Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess are over the moon for their infant son, Zane, but they still face their share of parenting challenges.
“[The newborn stage] is … I’m older!” the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 49, joked while speaking exclusively with Us Weekly on Wednesday, September 7, while promoting his partnership with Depend® for their Stand Strong For Men’s Health™ program.
The California native went on to praise his newborn, whom he and Burgess, 37, welcomed in June.
“He’s amazing. Sharna’s amazing,” the Connors actor gushed about his two-and-a-half-month-old son. “I’m back at the month and week stage, and my brain is constantly buffering, trying to figure out how old he is. I go through that a little bit, but it’s amazing. He’s an amazing baby.”
The former Dancing With the Stars contestant, who went Instagram official in January 2021 with Burgess after the pair were photographed getting close in Hawaii in December 2020, expressed what a great mother the dancer has been to their little one.
He also praised her traits as a loving stepmom to his other children. (Green is also the dad of son Kassius, 20, with ex Vanessa Marcil, and sons Noah, 9, Bodhi, 8 and Journey, 6, with ex-wife Megan Fox).
“We couldn’t be happier, and everybody’s extremely healthy right now, which is a blessing,” he added, noting how Zane’s arrival changed his relationship with his partner.
“I always say that the easiest part is to become a mother or a father. Almost anybody can have a baby, but to be a parent — that’s the work,” the Anger Management alum told Us. “Getting up in the morning, making breakfast, making lunch for school, bedtime rituals and bathtime … that’s when the real work comes in.”
He continued: “[Sharna’s] amazing with that. She’s been so hands-on with him. At this point in my life, to have a partner that is as hands-on, and in love with the process as she is — even when she’s exhausted — … it’s so nice to have a partner that shares in that duty.”
While he loves being a father, Green admitted to having some concerns when the pair were preparing to take care of a newborn.
“It’s been a while,” the Desperate Housewives alum shared. “When he was born, there was that thought of like, ‘Man, it’s been like six years, do I still have this in me?’ And then right away, changing diapers and swaddling and burping and all the things are just sort of second nature at this point. I’ve done it so many times.”
Green described Zane as “very vocal” and “not super fussy,” adding that the little one “talks nonstop.”
“He’s getting to that age now where he’s much more reactionary in things that we do and things that we say, and he looks around the room and he sees everybody that’s there and he smiles a lot and he giggles … which is the cutest thing in the world,” the TV star shared. “And now Shana is obsessed with the fact that she can pick out outfits that he wears … he’s got button-down shirts and things, and it’s like, ‘Oh, we’re going to have dinner. So here’s his dinner outfit.’”
As a father of five, Green noted the importance of prioritizing his health in order to be the best dad he can be for his family.
“My kids deserve to have me here for a while, so that’s what I’m trying to do,” he shared while speaking about his partnership with Depend®. Green lives with ulcerative colitis, which some studies have linked to an increased risk for prostate cancer.
“The Stand Strong For Men’s Health™ campaign … That’s benefiting the prostate cancer foundation,” the Last the Night actor explained. “The concept is we’re really trying to reach out to men and sort of remove the stigma of getting prostate cancer screening and testing annually. It’s much more of a problem than people realize. Prostate cancer isn’t necessarily an aggressive form of cancer, but if not treated, it can become a problem for people.”
The BH90210 producer encouraged individuals to “find out as soon as possible,” also recommending a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test which is “just a simple blood draw” at the doctor’s office.
“We’re just trying to get the word out there to get people to really think differently about it and not be afraid of doing it,” Green shared.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
