Astrid Loch and Kevin Wendt met on Season 5 of “Bachelor in Paradise.” Since then, the two have gotten engaged, Astrid moved to Canada, and they welcomed their first child together in 2021!

Now, the fan-favorite couple is sitting down exclusively with BachelorNation.com to chat about all things parenthood, wedding planning, IVF, and more.

Plus, they reveal if they’d let their son August go on a Bachelor Nation show one day.

Check out their full interview below!

Bachelor Nation: Hello, new mom and dad! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. Let’s dive right in. What has life been like since welcoming your son August?

Kevin Wendt: I feel like a lot of people say when you first have a kid, it’s a lot of time at home with sleeping when the baby is sleeping and whatnot. But we’ve actually been nonstop. We may have even done little too much for the first five months of his life! We went to Mexico, we went to the Super Bowl, and now we’ve been in Florida for over two months. Then we’re driving home in two weeks and I’m back as the bartender filming “Bachelor in Paradise Canada” two weeks after that. So it just seems to be nonstop, but Auggy is so amazing. He’s a world traveler already!

Astrid Loch: Yeah, it’s been an adjustment, but I feel like we’re just on autopilot. I feel like you’re just trying to survive day to day when you have a baby that’s so little.

BN: Absolutely, that makes sense and it’s incredible he’s already been able to travel with you so well. What has your favorite part of parenthood been so far?

KW: Everything. Oh my gosh, Astrid cries at least twice a day!

AL: Oh, yeah, I cry all the time, constantly. Like the other day, he held his bottle for the first time on his own and I just lost it, thinking, “Oh my gosh, he doesn’t need me anymore! Stop growing up!” But my favorite part, hmmm, probably the first time he smiled at me. Like he was just genuinely happy to see me. Now, every time he wakes up from a nap and we go into the room, he just stares up and smiles when he sees us. It’s the best feeling knowing that he knows who we are. He’s starting to realize that we’re mom and dad and we’re here to take care of him.

KW: Even the small, small milestones change our whole day. Like we can be miserable, tired, and cranky having a bad day, then he’ll roll over on his own for the first time and we both light up, saying, “Oh my gosh, he’s a genius!” The little moments are just so fun to see. Even these past two months in Florida, I looked at videos from the beginning yesterday and he’s a completely different baby. It’s so cool to see how quickly they grow up and how much they change.

BN: Yes, those little moments are the best! Are there any milestones in particular you’re looking forward to?

AL: I just want him to say mama! I think that’s a big one for me, just being able to communicate with him. Right now it’s just based on his cues, but you can’t know exactly what he’s thinking. So I’m looking forward to him being able to say what he wants.

KW: We’re trying to enjoy each step along the way. I’m definitely excited for him to walk and talk. I’ve heard from a lot of my dad friends that once they can walk on their own and can communicate, the dads can help take over a little bit. Right now, Astrid is breastfeeding and sometimes I feel out of place when it comes to being able to help as much as I want to. So I think I’m just ready for him to be able to eat solid foods and talk so I can take him for a whole day and Astrid can get some rest. We can have a father-son kind of day, but we’re truly enjoying every moment along the way and don’t want to rush it!

BN: Totally! It will definitely be so fun when he’s able to walk and talk. What have been some of the more challenging parts of parenting so far?

AL: Right now, he’s going through something. It’s either a growth spurt or he’s gassy. We don’t really know and can’t figure it out. It just feels like he’s been a bit unhappy the last three days because he’s been fussy and fighting naps. So I think the sleep regression has been challenging because we were just getting close to getting him to sleep through the night, but then all the sudden it’s gone right back. Overall, though, he’s really chill, so I can’t complain. I’m just looking forward to sleeping!

KW: The biggest challenge has been just the big life change. When Astrid was pregnant, as uncomfortable as it was at times for her, we were very free. We could go out for dinner, see friends or family, and do whatever we wanted. But now, all of the sudden, he’s the boss of the household. We don’t have any plans anymore because we just want to make sure he’s going to be ok. So it’s just a big life change, but it’s worth every second! We both did agree though that we will never be mean to our moms again, though! We’re way more understanding.

BN: Yeah, it’s definitely not easy! How do you guys juggle your roles as mom and dad? Do you split up duties in any particular way?

AL: Kevin does bath time a lot and is great at getting Auggy ready for bed. He does bath time, sings him songs, reads him books, and they have a little routine. I just come in at the end and help rock him to sleep.

KW: Yeah, I love that time. I’m on paternity leave, I took 41 weeks off, so I’m off until the end of September. Then I’m only back for about a month before our wedding and honeymoon. So it’s been nice to be able to help out wherever I can. I feel like it can be hard as a new dad to find your day-to-day place because he loves being in Astrid’s arms and she’s breastfeeding him. So for the most part, I’m here to support her however she needs. I’m going grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning because that stuff actually helps out quite a bit. I don’t want her to have to worry about any of the housework. But I just love learning as I go. We’re doing our best!

