thats us on the front cover of the episode 🙂 What an honor! 🙂

FULL BIG BROTHER 18 Episode

Adora Borealis was born to two very competitive former big brother houseguests! Rachel Reilly Villegas & Brendon Villegas, for those of you that know our story we met on season 12 of Big Brother went on to win season 13 of Big Brother, went onto Amazing Race as an engaged couple and placed 3rd then went on to amazing race all stars as a married couple and we placed 3rd again! For us CBS has been our lives for the past 6years!

What an adventure it has been! Between meeting, falling in love, traveling and having a little baby its been a mini fairy tale mixed with sitcom dramady for our little family. Brendon is also working a PhD while all this is going on.

When we met and fell in love we KNEW we wanted to have little babies. A whole house full of little ones, were still working on the house full right now Adora is filling up our lives. Naturally, we had to announce the pregnancy on Big Brother and also introduce Adora to America on Big Brother! When they asked us to participate in this package we couldn’t have been more excited. As a giddy mom I just couldn’t wait to show off my little angel and as a fun new mom I wanted to wear matching outfits and share a really cool experience with Adora.

Outfits!

First things first-WHAT TO WEAR? This is the major question all you girls out think about when you have something exciting coming up. Being a new mom I wanted to match my lil’ peanut and Brendon had to coordinate with our outfits. I searched high and low for matching mom and baby outfits and I actually had a hard time finding ones to fit in with my style.

Above is what I found! I was gifted the green tule baby skirt and paired that with a one I found down town in LA, I found the two matching skirts downtown from JayVee kids and we found the Paris and polka dots online. The outfit we choose matched so well and looked great on camera so we picked the khaki and flower print skirts with black tops and complimentary necklaces (below). We had to take in the skirt and cut it shorter for her, but that was great because we used the extra fabric to make head bows. We then had dad wear a black top with us, we had him try on 4 different styles of red tops but none of them looked as good as the black so we did black. Brendon is a good sport and supports us so it isn’t that much of a struggle to get him to do these shoots with us.

The camera team arrived around 10am. Adora and I were getting ready since 7am between feedings and getting dressed with newborn in carrier I knew it would take a bit longer.

Getting Camera Ready with a Baby:

Getting Adora ready is super easy a quick bath which she loves anyway, a good feeding after bath a clean diaper and a onesie to wear until you are ready for camera. Make sure not to dress baby until you are ready or you risk getting your outfit dirty or spit up on or anything. For us moms to prepare for any type of getting ready with newborns I suggest scheduling an extra hour a good carrier and a little swing. Adora loves the fisher price take along swing. We were passed down the swing from aunt Allyson and she loves it. When doing my hair she will sit in the swing and play with the toys and lights for about 15minutes, then its hold me time so the carrier really comes in handy. I don’t want her near the loud blow dryer or the hot curling iron so I try to keep her occupied as long as possible. During makeup time she will outward face and I just speak to her about what I am doing the whole time so she feels engaged. I even ask her if mommy should wear this color on her eyes etc. Makeup brushes end up being chew toys so just make sure to wash them off before you hand to baby. hehe Also don’t think you need to add lip gloss or mascara to make your little one look cute or pop, they are babies they will do this naturally. I have seen what poor little ones with mascara look like and its not pretty. (at auditions all the crazies come out)

Camera arrived and we thought best to film Brendon first since Adora needed to be fed. However, with set up and him filming it ended up being almost 1 before they were ready for us. 1pm is Adoras nap time so she wasn’t happy. I wished I would have thought about this first.

Naps & Feeding:

Moms if you plan on filming anything or doing photo shoots, think about nap schedules and feeding schedules. Right after baby naps and eats they are usually the calmest and will look the best on camera. Trust us!

So we let her have a little nap and we were off to location two. She was so darn cute at the park I think she enjoyed her self and it came across on camera.

Toys & Enjoyable locations:

Moms if you plan on filming or photo shooting think of toys and fun spots for baby. This really does come across on camera. When she’s happy you can tell and nothing is cutter then a baby who is laughing!

Filming with a little one shouldn’t take all day and it can’t last to long anyway. So after our second location and some B-Roll footage we were done! 🙂 Thats a wrap for Adora and an experience we will never forget! And for a fun unforgettable photo shoot or video shoot just think and plan ahead.

 

Like I always say- there really is something magical about getting away, being outdoors it makes us realize how amazing the world really is. It couldn’t be more true then when you share the experience with your new baby.

Their eyes light up! The smells the light, the different feels and sensations! You can’t create it in a baby toy its real raw and theres just something about the way they experience it that makes you re-experience it and really appreciate it.

Camping is one of our favorite activities as a family since we get to share the experience with our dog and now our new lil’ angel. We were set to go camping at Big Sur for the 4th this year and we chickened out since it gets down in the 60s in the evenings and Adora was only 3months at the time. I think we would have been ok! But this isn’t about missing that trip its about actually going on one!

