American Idol finalist Paris Bennett is showing off the first photos of her baby daughter, Egypt, on UsMagazine.com.
Bennett, now 21, was just 19 when she became pregnant in 2008 — two years after coming in fifth place on the fifth season of the Fox hit.
"If I was to give advice to young moms, I'd say wait unless you have a lot of support to help with the baby," she tells Us. "I'm still young and it's fun… I don't feel like I missed out on things.
"Sometimes, I'm just like, 'Geez, Egypt… maybe if mommy would have had you a little bit later…. [But] she is my motivator," continues Paris, who performs seven times a week in the Minneapolis production of Rent (her mom, Jamecia, also stars in the show). "Now when I hit the stage, I'm not only living for myself, I'm living for another human being."
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Egypt, now 17 months old, is "the happiest baby you'll ever meet," Paris gushes to Us.
"She walks, she talks, she loves Dora the Explorer. She's very, very smart. We're potty training right now," Paris says of her daughter, whose first word was "Hey!"
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Paris says Egypt also loves to sing along to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" and even earned the nickname "The Slapper" because she's so feisty with Paris' little brothers, Jamez, 6, and Shakur, 12.
She still has not revealed the identify of the father, whom she split from when Egypt was 1 year old.
"Finding out I was pregnant made me become more mature. It takes guys awhile to grow, and I don't think his maturity level grew," she tells Us. "It felt like I was teaching him as well as trying to learn on my own how to be a parent. That was hard."
They still have a good relationship. "I would never want her not to see him, or not be around him. Every child needs their dad," she says.
