Meet Selena and see her beautiful newborn photos! What a blessing she is!

 

Parents: David and Lisa

Baby’s Name: Selena Naomi

How did Mom & Dad meet?

Serving tables at El Potrillo in Brandon

How did you tell family and friends you were expecting? A pregnancy was unexpected from us, so it was interesting to tell my parents because they had only just met David the month before. I just went out and told them, “Hey, Im having a baby…” They were happy for us. Same with our friends, we just casually popped out “oh hey I’m pregnant”. Our friends are mostly people we’ve known for years in the restaurant so everyone was excited. We built up a pretty big baby fan base because of our regular customers.

What was the best, most surprising or most difficult thing being pregnant? We were both surprised by how hungry I was. I wanted to eat ALL THE TIME, so David was regularly stopping by with snacks. Pizza, pickles, Funyuns. Everything.

Did you find out the gender beforehand? What were both Mom and Dad’s reactions.We found out how the gender during the 20 week visit. We weren’t really surprised. I think we already kind of knew we were having a baby girl, because that’s all we would talk about. We had already picked out names for both genders, but whenever we would talk about the future and what our baby would be like, we always said “she”. We always pictured a girl so it was almost expected

List the possible baby names, and how you narrowed it down?

We’d actually picked out names accidentally before we found out I was pregnant. A month or so before, I played a Selena Quintanilla song in my car. David laughed at me and said he didn’t like it because it was “girl music”, but I’d grown up with it and I love her. I told him whenever I had a daughter, I was naming her to honor Selena Quintanilla because she’s iconic in Mexican culture and a strong female influence in music. David is really into soccer and his favorite player is Cristiano Ronaldo from the Real Madrid team. He’s idolized him as well and told me he’d name his son Cristiano whenever he had one. Those names were instant. Because we’d already discussed it, when we discovered my pregnancy, and kept those. It was finding a middle name that we struggled with. I’d suggested Naomi pretty early but he didn’t like it. Around the time of the baby shower, David said, “Oh hey! What about the name Naomi? Do you like that?” I pretended it was his idea and didn’t remind him that he told me no the first time I suggested the name. I’m glad he changed his mind!

How did baby prep go? (Setting up the crib, decorating the nursery, buckling in the carseat…

Everything went well. We did everything as quickly as possible. As soon as we confirmed the gender, we loaded up on everything pink!

Was labor and delivery what you expected? If not, tell us how things were surprising or not what you expected.Not even close. My doctor and I planned to induction, but my body was just not having it. After a day and a half of induced labor with no results, we gave in to a C Section. It was quick and not at all as nightmarish as I’d imagined in my head. I’m happy with how everything turned out.

Did baby look a lot like Mom, Dad or other siblings? Did you have fun with comparing baby photos?

My baby looks like me made over. Nose, lips, skin, even her tongue is clearly mine. She has her dad’s eye shape but I really think that’s it for now! Maybe she’ll show some more when she gets bigger, but for now she is my newborn clone.

What were Mom’s first thoughts when she saw her baby? And Dad?

Ohhh David cried. I’ve never seen him cry before, but he did when he saw his baby. I didn’t feel emotional like he did. I was so excited. I wanted to jump up and grab her!

What have the first few weeks at home with baby been like? Adjusting to breastfeeding and her sleep schedule was hard, but everything went well and as expected. I’ve had a lot of help from David, my mom, and my older brother and it’s getting easier. My baby is growing up so fast and getting used to being home!