Click below for Dayna and Brent’s interview, in full!

Emmi just celebrated her 2nd birthday — I read about her 1st birthday party in Cookie — how did you mark her second?

Well, it wasn’t a blow out like last year! I don’t want her to think that all parties are going to be like that first one. We just had some friends and family over. We ate cake and she got one or two gifts — mostly books.

I assume Emmi is starting to talk a lot now that she’s two. What’s the funniest thing that’s come out of her mouth lately?

My daughter screams “frog” which sounds like the “F” word. Everything she says makes me laugh because her little lisp is so precious at this age. Emmi speaks a little Spanish too (because her nanny only speaks Spanish to her) and that really cracks me up.

In May, you had said ‘No TV until 2.’ So has Emmi watched any yet? Or have you continued to hold off?

On her 2nd birthday we took her to see Ratatouille, but that was the first significant thing she’s seen. Since then she’s seen one other movie. We’re trying not to make a habit of this. We prefer to use books for visual stimulation. There is some significant research about the damage television could have on kids at an early age. It really scared me.

How is Emmi with her new brother?

Not good. She was pressing the pointy end of a block in his eye. She bit him and kicks him in his car seat. Poor little Cole. But then other times she hugs him and kisses him like he is her best friend. So, this is an issue we are dealing with on a daily basis. Help!?  

How does Cole react to Emmi? Is he interested in how busy she is? 

Poor Cole. Every day my daughter tries to kill him but he is oblivious! He loves her so much and smiles every time she looks at him. He does seem very interested in what she is doing, but he is also getting so active and coordinated himself that he can’t be bothered.

What is your children’s bedtime routine? 

We are big into routines in our house. We play together outside until Daddy gets home around 6 pm. Then we try to have a family dinner together and talk about our day (Cole can’t talk, but he gurgles). Emmi has many meltdowns, but we are adamant about family dinners!

Then it is off to bath time. After the bath we read to both kids every night! Then we brush teeth and it’s off to bed. The routine helps. Kids like the stability of knowing what’s coming. But don’t get me wrong, the kids always cry about going to bed, and then I cry because I’m so exhausted.

Is Emmi a picky eater? If so, what’s your strategy?

She is a very picky eater and I beg and plead for her to eat even one bite of vegetables but she won’t. So I stopped feeding her a bunch of snacks between meals and I give her a vitamin supplement.

I just heard about a new book by Jessica Seinfeld called ‘Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.’ I ordered it and I can’t wait to try it out. I will let you know how it goes.

What are a couple of the kids’ favorite books?

Goodnight Moon, Winnie the Pooh, anything with the Disney Princesses, Cinderella, Madeline, Babar books and any book with boats, trains, helicopters or dogs.

Do the kids ever come to the EXTRA set?

Sometimes, but not too often because I can’t give them my full attention and it makes me feel bad.

Does Emmi ever throw tantrums? If so, how do you handle them?

I get really flustered when she throws temper tantrums so I try to 1) ignore them or 2) distract her. Distraction is really the only thing that works for me so far.

What are some of Emmi’s favorite activities to do at home with you?

She loves playing hide-n-seek, building things with blocks, she LOVES her Thomas the Train set. She likes playing with me in the pool. She loves bubbles, swings, sand, and climbing things.

What’s your ‘mommy break?’

I am sad to say but every single night without fail I have a glass of wine. But it’s the time that my husband and I sit and talk and rehash the day. Every Friday and Saturday night we feed, bathe and put the kids to bed then hire a babysitter so that we can go out on a date. That is our gift to us and our relationship.

I noticed in a CBB photo that you mix high-end clothes with Target shoes for your daughter! What are some of your other ‘cheapie’ favorites that non-celeb moms can afford?

Gap kids, Baby Gap and Target. I used to make the mistake of buying a lot of expensive clothes, but they grow too fast and make too many messes.

