Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave Reveals the Unexpected Reason She Can't Breastfeed
"I had absolutely no idea this would affect anything," The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills mom confessed.
Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave has been an open book about life pre-and postpartum now that she has given birth to her third baby, Dove. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills mom of three holds very little back when it comes to the highs and lows of her recovery — even amid the chaos of self-quarantine. But there is one topic that Teddi has been noticeably silent about on social media: breastfeeding. Now, she's sharing her emotional relationship with nursing and the surprising reason behind her silence.
On April 7, Teddi took to Instagram Stories (while getting in a little treadmill time, no less) to extend a little thank you to followers for their support after she revealed that she isn't, in fact, able to breastfeed newborn Dove.
"I haven't shared my breastfeeding journey on Instagram," she started out in her clip, "because the mom shame can just be so much and I just wasn't ready to handle it."
Teddi got visibly emotional in the video as she continued. "Any time I ever post a picture of Dove, the first question and then followed by a ton of other questions is, 'Are you breastfeeding her?' Obviously I wanted to."
Teddi revealed in her most recent episode of her podcast, Teddi Tea Time, that she learned she wasn't able to nurse after a trying few days in the hospital immediately after delivery. This, she explained, was due to her past breast augmentation surgery.
"Right after I had [Dove] everything was great," she said in her episode. "Day 2 she started getting fussier and that's when we realized something was going on with my colostrum. My breast essentially got so engorged and everything was happening because the milk was coming in... but no milk could come out because I had gotten my boobs done after Slate and Cruz and I had absolutely no idea that this would affect anything."
More specifically, it was the nipple reconstruction during breast augmentation that won't allow her to express milk.
"If it didn't work out the way you planned, you're not alone. And, you know, we're all as moms just doing the very best we can," Teddi shared. "And if you're not one of the people who came to show kindness, you came to attack me for a decision I made over five years ago when I thought I couldn't have more kids. And truthfully I didn't know it would affect breast feeding when I did have kids."
Don't forget to tune into the premiere of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Wednesday, April 15 at 8/7c.