Things to remember when you have baby along-

SUN -Theres no house cave but a tent and that gets hot plus your out exploring all day

WEATHER -If its super hot you have to keep your LO cool, if its cold you have to keep them warm

BUGS -Theres nothing worse then an ant bite or a spider bite YIKES! And mosquitos I shutter thinking about them

FOOD-NAPS-SLEEPING-CLEAN CLOTHES/DIAPERS -you get the point

You want this to be a fun experience that you enjoy and create memories and experiences you can continue as they grow up.

SUN

Sun is one of the harder things to think about when out and about. Since sunscreen isn’t recommended by your babies Dr. I talked to ours and he said if we do it use mineral sunscreen and a little is better then a sunburn! SUN IS HARSH IN CA with that being said I got an amazing hat iPlay sunhat and I really like how it protects her face and neck. The sunglasses look cute but LETS BE REAL Adora took them off as soon as I put them on. She has her own tent I found on amazon and my friend Brian got us for the baby shower, the brand is KiloFly. We like it because it has mesh so it also protects from insects, but we wish that there was a larger top screen because its hard to maneuver with the sun shading all of her. The biggest thing I can recommend is a sun suit or sun shirt Adora has one that is up to SPF 50.

I also carry an umbrella with me for sun protection everywhere I go!

 

BACK TO WEATHER

Weather is tough to control but you always have to be prepared. Brendon checks online first but we come prepared and always bring a rainfly because you never know. The tent is amazing but it does get warm during the hot sun so best to set up under a tree. In the hot summer months in CA we need to be on the look out for Adora getting to hot or dehydrated.

Signs of heat exposure include:

fewer tears when crying: fewer wet diapers: more fussy but refusal to take bottles or breast: Dry mouth: sunken spots — Heres a great site with more information—

When you camp your outside all day and maybe hiking or exploring it’s important to remember to offer your baby the bottle or breast even more often then usual to prevent dehydration. We also try to carry wet(cold if possible) cloths for her head and feet. At the lake it was easy to cool off in the water and not worry as much about getting to hot so we try to stick to hikes in the shade, near water, with a breeze, or on a cooler day.

When its cold remember that most of your heat is lost from your head so be prepared to keep your LO warm by using layers! Even if its hot during the day it can cool off at night so be prepared for anything. Adoras lake outfits are much different then her nighttime outfits. Also shown is her sun dress and the kilo fly.

BUGS

Something that can ruin any out door experience is a bad bite. Spiders, ants, mosquitos, and numerous other pests all live outside. Not to mention snakes and scorpions. You want to stay clear of large rocks and sunny paths for the bad guys where they like to escape the heat or sun. However, for bugs its a little more difficult to be on the look out. Most bad spiders don’t hang out in the open where people are. Black widows, brown recluse and hobo spiders really don’t like to be bothered but you can still run into them so be on the look out parents. Other spider bites in the US don’t require medical attention. Other bugs are just not fun but check out this affordable natural bug spray you can make at home.

FOOD

Breast fed babies are easy and its super relaxing and fun to breast feed outdoors. You don’t have to worry about people watching or covering up, just you baby and the outdoors! You can hike and feed or just relax and feed either way just remember to stay hydrated yourself. Bottle babies just require more preparation. You can prefill a bottle or two at home where its likely cleaner. You can also use ziplock baggies and portion out formula. Whatever works for you is best for baby just bring an extra water bottle that is only used for baby.

Clean Clothes : Diapers

When out for long periods of time its best to have a change of clothing, this is true for outdoors too. Baby is going to get dirty and your going to get sweaty and that sweat is going to end up on your LO. Bringing extra clothes for nighttime and day time! You may not be around running water at a campsite or on your hike so bring clean clothes and clean diapers. I recommend big ziplock baggies for diapers trash and also for keeping things clean so grab a pack from the dollar store before you head out. Don’t worry if there a bit of dirt on something or if your baby eats some its going to be ok, we did and it made us stronger.

Sleeping

The easiest thing but some parents find it to be the hardest. Adora still sleeps in bed with us, I’m not going to lie we bed share. I have never rolled on her or been worried about it. She’s getting bigger daily so the only things I worry about are her kicks in the middle of the night they pack a punch! So when sleeping somewhere thats not our CA-king bed I just am cautious that we won’t be somewhere she could roll into danger i.e. a pillow on her head or sleeping bag covering her and that we won’t have her rolling into a rock or something sharp. When you camp you have your tent on top of a tarp and a tarp inside your tent, usually you then add a base layer of blow up whatever or sleeping bags to sleep on top of. So they won’t really be sleeping on rocks or rolling into rocks. Sleeping bags are made to keep you warm and have lots of cushion that moves, so maybe think about laying something on top of your sleeping bag if your worried or laying your sleeping bag all the way out. If its really cold at night you can use a halo wrap with layers underneath, you can also buy baby cold suits so you don’t have to put a blanket on top of your baby. I’ve read parents all do it differently but I keep reading over and over about parents using layers! This is probably the best idea because they can come off or go on easily.

GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN AND REMEMBER NOT TO STRESS! BABIES ARE MADE FOR THIS KIND OF STUFF!