Kaylee Dudley on Baby Sutton’s 1-Month Milestone, Mom Life With 3 and Going Viral With ‘Sundown Scaries’ (EXCLUSIVE)
The influencer gets real about postpartum anxiety, two under two and her 'amazing' partner Tay
As social media sensation Kaylee Dudley of Kay and Tay fame celebrates the one-month birthday of her little ‘Bug’ Sutton, the influencer gets candid with Woman’s World about how having a social media community affects the magic (and hard work!) of the baby bubble.
The mother of three also reflects on the challenges of having two under 2 and grappling with ‘sundown scaries’ and Baby Sutton’s fussy stomach.
Happy 1-month birthday, Baby Sutton ‘Bug’ Dudley!
Since welcoming Sutton on October 7, Kay and Tay Dudley have shared some charming videos via TikTok and Instagram. The glowing mom has also posted a few adorable family photo dumps on her own Instagram—and thankfully, she’s agreed to share a few precious moments with us!
But for the most part, this family has been enjoying the baby bubble.
“We are very much living in our moment,” Dudley says. “Tay’s big on documenting and I’m big on taking pictures—and not just for social media, but for our memories. We do share snippets, but not our whole day.”
“Beyond what we share, we’ve shut out a lot of the outside world and are soaking in all of this, together,” she continues. “With Kinsley [Kay’s 13-year-old daughter from a previous relationship], I didn’t have social media and it was very similar—just sitting at home and nursing and doing all the newborn stuff.”
That said, having three girls at home is a lot more than just one!
“It’s a lot different bringing a newborn home when you have a 22-month-old,” says Dudley, referring to her toddler, Ellie. “That’s been a challenge, and Sutton has also had stomach issues. We think she might have a milk protein allergy. I’ve been trying to adjust to that and figure out the cause, so that’s been challenging too. But there have also been so many good moments.”
Kay says sharing the load with Tay and getting to shower ‘helps me to feel human’
With all that going on, Dudley sounds quite bright and chipper at 9 a.m., and she points to two reasons—the first of which is her other half, Tay.
“I have a really good village and so many people helping, but Tay has just been amazing,” she gushes. “We both really take on 100% of the role, doing things together and splitting up the duties and tasks. That makes a huge difference—especially when he can take Ellie and go do breakfast with her so I can take a shower.”
“It helps me to feel human when I can step away to just go get ready,” she continues. “I’ve even gone to get my nails done!”
Her second secret? She’s been the guinea pig as she and Tay work on creating a new protein bar.
“It’s hard as a mom, especially a mother to a newborn, to prioritize sitting down and eating a full meal,” she says. “So I’m just always grabbing my protein bars. I’m living on them!”
Kay Dudley on Sutton’s big sisters: ‘They’re in love!’
Kay is also getting some assistance from the big girls in the house.
“They’re in love,” she grins. “I knew Kinsley would be, because she’s not the typical teenager that’s like, ‘I don’t want anything to do with this.’ She wants to hold her, be involved and help as much as she can.”
“And then Ellie’s transitioned well,” she continues. “She comes downstairs and she’s like, ‘Sissy! Sissy!’ She runs to her anytime she’s crying. She’ll bring me a diaper. She’ll bring Sutton’s pacifier to us. It’s been cool to watch that.”
Everyone in Kay & Tay’s community has an opinion—and sometimes that helps!
While she’s focused on her family right now, Dudley has remained connected and grateful to the her community of over 20 million followers across TikTok and Instagram.
“Being online, you do get a lot of unsolicited advice,” she admits. “You’re like, ‘Yeah, whatever. I’m not going to listen to that.’ But at the same time, I get so many people that recommend things that I’m like, ‘Oh, wow. I never would have thought of that!’”
“People we’ve never even met in person have been so helpful getting me through things—whether it be the autoimmune stuff, parenting or relationship.”
“Even as a third time mom, there are things I’m experiencing now that I’ve never dealt with before, like the gastrointestinal stuff with Sutton,” she continues. “We had people suggest I go to a chiropractor and things I probably never would have looked into if it weren’t for our community.”
“That’s a cool aspect of what we do—so many people go through it with you, help you, and we all help each other.”
Kay Dudley wants us to talk about the sundown scaries
The big challenge Dudley was ready for this time around was the anxiety she’s been feeling at night.
“I call it nighttime scaries, but it’s actually called ‘sundown anxiety’ or ‘sundown scaries,’” she says. “I wouldn’t say it’s like full depression, but you get really sad and anxious. Once all our friends or family leave the house and it’s just us, there’s that feeling that you’re alone now and you know you’re going to be up all night.”
“It’s hard to explain unless you’ve lived it, but it is so common and nobody talks about it,” she adds. “I wish it was talked about more and normalized, because it probably scares a lot of postpartum moms that have never experienced it.”
It certainly scared her after Ellie was born.
“So I did a lot of research about, ‘Why am I feeling this way?’” she recounts. “And this time, I know when it’s happening that this is going to pass, and Tay has been amazing. He’ll talk to me through it, ask what I’m feeling, remind me of everything I have and bring me back down to earth. He’s been able to keep me from going insane!”
Kay Dudley on her life as an influencer: ‘Each day, I have to pinch myself!’
It was only last April that Kay & Tay finally got to start taking solo parent’s trips again—which included fun with The Backstreet Boys and hitting sunny California.
“It’s been fun,” she says. “It can just be a work trip, but getting to plan my outfits, romanticize the work trip and have fun together has been really cool.”
Now that Sutton has arrived, however, those solo trips are over, again . . . for now.
“As long as we have somebody to watch them while we’re at a premiere or a podcast or whatever we’re doing, I honestly like traveling with my kids,” she says. “And I hate leaving them. So I’m not necessarily sad that it’s going to be another year or so. We’re just going to bring them with us!”
Having tied the knot in 2016, proud mama Kay and her veteran hubby Tay have built quite a life since they decided to ditch their careers in dental assisting and electrical engineering to pursue content creation full-time.
“It’s so surreal,” Dudley says. “Honestly, each day, I have to pinch myself. There were times when I was younger where I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life—and I never thought we would get to just live our life, together, as our jobs. We get to be home with our children! It’s a blessing.”
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