When I do have a special occasion, I love Janie and Jack (plus they have great sales), Firefly catalog and Lola et Moi in Beverly Hills are also some favorites. As far as shoes go, Pediped, Stride Rite and, of course, Target (as you so astutely noticed in the picture).

You talked in your May interview about your amazing nanny. How do you recommend finding a good one, and what’s the trick to keeping her?

This is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. You should make sure your kids are at the interview so that you can watch their instant interaction. Trust your instincts and get background checks (there are some websites that make this more affordable).

The first few times have her come over when you are there to see how she is taking to the kids and vice versa. Keep an open line of communication about what you want and don’t want and keep your eyes open. I have even had friends and family drop by unannounced to get their opinion.

What diet plan & exercise routine
did you follow to initially get the baby weight off?

Since I had a c-section, I was not allowed to strenuously work out for 6 weeks. After I recovered, I worked out with a trainer two times a week and tried to find time to do cardio. Most of the time we took long family walks pushing the double stroller — that’s a good workout.

As far as diet plan, I hired a diet delivery system service — SunFare. If your area doesn’t have something like this, try Jenny Craig — the food is really good — or NutriSystem (Tori Spelling told me the food is really great) or even the classic favorite Weight Watchers. You can’t order the pre-packaged food from Weight Watchers, but it’s the best for teaching you how to eat on your own.

Are you glad to be a working mom, or would you rather stay at home?

Some days when I leave for work my daughter cries and clings to my legs and it makes going to work hard. Then I think about my Mom who is a teacher and did an amazing job raising my brother and me. She taught me that you can find balance. She was an independent, professional woman who did everything well.

What’s the best advice you would give a mom-to-be based on your experiences with Emmi and Cole?

Have a reeeeaaaaalllly good sense of humor. Do not expect perfection from them or yourself. Do not give too much attention to the developmental guidelines (i.e. when they should start walking or talking). Err on the side of love.

Being an owner of my own baby photography business, I always wonder about celebrities getting their baby’s portraits done.Did you get Emmi and Cole’s done?

A friend of ours named Nicole Maloney blew me away with the photographs she took. She works quickly, easily and in a stress free environment. Somehow her love for children comes through in every picture.

Another photographer we’ve worked with is Lisa Rose. She never stops shooting. She never takes a break and always gets the perfect shot. (See a family portrait by Lisa here.)

How does your tummy tuck scar compare to your c-section scar? Does your c-section incision/scar look different post-surgery?

My c-section scar was pretty nasty — it was about a quarter of an inch thick, red, raised, and long (although my OB/GYN did a good job of keeping it really low so it wouldn’t show in a bikini). So when Brent went in to do the tummy tuck he revised my scar.

It is now a bit longer than it was but much, much, MUCH better. Look at lines in the palm of your hand — it is a little darker than that and a little thicker, but that is what it looks like now. And the color will continue to lighten over time.

I was so focused on the tummy tightening aspect of the surgery that I didn’t even think about how much better my scar was going to be. It was almost worth it for that alone!

What do you mean by your stomach pooling?

By "pooling" I mean that the stretched skin (with a crepe-like consistency) would lie down next to me when I slept on my side. It would also droop over the front and side of my jeans. The skin looks like it’s lost all of its elasticity and it was loose and saggy.

This was something that was never going to go away. No sit-up or exercise was going to fix this. I know that this is not for everyone, but that droopy skin really bothered me.

Dayna, during the EXTRA segment when you talked about your reasons for having the tummy tuck, you said you were ashamed of your belly (while the camera was on a close-up of your tummy, a tummy I would do anything for). I understand your job as an on-air personality requires you to look a certain way, but your comment of being ashamed has really stuck with me.

How would you explain that comment to Emmi? Are you not scared that she will grow up thinking she has to have the perfect body? How will you ensure that she has a healthy image of herself?

During the "Extra" segment I did say that I was ashamed of my stomach — and a lot of people were really upset about my choice of words and I have taken a lot of heat for that comment. I don’t know if I can explain it completely, but I will try.

