Brenda Song Says She and Fiancé Macaulay Culkin Are 'Hands-On' Parents: 'We Don't Have a Nanny'

Kevin Mazur/Getty Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song

Brenda Song is getting candid about her adjustment to becoming a mother.

The 33-year-old actress recently spoke to The Cut and opened up about her family dynamic with fiancé Macaulay Culkin since the couple welcomed their first baby together, 9-month-old son Dakota, last April.

The actress admitted that though she and Culkin, 41, are "very hands-on" parents without a nanny, she's glad she had a strong support system as she navigates her "fourth trimester."

"My fiancé and I are very hands-on. We don't have a nanny, but my mom has been here with us since my son was born... When I was working, my mom would bring [my son] to set so I could breastfeed and see him during the day. People tell you a lot about labor and pregnancy, but not about the fourth trimester," Song told the outlet. "To my girlfriends that are pregnant I say, make sure you have help. Because your instinct is to want to do it all and you physically can't."

"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 added. "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.' "

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Despite having a good system at home with Culkin, Song told The Cut that what "took a toll" on her was returning to work and taking time away from her baby boy. Twelve weeks after giving birth, the actress had to return to work, filming season two of her Hulu comedy series Dollface.

"I had no idea what I was doing. I went back to work so early. It was harder than I thought," Song explained. "I pride myself on always being first on set. So to be like, 'Hey, I need 20 minutes to pump,' was difficult."

"The hours away from my son took a toll on me. Learning my own boundaries while trying to take care of my son and my family — that was hard. But I had a great support system and knew my son was taken care of; I just had FOMO," she continued.

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Kevin Mazur/Getty

"Missing those hours with my newborn son, it pains me, but at the end of the day, Mama's got to put food on the table," Song said during the interview. "You've got to make those sacrifices. Hopefully he'll understand."

Culkin and Song met on the set of their movie Changeland in Thailand and were first romantically linked when they were spotted out in July 2017 grabbing dinner at Craig's, an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles.

While the two actors are notable stars, they've kept their relationship relatively private on social media. The couple welcomed their first child, son Dakota Song Culkin, on April 5, 2021 and their engagement was revealed last week.

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