Matthew Settle Says Pets Are Warming to Aven
 Duffy-Marie Arnoult/WireImage |
Life with baby has been an easier transition for some members of the Nativ-Settle family to make than others! Since welcoming their first child, Aven Angelica, 5 months tomorrow, Gossip Girl star Matthew Settle and wife Naama Nativ are over-the-moon with their new role as parents. “It was very hard for me to leave her,” Naama tells Celebrity Baby Blog at Animal Fair Magazine’s 10th Annual Paws for Style Fashion Show in New York on Monday. “She’s the most amazing thing that has happened to me.”
Unfortunately, the couple’s pets were not quite so enthusiastic at first! “The dogs were devastated when the baby came,” Naama admits. “[Dog] Zooey was my baby, before my real baby came, but now she’s okay with it.” Matthew is quick to point out that even the family cat has come around, however. “He sniffs her,” the 39-year-old actor adds. “He loves her.”
Baby girl is hitting her milestones right on time. “She’s making noises now, turning from back to belly and back [and] she wants to stand all the time,” Naama reports. Mom has reason to be proud of herself, as well, having done an admirable job of returning to pre-baby size. Naama reveals,
“I’m still twenty pounds overweight. When I was pregnant, I ate a lot and I gained fifty pounds. But my baby was nine pounds when she was born and she loves eating. It’s been almost [five months], and I just shed [the first thirty pounds]. But now I’m going to start jogging and doing Pilates.”
Matthew has remained busy on the set of Gossip Girl, and Naama says she’s been handling the bulk of Aven’s diaper changes as a result. “He’s good when he has time,” she says. “He loves her.” When he is home, dad and daughter enjoy babbling together and going on outings — like Aven’s first Gymboree class. “It was the first time she socialized with other babies,” Matthew shares. Naama adds, “She was a little nervous in the beginning, but in the end she was smiling.”
The couple had some nerves of their own when it came to babyproofing! “Panic sets in,” Matthew notes. “The other day I was looking at a big mirror leaning against the wall, and I thought, ‘Okay, I’ve got to put bolts in for that.’” They also won’t be taking any chances with the television! “I’m not letting her watch Gossip Girl until she’s 18,” Naama says. “It’s not good for the development of the brain to watch TV at such an early age.”
– Missy and Jeffrey Slonim
