How Brenda Song And Macaulay Culkin Find Balance As New Parents

The former Disney star recently opened up to The Cut about her family dynamics with Macaulay Culkin since they became parents in April 2021.

Although Brenda Song confessed that she and Culkin were doing parenthood without a nanny, she's glad about her excellent support system as she balances parenting with her acting.

"My fiancé and I are very hands-on," she mentioned to the publication of parenting. "We don't have a nanny, but my mom has been here with us since my son was born. He's 9 months old now."

She added, "I think when you and your partner have kids, especially the first few months, you don't have the patience to be polite with each other," she says. "Being communicative when you need help is so important. Instead of having set duties, we just feel each other out. I'll be putting my son down, and my partner is like, 'Let me feed the animals and get dinner ready.'"

The actress revealed that a typical morning revolved around her baby's life.

"I wake up, get him out of his crib, change him, get our breakfast ready, and drink my matcha. As a new parent, I don't sleep at all. I'm someone who likes to wake up and go-go-go," she says. "Now, it's when I put my son down for his first nap that I get my work done. I take that time to do emails and plan my day. I try to do everything in his nap-time window. If I have time, I'll work out – I have a little gym in my garage and do a lot of circuit training."

When she heads off to work, her family is topmost on her mind. She confessed that going back to her career three months after giving birth was a hard decision.

"The hours away from my son took a toll on me. Learning my boundaries while trying to take care of my son and my family – that was hard," she spoke of the decision. "The biggest challenge is being away from family. I know everyone feels that way. There were so many long days where I'd get home, and my son would already be asleep. I put a lot of pressure on myself to keep pumping and breastfeeding him while working. I pumped throughout production."

On April 5, 2021, the couple's first child, Dakota Song Culkin, was born. He weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces. According to People, the pair named their child Dakota in honor of Culkin's late sister.

Dakota died at age 29 after being involved in a car accident in 2008 in Los Angeles.

"We're overjoyed," the couple said in an interview after the birth of their child.

Song also mentioned how grateful she was to be doing life with Culkin. You can't be around him and not be happy."

She also added that Culkin would stop by and make her vegetable soup and his signature homemade potato chips when her mother was undergoing chemotherapy.

"When we first started dating, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. After a while, I realized, 'No—sometimes it's just good.'"

Earlier in the year, People confirmed that Song and Culkin, who have been dating for four years, were engaged. Song was spotted with an engagement ring in her left hand while in California.

"Macaulay and Brenda have loved being together as a family since welcoming Dakota. The engagement is the natural next step for them. They are excited for their future together," the publication added.

While the pair were famous stars, they kept their relationships under wraps, except for special occasions, like when Song posted a picture of them on a date.

"Very few things can get us out of the house and away from our son," she captioned.

In 2018, Culkin spoke about his plans with Song on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast. On the podcast, he shared that they were trying to conceive.

"This one's a good one, so I'm probably going to put some babies in her in a little bit," Culkin jocularly said. "I mean, we've definitely been practicing."

He added, "I have a pretty little family — a pretty girl, a pretty dog, a pretty cat, and all that stuff. We're gonna move. We're doing the house thing and all that kind of stuff."

Song and Culkin met in 2017 on the set of "Changeland" in Thailand. However, since they were pretty low-key about their romance, the world did not get to know about their relationship until July of that year when they were spotted grabbing dinner together in LA.

In August 2020, Song shared a heartfelt post for Culkin on his 40th birthday. "Happy 40th birthday to this magical being," she wrote on Instagram. "I could sit here and write endlessly about how wonderful, kind, loving, genuine, loyal, honest, brilliant, and hilarious you are, and how grateful I am that I get to share and do this life thing with you."