The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Hayden Cruise Haibon

Episode Date: August 6, 2024

Ashley is officially a mother of two! She’s back and ready to tell her birth story after welcoming her son Hayden into the world. Find out what was different from her pregnancy with Dawson, and how an Instagram poll influenced their name choice! And Ashley reveals the major decision that wasn’t made until the VERY last minute! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone.

Hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Why are TSA rules so confusing? You got a hood of you. I'll take it all. I'm Manny. I'm Noah. This is Devin. And we're best friends and journalists with a new podcast called No Such Thing, where we get to the bottom of questions like that.

Why are you screaming? I can't expect what to do. Now, if the rule was the same, go off on me. I deserve it. You know, lock him up. Listen to No Such Thing on the. iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. No such thing.

Hi, my name is Enya Umanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes.

Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. I'm Dr. Joy Hardin-Brandford, host of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. I know how overwhelming it can feel if flying makes you anxious. In session 418 of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast, Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett and I discuss flight anxiety. What is not normal is to allow it to prevent you from doing the things that you want to do.

the things that she were meant to do. Listen to therapy for black girls on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcast with IHeart Radio. Hey everybody, this is the Almost Famous Podcast, and this is an episode that just warms my heart, makes me excited, makes me happy. It's a weird episode because when Almost Famous started, you had two people in their 20s calling each other on the phone, recording a show, talking about the Bachelor, Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, not knowing what in the world life would bring. And through ups and downs, now we're here

today to celebrate Ashley and Jared as they welcome their second child into the world. Ashley, welcome back. Thank you. I feel great. I feel refreshed. I feel like I can talk to you and breathe, which is really awesome. How quickly, so some of these are going to be very naive questions about, I love naive questions, though. How quickly did you, do you start to feel what would you, what you would consider like normal or back to self again? Instantaneously. No way. I know I'm not, like, I'm probably not the norm when I say that.

Just because I don't like pregnancy, you know, like I don't like the physical feeling of pregnancy. Yeah. So as soon as the kid comes out, like I feel physically so much relief. And this time especially with the second, there's a lot less. healing and I just like was up and at it like the next day you kind of mentioned before that you had been told that the second time around was going to be so much easier giving birth but you know typically not everybody has that experience I understand that but for the expectation from the doctors was the second time around giving birth was going to be so much easier than the first

would that end up being true it was so easy I actually feel almost guilty talking about it Like, Jared was like, let's just kind of keep the ease of this private. Okay. It was like, I mean, but we got to celebrate, you know, not again, not everybody has that story, but we got to celebrate people's successes. And that's a success. I mean, that's a big thing that we want to say, hey, I'm happy for you that that was your experience.

Everyone deserves what I went through with this delivery. It was awesome. I thought that Dawson's delivery was relatively, you know, I wouldn't call it easy, but it wasn't like traumatic at all like I went into like the delivery month with Hayden being like oh I'm not really scared of delivering because you know with Dawson it was like eh I mean like I'm not looking forward to doing that again but it wasn't like awful and this was just like yeah I liked an induction with an epidural before I felt any contractions like truly it didn't feel pain it was like just pressure was awful

Wow. Okay. So there's a couple ways because there's so much to talk about. There's a couple things I think to, because I like to organize, how I want to go through this. Let's start with kind of an open-ended question for you to tell our audience and myself, because I haven't heard any of this yet. Walk us through that day, that experience leading up to the delivery of Hayden. so I knew from I knew I knew I had like an appointment to be induced at 39 weeks and that was really it was like nothing medical it was just that like my OB practice is kind of like if you want to be induced at 39 weeks we like it because like you know it's a practice of a number of doctors and they're like we can be there on the date you know your doctor can be there on the date of your delivery and like I'm really close to my midwife now and the She's like the midwife of the practice and she's like, we can both be there and it'll be just like kind of calm and, you know, just we'll give you an epidural before we put puttocin in and you'll barely really, you don't really have to feel the contractions. So I didn't even think I was going to get to 39 weeks because Dawson was 10 days early and I just kind of figure like, oh, if your first is 10 days early, you'll probably be early for the second. but he didn't come within a week of the due date. So we just kind of strolled into the hospital at the early 6 a.m. on Monday, two weeks ago from today's recording.

