Bachelor franchise alums Ashley Iaconetti and husband Jared Haibon are over the moon about their new son, Dawson. In a recent interview with Us Weekly, the proud new mom gushed about their 1-week-old baby and shared how things have been going so far. During the conversation, Ashley revealed that she wasn't planning on breastfeeding the newborn, defending her decision for her inevitable critics.
Ashley decided not to nurse Dawson after suffering severe morning sickness
Dawson, who was born on Ashley's mother's birthday, gave his own mom quite a hard time while she was pregnant. Ashley endured intense morning sickness throughout most of her first and second trimesters.
"When you have like a stomach virus, you know there will be an end," she recalled of the months of sickness. "But with the pregnancy nausea, you're like, 'I don't know when this is going to end.'"
As many moms know, all of that can take a lot out you!
The new mom wanted to focus on herself and her new baby
It's understandable to want to make sure you're feeling 100% when you're now tasked with caring for another person, which is why Ashley says she needed to take something off her plate.
"The past nine months have been so hard on my body," the 33-year-old explained. "I just kind of wanted to put all my focus on him and not to have any sort of struggle that distracted me from being my best self."
We totally get it. You have to put your oxygen mask on yourself before you can help others.
Don't expect to see Ashley posting any "brelfies" on Instagram
When it comes to Dawson's nutritional needs, Ashley has decided that fed is best. "I have had so many people say that they tried [nursing] for a very short period of time, and it just stressed them out so much," she said, defending her decision to skip breastfeeding.
"I was like, I don't want to stress myself out during this huge life change. It's been really good for [Dawson]. He loves his bottles. He slurps it down."
Ashley said she's already prepared for criticism
Although she's only been at this parenting game for a short period of time, Ashley is already familiar with how mom-shaming works. "I worry about the crazy people," she said, referring to the negative comments she'll inevitably get for choosing to bottle-feed Dawson. "People are so opinionated on it."
At least Jared is in her corner
While Ashley may be justifiably worried about what the general public has to say about her decision, she can rest easy knowing her husband supports her. "Listen, we are doing everything that we think is best for Dawson, and he is thriving and doing really well," Jared said during the interview. "And that's all that matters."
You said it, dad! Congrats to Ashley and Jared. Hopefully they can continue to tune out the haters and make whatever choices are best for both them and their new baby.
