Gina Rodriguez and Her Husband Made a ‘Big Choice’ to Not ‘Do Childcare’ as They Raise Son Charlie, 1 (Exclusive)

Gina Rodriguez and her husband Joe LoCicero are parenting on their own terms.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, the actress, 40, opens up about raising her 1-year-old son, Charlie Ray, with LoCicero, 38, and how they "don't do childcare."

"Since my baby's been born, we don't do nannies, we don't do childcare — it is us," Rodriguez says.

"I put my child to sleep every single night for the entirety of his existence, which means at 7:00 p.m. on, I am not a human being. I am my child's pillow," adds the Lucky 13 star.

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Rodriguez and her husband — who wed in 2019 — welcomed their first child in early 2023.

In April of that year, the Not Dead Yet star casually revealed her son’s name in an Instagram post promoting an episode of the show.

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"My three favs, my baby Charlie, Not Dead Yet (NEW EPISODE TONIGHT with the great Paula Pell) and getting back to dancing (you are incredible Sasha Farber🕺🏽💃🏽 and yes, I am breastfeeding while ballroom)," Rodriguez wrote at the time.

She later told PEOPLE the significance of her son’s name, revealing that both his first and middle names were inspired by deceased family members.

Rodriguez says she feels that her hands-on approach to parenting is nothing out of the ordinary.

"I don't know if it's impressive, but it was a choice," she tells PEOPLE. "We keep being like, 'This is the choice we made,' because he's with the grandparents right now, and they can't put him to sleep. He wants ... me. It's just Mommy. It is Mommy and Mommy's boobies — and Mommy alone."

"So because of that, it's a choice, it was a big choice," the Jane the Virgin alum adds. "But this might be my only baby, so I just wanted to do it the way I wanted to do it."

Lucky 13, co-hosted with Shaquille O'Neal, airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.