ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 meteorologist Candace Campos said she always knew she wanted to be a mom.
"Oh, yeah," Campos said. "My husband and I met in high school and when we got married, we were like, 'We're going to wait a little bit. We're going travel and we're going to do the young couple, selfish thing.' And then I got the opportunity to move here, close to home. My family's from Miami, so Orlando to Miami, not a big distance, and we kind of looked at each other and were like, 'You know, I think it's time for us to move onto our next step and experience making a new life and raising her or him or whoever it was.' Maternity leave flew by but it's so rewarding."
She talks to the News 6 at Nine audience while she gets her 14-month-old daughter Alessia ready for the day. First, there's a little pre-breakfast dancing, then Mommy cooks while baby plays. There's a little negotiating that goes on in the form of pre-pancake strawberries, but then Campos sits down with Alessia while the baby eats.
"From the moment I knew I was pregnant with her, your concepts and your ideas and your understanding of the world changes instantly," Campos said. "It's a very weird feeling and when you hold her in your arms, you're like, 'Nothing bad can ever happen to you' and you're like, 'I'm going to do everything in my power, everything in my life, to make sure you don't ever experience hurt or get disappointed with things.'"
Campos said she gets up early before the baby does to make sure she gets everything done first, so she has plenty of time to spend with Alessia before work.
"A couple days ago, I was driving in the car and she was doing something really cute and silly in the backseat and I missed her. I don't know why. I was with her but I missed her. The baby stage, it goes by so fast, so the last thing you want to do is sleep through this whole stage. So you get up extra early. It's all worth it."
Campos said she tries to make sure to make the most of her time off and even daily events so that Alessia has the best memories. That includes trips to the beach, outings, daily dance parties and of course, special meals.
"When I was little, my mom would ask me when I grow up what I wanted to do and I was like, 'I want to do breakfast for dinner!" Campos said. 'So sometimes I do that, 'You want to have scrambled eggs and bacon for dinner?' We do dance parties every morning because if you start off with good music, it's going to be a good day, right?"
But like anything else, with mommyhood, you have to take the good with the bad and the little wins as they come.
After Alessia splatters pancake mix across a bunch of clean dishes, Campos laughs.
"This is why I don't get dressed until I get to work," Campos said. "I normally come to work in jeans and a t-shirt because all of a sudden I'll be in the studio doing weather or the news and I find myself with broccoli or something on my dress. I'll get into work and I'll be like, 'I had a great morning,' and they'll ask what happened, and I'll say, 'I didn't forget anything at the house.'"