Maria Menounos Shares Insight Into First Weeks of Motherhood With Her Baby Girl
Maria Menounos is offering a special report on her life as a new mom.
The entertainment journalist, 45, recently shared what the past few weeks have been like since she and husband Keven Undergaro welcomed daughter Athena via surrogate in June.
"Her first words were Mark and Kelly," Maria joked to Mark Consuelos while filling in for Kelly Ripa on the July 20 episode of Live With Kelly and Mark. "No, she is sleeping really well actually. She's amazing. She's such a good baby. We're just so overjoyed."
Indeed, she suggested that life has been like heaven on earth since their little "angel" arrived.
"It's like the greatest feeling in the world," she continued. "I never knew when my dad would be like, 'Maria, life is about kids and family,' and I was so busy with my career and running around. Now, I get it. It really is. This is just the greatest feeling in the world."
And while Maria noted Keven is involved with diaper duty, she indicated that he may need some more practice.
"He hasn't done a lot of them," the former E! correspondent admitted. "Yesterday, before I left, he was changing her diaper. And, you know, when you're not doing it all the time, maybe you're not as great at it. So, I just fix a few things in there and try to keep him confident—'cause you don't want to break his confidence. ‘You're doing great, honey. You know, just a few minor adjustments.'"
Looking at the camera, Maria then reassured Keven, "Honey, you're doing great." And she had a message for their baby girl, too: "Athena, mommy misses you so much already."
The Heal Squad podcast host's update on her first month of motherhood comes just one day after she and Keven confirmed to Us Weekly that their little one arrived on June 23. The AfterBuzz TV founders first shared in February that a baby was on the way.
"We are so grateful to everyone who helped make this beautiful blessing happen!" Maria—who's spoken about her struggles with infertility and experience with IVF—told E! News. "I am so excited to be a mom and Keven is so excited to be a dad! And my dad is over the moon to be a papou! (Grandpa in Greek)."
However, it wasn't a completely joyous time. In January, one month before sharing the baby news, Maria learned she had a stage 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. She ultimately underwent surgery—telling Today doctors "took the tail of the pancreas, the spleen, 17 lymph nodes and a fibroid the size of a baby" off her uterus—and is cancer-free.
And recently, Maria—who also had a benign brain tumor removed in 2017 and lost her mother Litsa to brain cancer—reflected on her and Keven's journey to becoming parents.
"My mom and dad have been begging us for years," she wrote in a July 20 Instagram post. "At first, I was too busy with my career and my dogs were my kids and I also did take care of my parents too. I was full. There was no room for a kid to fit. Ivf cycles were in play after infertility was clear. Then life changed with brain tumors entering the picture for me and mom. Things slowed down a bit. We kept trying but the time was obviously not right. God had a plan. I always say patience and faith."
She added, "Athena came at the time god intended for us. And Papou couldn't be happier. And she adores him. It's my favorite thing to watch now. My dad and my daughter!"
