Married at Fight Sight’s Deonna McNeill and Greg Okotie are “so happy” to finally have son Declan in their arms after welcoming their first child on Feb. 27. The new mom and dad opened up to PopCulture ahead of Wednesday’s Couples Cam episode about becoming a family of three, sharing how their own relationship has changed and grown as they’ve become parents.
At just under four months old, Declan has taught his parents mostly how to “operate with little sleep,” Deonna admitted, but the joy of finally having him here makes it all worth it. “We still stare at him like ‘I can’t believe you’re here,’” she shared. Greg chimed in that the “most rewarding” part of parenting so far is simply having his son with him, while the biggest struggle has been “time management.”
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The couple continues to get counsel from a therapist and shared the most helpful thing they’ve learned about parenting through them has been to go with the “flows” within the day or month when it comes to getting things accomplished while also maintaining your mental health. “Once you’re actually in it, taking care of a baby is 24/7,” he told PopCulture. “Sleep when the baby’s asleep is a lie. …You have so much other stuff to do, you can’t really sleep when the baby’s asleep.”
Having each other along for the ride has been invaluable. Greg admires how “super patient and nurturing” his wife is. He jokingly added, “Hands down, I’m so thankful for her because if she was a version of me, I don’t know how Declan would make it.” For Deonna, watching her husband interact with their baby is the most special part of witnessing his transition into fathering, especially because she spent nine extra months with her son so close to her. “Those bonding moments, those really do mean a lot,” she said. “In those moments where he’s changing his diaper or watching television, those are the moments that melt my heart.”
Couples Cam fans will get to relive Deonna and Greg’s pregnancy journey this season, and while they didn’t do “full-on cameras” in the delivery room, it’s going to be extra special to share this part of their life with people who watched them meet and marry in MAFS Season 9. As for adding a little brother or sister for Declan, Greg joked he wasn’t getting enough sleep as is to think about a second one. “I think we both agree we both want to have one more, eventually,” Deonna chimed in. “We’re just getting to the point where we’re sleeping through the night, so it’s gonna be hard to go back to that.” Don’t miss Deonna and Greg’s journey on Married at First Sight: Couples Cam (produced by Kinetic Content), airing Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