It is very difficult to work in television and live in Hollywood. There is so much pressure to look “perfect”. For some reason when my stomach didn’t snap back, I felt like a failure, I felt like I had done something wrong. I know that sounds crazy and I know that is probably stupid, but that is how I felt. But I also felt this unbelievable pressure to be honest.

A lot of actresses are doing this and not admitting to it. That felt wrong to me. I felt like a traitor. I wanted to empower women. I wanted them to know that we have options. Believe me, this took a lot of courage for me to admit — it would have been easier to let people just think I had good genes.

Also, my fascia (stomach muscle) was completely wiped out and I had a hernia that needed to be fixed. So this was not completely a cosmetic procedure — you could actually fit your hand in between the muscles of my stomach. Brent said my stomach muscles were so loose it was like lifting a sheet off of a mattress.

About my daughter, I will also be honest with her about my decision to do this, but I will let her make up her own mind about it.

What should I look for in a doctor when researching one to perform this procedure?

Look for board certified in plastic surgery as a first step. Look at the doctor’s education and compare. I would interview at least three surgeons. Ask your family doctor if he has heard of the doctors you are thinking of picking. I have more detailed recommendations listed here. Go with your gut: if you have reservations, hold off until you are comfortable! You should trust your doctor completely before undergoing surgery.

Unfortunately, the hybrid tummy tuck is very new, so it may be a few years before it is widely performed.

How soon can you have it done after having a child? Should you only have the tummy tuck done if you feel that you are finished having children?

I usually recommend patients wait for six months after the last baby is born.

What if a woman has a surprise pregnancy after having the surgery done? Could there be complications in the pregnancy, or would the surgery results be ‘erased’ with a subsequent child?

If patients have a “surprise pregnancy”, the baby will make its own way and be fine. Having a baby after a tummy tuck may undo some of the surgery, a small
price to pay for a beautiful smiling baby. I recommend waiting until the last baby is done; this is tough for some women because their bodies have changed so much from having children, and they don’t want to wait.

If an unexpected pregnancy occurs, it is doubly important to have a healthy pregnancy with exercise and a healthy diet. It is wise for the expectant mother to avoid excessive weight gain, since that can lead to diabetes, difficulties with the pregnancy, and, of course, greater permanent negative changes on the mommy’s breasts and tummy.

Do I need to wait until I’m finished nursing to have this done?

Wait until nursing is finished before having the mommy makeover; the baby should not be exposed to anesthetic agents or postoperative pain medicines. Also for two weeks after the procedure, you shouldn’t lift the baby.

Could you explain a little more in depth what happens during your hybrid tummy-tuck operation? How do you create the "corset" you described? Is the fix pretty permanent?

Through a small lower incision, the entire fascia (deep layer around the muscles) from the pubic area to the chest is tightened. The tightening is done with permanent sutures. Any hernias that are found (like belly button hernias) are repaired. The fix is permanent. Fat is reduced by liposculpture if needed.

Brent, I think you must work long hours as a plastic surgeon.How do you make the most of your time with your kids?

I work hard during the day so I can get home on time. Every night, I read to my children and put them to bed. Dayna has been wonderful in sculpting me: I used to be an inefficient workaholic. Now I have three great reasons to get my work done and get home.

What do you do completely differently than Dayna?

I dress my children terribly, non-matching colors, and cut corners by not putting them in pajamas at night. I am on clothing probation at the moment…

Photo from Dayna Devon and Brent Moelleken’s personal collection. Express permission for use only on the Celebrity Baby Blog Inc.

Also check out our previous interview with Dayna in May. For more on Dayna’s employer, check out EXTRA — they’re launching their 14th season and 4000th episode next week! For more on Brent and his practice, check out DrBrent.com.

Thanks to CBB readers David, Nancy, Kate, Candace, J.J., Kara, Ashleigh-Faye, Missy, Paula, Sarah, Neke, Brandy, Pamela, John, Stacy, Samantha, Cynthia, Robert, Taneesha, Min, Alissa, Jake, Melanie, Jodie, Kristen, and Mary for their questions for Dayna and Brent.