And that was, it was just like, Jared was like, it was like a doctor's appointment. And then, so he went in at 6 a.m. And then he was out at 2.30. And then you spent, do you stay the night in the hospital? yeah so you have to stay for 24 hours after the baby's born okay um what was it like for the two of you i've always been told that the birth of a child is unlike any emotional experience um that you can have when it comes to looking at your baby for the first time was there anything different seeing

your second child born than your first where the feelings the same kind of walk us through the emotional journey then and once Hayden was delivered well Jared and I are both like on the same page where it's like when the baby actually comes out we're like not like completely overwhelmed with emotion like some people like his mom is like I saw heaven when Jared came out and Jared and I both like he is yeah right Jared and I both feel like our love grows for the child like you know well every single day actually but we in that moment it's when you And it's a slimy kids pulled out. And it's, I don't, I don't have this overwhelming sense of love for, which is both

of us straightforward with that. But like, once you have hours to, like, hold the baby in your arms, that's when it gets more emotional. And I feel like with the second, we were just more comfortable. I was more comfortable with everything. Yeah. Like, when Dawson came out, it was just like, oh, my God, this. human just came out of my body and like I what and then with Hayden it was more like he they pulled

him out and they gave him to me and I just felt like so much more comfortable with him in my arms I was like I know what to do with you yeah you're like you're in it because you I feel more confident so yeah it's you I remember when you had Dawson we were doing the talk afterwards similar to this one and you said you don't remember life before Dawson like like life before kind of is this blur now like it you can remember remember it, but there's, there's so much now new in the world that, like, Dawson has now feels like it's been a part of your life, he's been a part of your life forever. Is it the same feeling with Hayden? Like, now you're two weeks in. Does life feel that much different?

Okay, so I think that I don't know how life is going to feel once, like, we're away from our village. So we're going back to Rhode Island, and it'll just be like the four of us for the first time this coming Friday. So I think we're a little apprehensive about that because it's just going to be like, wow, like, it's just the two of us. And we have two kids to, you know, keep

alive. But as like, to answer your, what I mean, what I think you mean by your question, yeah, I think I have more of like a memory of what it feels like to not have to Hayden because you're like, oh, wow, we just had to take care of one kid

beforehand. That was kind of easy. like what did we ever complain about it does feel easy now like in comparison just having Dawson yeah but also because like my body is back to feeling itself so like I can run around with him

like I'm not supposed to really lift him but like you know I'm living go out with him and feel like capable of caring for him totally and now I'm like oh you know it's easy taking care of a two and a half year old so i think that's like the biggest difference is realizing this like the um the load that we now

have but right now you do have a village around you so you have a lot of help you have multiple eyes and hands at all times but has it been more difficult even in two weeks having two children probably just because the sleep thing i mean he has been waking up every two hours yesterday i got a stretch of two and a half hours and i woke up and I was like, is he okay? Yeah. So I could tell. I could tell immediately it had been more than two hours.

Look at the clock, two and a half hours, big whoopee. Yeah. How long will this last? How long will this sleep last? Who knows? That's what's weird is that you kind of forget certain things about the first time, even though it was two and a half years ago. I feel like Hayden might be a little fussier than Dawson was,

as a newborn, Dawson was extremely fussy as a baby, you know, when we got out of like the three-month phase and then on. And I was like, this kid is so hard. So they may swap, who knows? He's just been hungrier than Dawson. And all I remember is that Dawson like slept three to four hour stretches pretty early on. I want to say like within the second, probably like in his third week. So fingers cross I think there's a big difference

Between getting three straight hours And two Because two is like Did I fall? Did I sleep? Yeah You're like as soon as you Your eyes close and you like Get in a REM sleep

Then you're wide awake again Yeah My boyfriend's professor Is way too friendly And now I'm seriously suspicious Oh wait a minute Sam Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit Well Dakota it's back to school

week on the okay story time podcast so we'll find out soon this person writes my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot he doesn't think it's a problem but i don't trust her now he's insisting we get to know each other but i just want her gone now hold up isn't that against school policy that sounds totally inappropriate well according to this person this is her boyfriend's former professor and they're the same age and it's even more likely that they're cheating he insists there's nothing between them i mean do you believe him well he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him because he now wants them both the meat. So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his professor

or not? To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. My name is Ed. Everyone say, hello, Ed. From a very rural background myself, my dad is a farmer and my mom is a cousin. So, like, it's not what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago. normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear. On 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family.

