Alyson Hannigan Plans For Home Birth, Talks Potty Training
By Jenny Schafer, Celebrity Baby Scoop
Year after year, Alyson Hannigan, her husband Alexis Denisof and their adorable daughter Satyana dominate our year-end Readers’ Choice Awards. And now we have even more reason to celebrate: the How I Met Your Mother star is currently expecting the couple’s second child this summer.
Alyson opens up to Celebrity Baby Scoop about partnering with Pull-Ups for the Potty Dance, remaining mum on baby’s gender, her “fantastic” and “hilarious” daughter Satyana who turns 3 next month, and her plans for a second home birth: “I think that the home is the best place for me to feel comfortable.”
CBS: Tell us all about Pull-Ups and the Potty Dance.
AH: “I’ve partnered with Pull-Ups for the Potty Dance Party. It’s a really great way to encourage parents to pick a day and start potty training. They’ve done a great job at making it as fun as possible by coming up with this potty dance and a song. You can go to Pull-Ups.com and teach your child the fun song and dance. It’s all about making it as fun as possible and less daunting.”
CBS: Is Satyana potty trained?
AH: “During the day she’s – I want to say – 100 percent potty trained. We haven’t had an accident in a long time. But we haven’t started the nighttime yet. I’ll pick a day, but not while I’m working because I’m already sleep-deprived!”
CBS: Congratulations on your second pregnancy! How are you feeling?
AH: “Thank you! I’m feeling tired, but great. We’re so excited! Satyana is going to be a fantastic big sister and we’re really looking forward to that.”
CBS: When are you due? Do you know gender yet?
AH: “I’m due in the summer. We know [gender] but we haven’t announced it to the world, but Satyana might because she’ll tell anybody. But for now, we’re keeping that to ourselves.”
CBS: Are you planning another home birth with a midwife? Did you receive lots of negative comments about your choice to have a home birth?
AH: “Yes, that is the plan. Hopefully all will go well. And yes, we had lots of comments about it. And we had the doctor that scared us tremendously. There was definitely more concern the first time around. For me, that was just the perfect place. I am absolutely terrified of hospitals. so I think that the home is the best place for me to feel comfortable. I had a midwife, her assistant and a doula. It will be the same again this time.”
CBS: How’s Satyana doing?
AH: “She’s fantastic; she’s hilarious! She’s going to be 3 next month and she’s just the best. She’s very excited about the baby and already showing signs of being a fantastic big sister. She rubs and talks to my belly. It’s so sweet.”
CBS: Do you have any plans for her upcoming third birthday party?
AH: “I’ve been trying to figure out the best birthday party. But I think we might actually just do a trip to Disneyland with a few close friends instead of a big party. I think that would be really special for her and for all of us.”
CBS: Awhile ago, you said you weren’t sure about having a second child. What sealed the deal for you and Alexis?
AH: “Honestly, when she was younger I didn’t want to share. I wanted her to have all of me. And now she’s a little girl and so much more independent and self-sufficient. I see that she was ready, which made me ready.
I was an only child and I hated it, so I always wanted her to have a sibling. But I just wasn’t ready when she was a baby. I wanted to give her those years.”
CBS: What are some of your favorite motherhood moments with Satyana?
AH: “There’s so many in a day. It’s hard to choose any of them, but they’re all so special. I love her perspective on life and I love getting to be a part of her world. She’s just such a sweet, sweet person and I love the things that come out of her mouth. She’s just so full of personality and so lovely. [Motherhood is] just the greatest thing ever!”
CBS: We just saw some pictures of Satyana dressed up like a princess. You don’t seem like a princess-pushing kind of mama!
AH: “I know! We support whatever she’s into. I thought it wasn’t going to happen because she didn’t really care about clothes, and then one day it was all about whatever she wants to wear! She went to a friend’s house and they had a lot of dress-up clothes. And that was it – she was set!
So we got her a couple little princess dresses and she loves them! She picks them out all the time and insists on wearing them, like when we go get our little Boba drinks.
I support whatever she wants. If she wants to wear striped tights with a tutu, then she can do that. I love her expressions, so I embrace it. As long as she’s going to be warm enough, she can wear whatever she wants.”
