and the 41-year-old, who got married in October 2021, were pursuing IVF before they conceived naturally.
“We went from having seven frozen eggs to being told we were only supposed to get 2 follicles to then being able to get 8 to having an all natural pregnancy,” the real estate agent explained last year. “You just never know what life has in store for you.”
Young called her child a “miracle,” noting, “The odds were definitely against us.”