BN: That’s amazing! Sounds like you two have a great routine going. Is there something that you hope to teach August and instill in him as a person?

AL: We said this from the beginning when we would talk to my belly when I was pregnant: We just want him to be a nice, kind human being. I just want him to be good to everyone and I don’t want him to judge people. That’s honestly all I care about. I just want him to be a sweet little boy.

KW: Yes, I agree, we just want him to be a good person. He’s so sweet so far. He has a very sweet soul already.

BN: Well, luckily, he has two incredible parents! You two were so open about your IVF journey; do you have any words of encouragement for families experiencing fertility struggles? Was there anything you wish you knew?

AL: Absolutely. I wish I knew how many people also go through fertility struggles. I’ve since had three different friends who’ve also gotten pregnant with the help of fertility treatments, but they didn’t share that in their announcement. It makes sense because fertility struggles are really personal, and if I wasn’t in the public eye, I don’t know if it’s something I would’ve shared with people. But if you’re trying and you’re seeing so many pregnancy announcements, just know that it didn’t come easy to every single person who’s announcing their pregnancy. There’s actually a lot more people who struggle with fertility than people realize.

KW: Yeah, when I went back to the Fire Hall after we announced, at least 20 guys I work with said they have gone through fertility struggles and some even stopped trying because it was too tough. So I agree that the biggest thing that opened our eyes was how common it was. There was nothing we could fix, our doctors said that 30% of infertility is unexplained. So my only little bit of advice I would ever give to someone going through it is to have a plan B, C, and D. We tried for a year and there were ups and downs, like when we tried IUI, we had the backup that we would try IVF if that didn’t work after a certain amount of time. And if IVF didn’t work after a certain amount of time, we were going to try adoption. That’s what kept us positive throughout the whole process because we knew at the end of the day, one way or another, we’re going to have a baby. This is what got me through because I knew I always wanted to be a dad. And we still talk about adopting anyway for our next child.

AL: Also, every time we would get bad news, we’d let ourselves be sad for that night and open a bottle of wine or whatever and just be sad together. But then the next day, we were always just looking forward to the next cycle. And that’s really hard to do, we definitely had some months that were harder than others. But we tried not to sulk too much in the bad news and just look forward to what we were going to try next. It can get really discouraging, so just try to take it day by day.

BN: That’s some really incredible advice. Thank you so much for sharing. We know your openness about this topic will definitely make others going through something similar feel less alone. What about any advice for fellow new parents?

AL: Enjoy the little moments! Those are the ones that go by so fast. I look back at pictures from when he was first born and I feel like I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could! I didn’t realize how fast he would change. Now I look at him getting ready to start crawling and I just want to hold him all the time because now he doesn’t want to constantly be in my arms. He wants to be on the move. So I’d say, just don’t rush through those first moments, even when you’re exhausted. It always feels like the hardest stage until you get to the next stage and there are new challenges, so just try to take it all in.

BN: Absolutely! That’s so true. And it’s an exciting year for you two — your wedding is also coming up! Where are you at in the planning process, and will Auggy have a role in your wedding?

AL: Yes, he’ll definitely be in the wedding! We’re not really allowing kids because we want the fun party, but Auggy is the one exception to that rule. We’re also going to have a babysitter for the reception, but he’ll definitely be a part of the ceremony in some way. And mostly everything is planned because we planned it close to three years ago. We just keep pushing everything back another year and another year. So we’re just trying not to overthink it and we’re just going with everything we initially picked out and hope we still like our taste from back then.

KW: Yeah, and all of our vendors have been amazing. I think they have some empathy for us because half our guests are coming from Canada and another 10 are coming from Germany, so they were unable to travel to the United States. We haven’t lost any money, so we feel really lucky and hopefully everyone will be able to make it.

BN: Yeah, wedding planning during a pandemic is no joke! When is your big day?

KW: We’re getting married in Sarasota, Florida, on October 28th!

BN: That’s so exciting! And will Auggy be joining you two on your honeymoon?

AL: Yes, absolutely! We can’t leave him for that long. We’re so excited, we’re going to Hawaii!

BN: Hawaii is so beautiful, that’s going to be a blast. Do you have any plans for your first Mother’s Day and Father’s Day?

AL: I actually just told Kevin this the other day — the only thing I want for Mother’s Day is some sleep! When he gets up in the morning, just take him and keep him so I can sleep for another hour and a half. Then, I want breakfast in bed, so after some sleep come back with food and the baby. That’s all I want!

KW: Yeah, she needs a good sleep-in, so that’s the plan. Auggy and I will cook some breakfast! And for Father’s Day, I’ll be mixing drinks on “Bachelor in Paradise Canada,” so hopefully they can come visit for the day!

BN: Those sound like great first Mother’s and Father’s Days! My last question, would you ever let Auggy go on a Bachelor Nation show?

AL: Maybe he could make an appearance on “Bachelor in Paradise Canada” with us, but as a contestant, I don’t know, I don’t think so. It has to skip a generation, right? He’ll be better at dating than his mom and dad and meet someone the normal way!