In the soft sway of a grandmother’s arms a baby can be rocked to sleep in a matter of minutes -- add a Spanish lullaby and the child will be out in seconds.
Even first time father Perez Hilton knows the benefits of having his Cuban mamá around the house to take care of his 6-month-old son Mario Armando Lavandeira III (aka Perez Jr.). In an exclusive video with MamásLatinas.com posted on Thursday, the celebrity blogger and entertainer sat down with his mom and baby boy to talk about the best part of being an abuela.
“I’m working and thankfully my mom is a very hands on grandmother and helps me with my son Perez Jr., she lives just a block away so she’s over all the time,” the 35-year-old star says at the beginning of the video. “So when I’m really busy with working she helps keep him entertained.”
(Check Out The Video, Mostly In Spanish, Above)
Perez, whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira II, was born in Miami to Cuban parents and became a dad on Feb. 16 through an egg donor and a surrogate.
"I knew it was going to happen this way because boyfriends and husbands may come and go, but kids are forever," Perez told the Los Angeles Times over a month after his son’s birth. "I didn't want to keep waiting."
Perez’s mother, “Teresita” Lavandeira, talks about helping her son by singing the Spanish-language lullaby “Duérmete mi niño...” to little Mario -- a moment she tried to demonstrate in the video to the amusement of Perez Sr. who laughed and said in Spanish, “He’s going to start to cry like that.”
It’s clear that baby Perez likes having grandma around but what’s the best part about being an abuela according to Teresita?
“The best part about being a grandma is that you don’t have any responsibility for the babies, just to take all the time in the world to love them,” the Cuban grandma told viewers in Spanish as Perez laughed.
The Hollywood gossip star is known for his larger-than-life attitude but in an interview with HuffPost last month, Perez said that fatherhood has changed his life.
“Being a father has made me more centered and relaxed,” Perez told HuffPo. “I'm less selfish than I used to be. Life isn't all just about me anymore.”
Check out the full video of Perez Sr., Perez Jr., and grandma Perez above.