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an Iheart women's sports production in partnership with deep blue sports and entertainment on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. how did you come up with hayden where did that come from okay so it was a name on our list for a while i did an instagram poll at like seven months pregnant i was like guys is it ridiculous if i do if we do hayden hayden because we both like hayden was like one of the few names that jared and i agreed on and but then we when we put it with the last name we were like is this so silly And then, but it's kind of cool.

It's either, like, such a cool name or it's so silly. Oh, you think it's cool? I think it's great. I think it's an awesome name. Yeah. So, well, I've only, I've known of it from, like, kids in school and stuff, but Jared has only known of it from hating Christensen. And we've always joked that, like, Jared would name, like, we would name a kid,

Anakin, because I think Anakin is kind of a cool name, but, like, we would never actually do it, but it's kind of cool at the same time. And so when we. were joking about Anakin. Jared was like, well, Hayden Christensen, like Hayden. And I was like, well, I do like Hayden. So it's not after Hayden Christensen, but like, sort of like inspired by. But then we didn't have it really picked out until we were sitting in the hospital room the day after, or I guess it was the night that he was born. And I said to Jared, I was like, so what name on like our short list is your favorite? And he was like, Hayden. I was like, I think that one's

my favorite too. So then we're like, all right, screw the illiteration. Screw the fact that there's an alliteration and people may make fun of it, but we like it. So this was like right up until delivery time you hadn't really decided. Yeah. Because first it was going to be Dominic, which was after my dad and my grandpa, but like it's weird. Why wouldn't you just go with the family name? Well, because I kept saying, how many, how can I say Dominic, Dominic, Dominic, Dominic, Dominic, all day long you know what i mean and my dad has always gone by j and whenever i would say his name's going to be dominic my dad like felt no emotion towards that i was like dad do you think do you care do you like and he's like i don't know i never identify with dominic because i've always been jay and then and my dad

liked hayden more and so then with my dad's neutrality on that and then me just saying it over and over and over again. I was like, okay, so maybe it's not going to be Dominic. And then we were like kind of thinking it was going to be Dimitri, which is Dawson's middle name, because it was like our second favorite name, which my advice to everybody out there, like I've said before, don't name your first kid's middle name, your second favorite name, because then you won't be able to use it if you have the same sex again. Even though I think, I think I like Hayden more than Demetri, you know? And then we went with Hayden. Yeah. Okay, so Hayden is then born. was the name chosen kind of right up until the end.

And then Dawson, and the video is so sweet, gets to meet Hayden. What has the Big Brother reaction been like so far? Definitely the best part. My favorite part by far is seeing Dawson interact with Hayden. He immediately kind of like under, I thought, I wasn't sure whether he understood like little brother coming. But he seemed to get it.

And he has been nothing but sweet. like no jealousy just so much interest so much affection toward him without even being prompted he'll say like night night baby i love you it's so special and then in the morning he'll come into my room and he'll like look in the snoo and if hayden's not in the snoo he's like where's baby and like he now knows that like morning time is time to like snuggle with hayden he the the thing the only thing to worry about is that like he wants to like just give him like a bear hug and like throw all of his weight on him besides that it's just been so sweet and he like pets his head is very adorable is it has that been been the most emotional part like just watching him kind of adapt and react yes yes and I feel like

Dawson has also grown up so much in, I don't know, it was just the age that he's at at two and a half, or it has to do with another kid being here, but he just seems to have like really flourished the past few weeks, and that's been emotional. Oh, that's awesome. Well, he's stepping up. He's maturing. He knows mom and dad need a little help, and he's there to give it. I, I mean, obviously Dawson has been such a fun and cute and such a good looking baby. Is there similarities now

when you look at them as newborns? Like, do you think they're going to look alike? I think so. That was like one of the first things that I said when he like came out. I was like, oh my God, thank God he looks like Dawson. Because I don't want, you know, I want them to look similar because, you know, the obvious

Dawson's is so freaking cute. But yeah, he looks like he's like the darker version of him. I don't think he's going to have blue eyes. It's hard to tell with newborns, but it seems to be dark now and dark hair. But they have very similar features. So I think that's kind of cute. The one's lighter, one's darker. Well, before we kind of get into this next stage questions about what your dreams are, what kind of products have come out in the last two and a half years that maybe you give advice to any listeners on, has there any been anything we've missed that you really wanted to talk about when it comes to

bringing hayden into the world maybe just that like Jared is so good with newborns and i'm truly like a little jealous like he's i feel like with the newborns he's this like a better parent than me he just is crushing her right now and he's around still he's still there with you okay off the record he had to go for the weekend but that's why we don't need to have that in Yeah, he's so comfortable with them. I feel like I might break them to like a certain point, you know? And he just, when it comes to just loving on them and just caring for them, there's something that just comes so much more naturally to Jared

