Tell us about your family (number of children, the family you were raised in) I am the eldest of four children. I have one sister named Bianca, and two brothers named Lorenzo and Francisco. We are all very close in age. We grew up overseas together, away from our extended family, and we moved around a lot, so our family is fairly tight knit. We didn’t come back to live in the US until I was a teenager in high school. Everyone lives nearby, with my sister the furthest away, but only in New York City, which is a close train ride/plane ride away. She visits periodically, and we try to visit her a few times a year in return. Lorenzo lives a few blocks from me, and Francisco splits his time between my parent’s house in Virginia and Columbia Heights DC. We see my parents at least once a week, if not more often.

What is one family tradition you have raised your family with? My whole family has curly/wavy hair, and we all kept it long as children. I have yet to cut my one year old’s hair because it’s so long and curly and looks so nice on him. I also find myself speaking to him in a mixture of English and Spanish, because I learned certain words only in Spanish when I was a child.

What is your full time occupation? I work as a program analyst in HR for the federal government. It’s interesting work, mostly writing policy.

What are your “must-haves” as a Mom? There is no such thing as too many baby wipes! They are useful for just about everything.

What is something you are talented with or passionate about? Reading and traveling. I hope to continue to travel with my family as often as we can, to as many different places as we can think of.

Where do you call home? Home is DC now. It’s where I’ve lived the longest and where I’ve settled in with my family.

Any advice for new Mothers? Babies are really resilient. Don’t waste time and energy worrying about every little thing you can’t control, just do the best you can and you’ll be fine.

What is a favorite past-time you do with your child/children? Bath time is a favorite, and so is reading before bed. My husband Alex and I sometimes fight over who gets to put our son to bed.

What has motherhood taught you? More than anything else, it’s taught me to be more compassionate. My love for Antonio and our soon-to-be-born son has no bounds and I will do anything for them.