Heather Rae El Moussa tells TODAY.com that husband Tarek El Moussa really delivered when it came to her push present, aka a post-birthing gift that a mom receives as a token of appreciation for bringing new life into the world.
Heather Rae, 35, and Tarek, 41, welcomed their first child together, a son named Tristan, in January.
“I got a gold Cartier Love bracelet,” Heather Rae shares exclusively with TODAY.com. “I love gold jewelry and Tarek knew that it was what I had been wanting."
When Tarek presented Heather Rae with the diamond-set bangle she says she was "so excited." But there was just one problem.
“I have very tiny wrists and it didn’t fit! So I had to send the bracelet back two different times,” the “Selling Sunset” star says with a chuckle.
Heather Rae is quick to add that the best gift of all is Tristan, who is now 4-months-old and “such an easy soul.”
“He’s like the happiest kid, the most chill boy ever,” Heather Rae says, noting that Tristan is a “champion breastfeeder,” after having a tongue-tie corrected.
Tongue-tie is characterized by an unusually short, thick or tight lingual frenulum — the band of tissue that connects the tongue to the base of the mouth — that can restrict tongue mobility and impact breastfeeding.
“Tristan had a lot working against him in the beginning — the poor thing could not suck. It was almost like he was trying to suck through a straw that has a hole in it,” Heather Rae says. “He started losing a lot of weight. It was awful.”
Tongue-tie laser surgery, or laser frenectomy, solved the issue, according to Heather Rae.
“Breastfeeding is our favorite thing to do together. I revolve my life around breastfeeding, which can be a challenge, but it’s the most important thing to me right now,” she says.
And she’s just starting to get comfortable nursing in public.
“I’m used to feeding him topless at home. Tristan’s naked with a diaper on, and that’s our comfort zone,” Heather Rae explains.
Heather Rae recalls a recent lunch with her "Selling Sunset" co-star Bre Tiesti, where Tristan was more interested in people-watching than eating. Meanwhile, Heather Rae says she kept worrying, “Is my boob going to pop out?”
“I put him on, but he did not want to latch because he was so distracted,” she says. “Venturing out is new for both of us. The first three months, I didn’t really leave with him.”
Heather Rae has no doubt it will get easier.
“There’s new challenges all the time,” she says. “But then you overcome them. You think you’re not going to get through it, and then you get through it.”