Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave Is "Still Emotional" Over Not Being Able to Breastfeed Daughter Dove

Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave has included fans every step of the way in her journey to welcoming her third child, daughter Dove, from enlisting their help in choosing a name to sharing in her baby girl's sweet firsts. However, there is one part of the process that has been more difficult for Teddi to open up about.

Last month, Teddi revealed on Instagram that she had been keeping her breastfeeding journey private "because the mom shame can just be so much and I just wasn't ready to handle it." She explained in her podcast, Teddi Tea Pod, that she learned after a few days of trying to nurse in the hospital following Dove's birth on February 25 that she was unable to produce milk due to a breast augmentation she had after having her second child, son Cruz, who is now 5.

Teddi said during a conversation with The Daily Dish in April that she's "still emotional" talking about not being able to breastfeed Dove. "It comes in waves," she shared. "I’m definitely at a place of peace when it comes to this is what ended up working out. I don’t have a choice in the matter at this point. What’s important is [Dove is] fed."

Teddi said that she received so many messages of support from other women who had experienced the same issues after opening up about her own hardships. "It definitely gave me some peace of mind," she said. "But I think there are always gonna be days where I feel a little bit bummed that it didn’t work out as I wanted."

The hardest part was being in the hospital and just "trying and trying and trying" with no success, according to Teddi. She ended up meeting with several specialists and even got sick with an infection, at which point, her husband, Edwin Arroyave, stepped in. "It finally just kind of took Edwin to say, 'Babe, enough’s enough. It’s not working, and you have to just be OK. I love you. Dove loves you. This doesn’t mean you love her any less,'" Teddi recalled.

As if life with a newborn wasn't hard enough, the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has made things "definitely challenging" for Teddi and her family. However, she said she feels "so lucky" to have given birth to her before social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders were put in place.

Edwin has also been working at home, while Cruz and their daughter, Slate, 7, have been doing remote learning. Teddi said that Slate was having a particularly "hard time" having to stay home and not go to school, but she has been enjoying getting to spend "extra time" with her mom.

Teddi admitted that time has seemed like "a blur" during self-quarantine. "Some days move so fast, and some days feel like they’re forever," she said. "I’m just taking it one day at a time and trying to give myself some grace that none of us have this all figured out. The best we can do is just stay home, stay healthy, and have open conversations with our kids about it."

Prior to Dove's arrival, one of the biggest decisions Teddi and Edwin had to make was, of course, what they were going to name their baby girl. Teddi told The Daily Dish that, just like with Slate and Cruz, there have always been certain names she has liked. They narrowed the list down to Presley, Shay, Selena, and Dove by the end of December.

Teddi said that she was gravitating toward Dove, but Edwin was "not convinced." "He was like, 'I don’t know, I like Shay.' In my belly, he called Dove Shay the entire time. He’s like, 'Little Shay,'" Teddi recalled. "I’m like, 'I don’t think it’s gonna be Shay, babe. I really want it to be Dove.' And he would not come in agreement with it."

Finally, it took Vanderpump Rules' Stassi Schroeder and Beau Clark, who are good friends with the RHOBH couple, for Edwin to see the light. "One day, we went to church and then lunch with Stassi and Beau, and Stassi was like, 'You know, I really like the name Dove, and she gave all these reasons why she liked it," Teddi said. "And Ed goes, 'You know what, I kind of agree with you.'"

"And I was like, 'What? Are you kidding me? I have been saying this for months, and Stassi comes in with one conversation about it and you can see the perks of the name Dove?'" Teddi continued. "I was like, 'Come on, dude.' But either way, he agreed to it. So we’re good."

Dove may just be the last baby name Teddi and Edwin will have to come up with. Teddi told The Daily Dish that she and Edwin aren't planning on having anymore children in the future. "Well, I would say no, but you never know," she shared. "I never thought I would have more after Cruz because I didn’t think I could without doing IVF. And then I got pregnant naturally."

However, Teddi noted that she and Edwin are being more careful these days. "That being said, we are using protection," she said with a laugh. "I’m not planning on it. But I never say never."

Want more RHOBH? New episodes air every Wednesday at 8/7c or catch up on this season through the Bravo app.

Watch Teddi open up more about her pregnancy at BravoCon in November, below.

Kyle Richards Has Thoughts on Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave's Baby Name Choices

Photo: Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave/Instagram