when they hit a certain point. Like I feel like I totally, I click, you know, like I think what's nice with me and Jared is that like we each have like our phases where we thrive. ages and stages and stuff so he loves a newborn he's so he's just so good with them and I think he says it it's because like he had experience when volunteering at the hospital and he would be with little babies and like the nursery and stuff I'm like that could be it I guess but I just I don't I've never other than our kids like I don't ever interact with newborns I can't I can't really say that it's happened to me many times in my life yeah they're so

just at the first couple weeks, they just seem so fragile. And I'm like, I feel like changing your diaper is just like, I can't, no, can I break you? Yeah, it's scary. Yeah, we'll keep getting updates, right? You're two weeks out, you're fresh, you're, you're in survival mode, but you are thriving. So two and a half years since you had Dawson. Well, is there anything new out there or anything you've learned about this process,

that for anybody listening who's maybe on their way to have a baby that you would recommend that you've learned? That I've learned like how to deal products.

Oh, I mean, yeah. Everything. So, I mean, my thing that I posted on Instagram yesterday is that, you know, we're formula feeding again and for me,

I think it's really good. I just thrive, I have my body back to be my own. But we have this thing called the baby, I think they've pronounced breza,

even though I call it Bereza. Um, so it's like a curing for formula. And with Dawson, we kept it in the kitchen. I don't know. You just think like, oh, you make bottles in the kitchen. Well, what's really smart is that if you bring it up to your, your nightstand at night, and you line it up with like six clean bottles and you don't have to get out of bed when the kid wakes up and is hungry. So I stay in bed all night long.

And that's been helpful. Yes, it's been very good. Um, and what's interesting is that like, what one kid likes the other one may not um dawson loved his swings his mamaroo um the grego swing and and then hayden likes his little vibrating chair so um anything else like yeah this time i've also like kept like a basket of like all the necessities like by our side like diapers wipes bottles and I always have it like near us and it can go up and down the stairs easily. And then I would just say overall, I think I've said this before on the podcast,

but like just don't worry so much about like preparing because you will figure it out and it will come to you relatively naturally, just the whole baby thing. You know, it's just like at first they eat. They sleep, you have to burp them. Burping is probably, burping is, you know, early on, burping is kind of a challenge. Yeah.

It's something you forget about. Because you feel like if they eat and then they don't burp it, you didn't do something right. But that's, like, kind of what it is at first. So, and then, like, and then it just grows into something else, but everything is so gradual

that you don't even see it in front of your eyes. And then all of a sudden, they're two and a half. And you're like, How'd you get to be so independent? You can't figure it out. What happened? It's that gradual.

Ah, so great. Well, we all here have been anxiously awaiting your return to hear about the experience, to hear about Hayden and kind of do this introduction into the world. We can't wait to hear all the stories that are going to come from raising Dawson and Hayden over the next many, many years. But for now, well done. Good job. Tell Jared the same thing. Keep crushing it. And we're happy you're back. Thank you. I'm so, I'm happy to be back. I'm happy to feel good. So fortunate to feel just like kind of ready to go back to regular life. And yeah, he's a cute little baby boy. He's so sweet. I can't like for you to meet him. I can't wait either. It's going to happen soon.

Well, until next time, which this week we are going to have a lot of next times. We have a lot of of content coming your way. But Ashley is back with us. Rachel did a tremendous job while Ashley was gone. She felt in great. She seemed like she did a great job. She did so well. But we did miss you.

And so until next time, I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit.

Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Why are TSA rules so confusing?

You got a hood of you. I'll take it all! I'm Manny. I'm Noah. This is Devin. And we're best friends and journalists with a new podcast called No Such Thing, where we get to the bottom of questions like that. Why are you screaming at me? I can't expect what to do. Now, if the rule was the same, go off on me.

I deserve it. You know, lock him up. Listen to No Such Thing on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Such thing. Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzoor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you.

But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psycho babble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercoms the podcast for you. Open your free IHeart Radio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. I'm Dr. Joy Hardin-Bradford, host of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast.

I know how overwhelming it can feel if flying makes you anxious. In session 418 of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast, Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett and I discuss flight anxiety. What is not a norm is to allow it to prevent you from doing the things that you want to do, the things that you were meant to do. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.