The Baldwin household is always bustling with activity. Hilaria and Alec wouldn't have it any other way. The couple are parents to four young children, with baby No. 5 on the way. There's also Alec's older daughter, 24-year-old Ireland Baldwin. To most people, a family that big sounds like chaos. To them, it encompasses the best things about being a family.
In a recent interview with People magazine, Hilaria Baldwin updated fans on her big family. She opened up about what it's been like for all of them during these recent months at home. A lot of families are feeling the stress of spending so much time together. Hilaria never pretends her family doesn't have its ups and downs, but she's found a way to get them through. She's emphasized gratitude as the household attitude.
One-half of the hosting talents of the Mom Brain podcast, Hilaria has an awesome approach to parenting her little ones. She often lets them take the lead and gets involved in their world in all the ways she can. The result is a happy family brimming with creativity and imagination.
Hilaria Baldwin keeps it real about her life as a mom. She and husband Alec Baldwin are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their fifth child. They are already parents to 6-year-old Carmen, 5-year-old Rafael, 3-year-old Leonardo, and 2-year-old Romeo. They can also count on quality time with Alec's oldest daughter, 24-year-old Ireland Baldwin.
"The best thing about having a big family is there's just so much love," Hilaria told People magazine in a recent interview.
"They say when you have one kid, you're like, 'I could never love another person as much as I love this kid.' Then you have another one and you realize you can. And that doesn't change as you have more and more and more."
The Mom Brain cohost doesn't know if this baby will be the last for their brood. She jokes that they "eventually will stop" expanding their family. For now, their bustling home means "there's always something exciting going on."
"I'm really grateful for my kids having playmates in the house during this time when they have to social distance from most people in their lives," Hilaria shared.
"So it's been really lovely and I feel very grateful. The gratitude is what is getting us through absolutely every single day. We're so lucky in so many ways — number one, having our health, having our family, my family having their health."
While staying home isn't ideal, Hilaria notes that she's content waiting things out and letting the professionals do their job.
"And you really just [have to say], 'Hey, we're gonna hunker down and we're gonna wait this out. We're gonna give time for all the experts and scientists and doctors to figure out what our next move needs to be. And in that time, we need to be patient and together," she said.
The time at home has given Hilaria and Alec even more opportunities to help their kids develop and grow. She shared a recent breakthrough they've had with Leonardo.
"Three is a really tough age — they get so emotional and sometimes they hit or throw things — and I try to stay as calm as possible to preserve everybody's safety and I will force him to use his words," she explained.
Helping kids work through their anger isn't easy. She finds that really walking them through it can help them start to find positive ways to cope on their own:
"Even if I have to spoon-feed him the words — 'I am angry right now and that's why I did this' — and little by little, I find that he's starting to come [around] to it."
Leonardo even notices the progress he's made and is proud of himself. "The other day he said to me, 'Mommy, such-and-such happened, and I used my words,'" she shared.
"So he's getting really excited to use his words and very proud of himself. And I was like, 'Oh my God, it's actually working.'"
The family isn't sure how long they'll be keeping to themselves. Hilaria shared that her trick for keeping her kids "active and full of imagination is [to] take a deep breath, stay calm."
She doesn't try to impose activities on them, instead trying to "get interested in what they do."
When everything began, she felt the pressure like many moms did. By letting her kids take the lead, she's alleviated a lot of that.
"I was so worried all the time about having to come up with the best activities or the best field trip or something like that," she said.
"And I realized they're full of ideas, and if I get on their page and roll with it and encourage it, they just go for it and their imagination is really incredible just on its own as you lead it."
"They make me laugh all the time, and I think that's really what you have to embrace with being a parent — especially being a parent to so many, and especially being a parent in the times of Corona, because you just have to laugh," Hilaria said.
"If you don't laugh, you cry. So I'm constantly trying to laugh."
Hilaria's soaking it all in. She's learning so much about her children during this time.
"Romeo, right now, is all into [saying], 'I hate this.' I'm like, 'What other 2-year-old says "I hate this?'" she quips.
"I'll be like, 'Would you like such-and-such for dinner?' He's like, 'I hate this.' I'm like, 'How did you just turn 2?' But you know what? At least he's honest!"
Hilaria is in the last few weeks of her pregnancy now. She's due in September but has decided to find out the baby's gender at birth. After having two miscarriages in the last year, she's cautious but excited for this new little light to join their family.