Click below to read all about Dayna’s tummy tuck and to see her results!

When I lay down in bed, my loose skin would pool next to me.  I have to stand next to Halle and Angelinaon the red carpet…I did a zillion crunches, ran, lifted weights.  Igot the baby weight off — but I couldn’t get rid of the stomach!  Itreally bothered me.

When Dayna contemplated having a tummy tuck, she needed to look no further than her own husband, plastic surgeon Dr. Brent Moelleken.  Dayna says that she ‘really trusts him,’ however, she added a special touch — ‘I [heart] U, Brent’ on her stomach — to remind him that she wasn’t just any patient.

Brentbecomes very clinical — almost distant — when he’s about to dosurgery. I wanted to relate to him on a different level — not as apatient but as a wife.

Entering Dayna’sabdominal wall via a small incision through her C-section scar — rather than going hip-to-hip — andusing the opening to perform liposuction and tighten her abdominalmuscles, Brent, 47, performed the two-hour surgery — his own ‘hybrid tummy tuck‘ — himself, ‘pulling everything closed like a corset.’  Giving his wife a smooch after surgery, Brent joked,

 I don’t usually kiss patients in the recovery room.

The recovery for the $15,000 surgery was tough — leaving Dayna a "little bit sore" — but not in as much discomfort as she was following her C-sections.  In fact, Dayna said that "not being able to pick up my children for two weeks — and that made me really upset" was the biggest drawback of having the procedure.

In so doing, Dayna, 37, joins the small list of celebrities — including Patricia Heaton and Shar Jackson — who admit undergoing plastic surgery to reclaim their pre-baby bodies; She is skeptical of new celeb moms who credit only "vegetables and walking" for their svelte shape, saying "that’s just not possible."  Now that she is healed, Dayna says she has no regrets about her own decision to go under the knife.

Whenyou get pregnant, so many different things happen to your body, andmost of them you can’t really fix. You know, I had a flat stomachbefore I had kids and I had a lot of battle scars that can’t be fixed, but this is the one thing that can be, and I had theopportunity to do that. Plenty of women are having whatever they needdone. Why not talk about it? 

One of the reasons I wanted to be so open about the fact that Idid this is more and more we see these celebrities and think they snapright back after pregnancy — but this is what they’re doing too.

All I have to do is look at my new waistline and I realize it was worth it! I’m so happy I did it.

You can watch videos of Dayna’s Pre-Op consultation and Surgery day and recovery on People.com. EXTRA is launching its 14th season and 4000th episode next week!

Source: People, September 17th issue, p. 92-94

Be sure to check out Max Daniel’s new Hotsy Totsy Town patterns.

Originally posted in June:We recently gave several of our favorite celebrity moms – Dayna Devon, Melissa Joan Hart, and Chantal Kreviazuk fabulous custom gift baskets we ordered from Max Daniel Baby – our pick for custom gifts to the stars. Dayna told us in her thank you letter that she was "blown away" by her gift basket, while Chantal said, ‘We truly LOVE the gifts yousent to us for the boys. The SLEEVES [BabyLegs] are SUCH a hit, oh mygosh…pretty much everything is being put to use and is greatlyappreciated!"

I hand-selected each gift for the basket, which included ultra-luxe plush & popular blanket sets in the Rosebuds & Pony designs from Max Daniel Baby, Baby Kaed‘s sophisticated Chocolate & Turquoise Sanya Diaper Bag, super hip Crib Rock Couture Tees, a gift certificate for Tiny Prints beautiful stationery, a set of adorable and functional No Slippy Hair Clippy hair clips, fashionable Diapees & Wipees diaper and wipes pouches, patemm pad‘s genius round changing pad, classic tee shirts by Nina & Tom, gift certificates for Tali Gillette‘s sophisticated mama necklace, soft and cozy easy-on, easy-off carseat covers by Dressy Dribbles, comfy and beautiful Cute Baby Shoes, adorable weather-proof blankets, bibs and burp cloths by Woobee, everyone’s favorite custom Name Your Tune CDs, fashionable, functional and fun legwarmers by Baby Legs, Phil & Ted’s Me Too Chair and Second Nature Stay Kool Cups from Regal Lager – the best when you’re on the go, and lovable outfits by Little Lubbaloo.   

