Julie Delpy: 'I Love Everything' About Motherhood

Fame

The best parenting advice Julie Delpy has gotten since having her son Leo six months ago came from her father.

“He’s like, ‘Don’t protect him too much. Get him a little dirty. Leave him in the yard a little bit,’” the actress tells PEOPLE. “He’s a French dad, you know what I mean? He’s like, ‘Get them a little dirty so they protect themselves from germs.’”

Julie, who turns 40 in December, may try to heed her father’s laid-back advice, but one of her favorite activities with Leo – her first child (whose father is her boyfriend, German composer Marc Streitenfeld) – is bath time.

“I love Weleda bath soap,” says the French star of Before Sunrise and 2 Days in Paris. “It makes him smell like … a little baby.”

The actress-screenwriter-director spent her first night (ever!) away from Leo dining on filet mignon, broccolini and string beans and mingling with other Hollywood powerhouses at the Buzz Girls Creatives Dinner, a private fete for women in the entertainment industry held at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood on July 14th.

“I love everything about it,” she says of motherhood. “I love breastfeeding. I love looking [down] at him. He looks like a little koala bear. It’s so cute.”

And Julie’s favorite baby gadget? A video baby monitor mounted on Leo’s bed.

“I can just open my eyes and see his little face,” she says. “I love watching him. I’m such a ‘paranoid, worried-about-my-baby’ person that it’s perfect for me.”

Julie, who is diving back into screenwriting and developing several projects after taking some time off post-birth, says she and Marc got Leo used to sleeping in his own room at about 4 ½ months old. “But I love to be able to see him all the time,” she says. “Otherwise, I miss him.”

Source: PEOPLE

– Alexis Chiu

Comments

I didn’t know she got pregnant. She is a wonderful actress.

- Meream on July 16th, 2009

^^I didn’t know either! And I didn’t know she was 40. I don’t know anything.

lol@”It makes him smell like a little baby”

- kai on July 16th, 2009

I didn’t know that, too! Just checked pics of her boyfriend and now I would be curious to see the little baby boy – must be quite a cutie…!!

- Elli on July 16th, 2009

Ms. Delpy seems to keep a very private profile. I always liked her in French cinema. And I have to agree with her that Weleda products are wonderful. I used them when my children were born in Switzerland – from diaper creams to soaps they use natural botanicals and can be found here now, usually in specialty stores, but I saw them in Walgreens too!

- Cece on July 16th, 2009

Thanks for the cliché about frenches Julie !!!

Great to read about her and agree with her, Weleda products are wonderful!

- Anne on July 17th, 2009

I adore Julie Delpy! I loved her in 2 Days In Paris. I didn’t even know she’d had a baby though. Her and her partner are a gorgeous couple, I’m sure little Leo is a cutiepie

- Sophia on July 17th, 2009