We have more gifts planned for the future… stay tuned!

You can win a similar gift basket.  To enter, visit MaxDaniel.com and post a comment below with the name of one of the new blanket styles.

Order your Max Daniel Baby blankets at Purple Caterpillar Creations (use voucher code SDQ to save $3) and Her Haven (formerly Care For The Kids), use code MAX1010 to save 10% Boutique (save 10% with coupon code max1010).

Extra

When [Cole and Emmi Reese, 22 months] get crabby, I’ll put them in the double stroller and go run.

Her diet includes 1,200-1,300 calorie meals from Fresh Dining, delivered right to her front door.

You can’t eat much healthier than this, as you have all the protein, antioxidants, and good fats that you need.

Meanwhile,Diane, who had a "carb festival" while pregnant with her and husbandSeung Yong Chong‘s son Beckett Mancuso, now 4 months, dropped the 52lbs. she gained in just two months thanks to hiking, yoga and a fruit and vegetable diet – ZonePerfect bars included.

I was in really good shape before my pregnancy and that really helped.

Source: In Touch, July 23 issue, pg 78-80

Dayna is well-aware her children look just like their dad — in May, she told us that she and Brent joke about it.

It’s a case of uterine rental. I got no representation.

Photo by Jen Lowery for Startraks.

Emmi wears Caroline Pedipeds in white — also available in navy — ($29; use code CBB4 for free shipping).

Her dress is Janie and Jack but is sold out.

Cole wears a shirt by Gap, which is also unavailable.

Photo by Clark Samuels for Startraks.

Extra

It was really hard being pregnant because I was basically pregnant for two years and when you’re walking down the carpet with Heidi Klum, who’s a supermodel and pregnant, and not trying to feel competition, that is next to impossible.

Dayna also says it’s difficult raising two kids under the age of two, especially now that Emmi can talk and express herself.

When I was home for maternity leave for my son Cole, I got closer to my daughter and she’s just now at the age where, ‘No, no, no, Mommy, no!’ And it tears you apart. It’s made me question everything in my life. I take it day by day, and make every single moment count.

Source: OK!, June 4 issue, pg. 75-77

Emmi wears lola et moi’s Retro Girl Dress ($96). To order, call (310) 276-LOLA. Designed for girls from ages six months to twelve years, theBeirut-based line creates vibrant separates inspired by retro patternsand traditional silhouettes and updated with fresh, unusual fabrics andwhimsical adornments.

Lola wears Ragg Shoes Girls House Slippers – Cassidy Leopard Print with Pink Bow ($18).

Photos by Clark Samuels for Startraks.

Thanks to CBB reader Jessie.

Click below for a scan of Denise and Sam.

Extra!

Cole was delivered via c-section two weeks before his due date because Dayna had excessive amniotic fluid. Of her 8 pound, 2 ounce son, Dayna said, "Thank goodness I had a c-section delivery because this is not a baby, he’s a linebacker."  Had he gone two weeks more, he might have weighed as much as a pound more.

The baby had some fluid in his lungs and is supposed to go home today. Dayna said, "Brent and I are grateful he’s doing so well, even though the first couple days were stressful. His big sister Emmi doesn’t quite get it yet, but we are now going to be a happy family unit of four."

Unfortunately, this wasn’t Dayna’s first stressful birth – Emmi was born by emergency c-section in the middle of the night in September 2005.

Source: People.com

Thanks to CBB Readers Mary Beth, Melanie, Heather, Kelly and Tracy.