Ryan with fiancee Cathy, and as Andreas on 'Panday Kids' (inset)

Working with youngsters on GMA-7’s “Panday Kids” is a good parenting preparation for actor Ryan Eigenmann, who will get married on February 28 and will become a dad five months later.

“Kailangan masanay na ako to be with kids,” he told Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online at the recent launch of “Panday Kids,” where he plays the half-goat, half-human villain Andreas who makes life difficult for leads Robert “Buboy” Villar, Julian Trono and Sabrina Man.

“I have a gut feel that it’s going to be a boy,” he said of the bundle of joy he and his fiancée Cathy Bordalba are expecting. “Pero kung girl, OK din lang basta healthy.”

Ryan also shared that he has lots of work to do to make kid-friendly the place that he shares with Cathy, a former TV host who’s currently on leave from her pre-school teaching job.

But when it comes to the couple’s altar date, it’s all systems go. The groom said that both the wedding ceremony and the reception would be held at the Coconut Palace in Manila.

Ryan’s U.S.-based clan—which includes the most respected names in local show business—will all be homeward bound for their special day. His brother AJ has already come home and would be closely followed by his father Michael de Mesa and grandparents Eddie Mesa and Rosemarie Gil.

Meanwhile, Ryan’s mom Gina Alajar and his other brother Geoff, as well as his uncle Mark Gil, aunt Cherie Gil and cousins Sid Lucero, Gabby Eigenmann, Max Eigenmann and Andi Eigenmann—all still active in local entertainment—are also expected to attend the nuptials.

“It’s about time,” he recalled Gina reacting when he broke the news to her, adding that he and Cathy have been together for five years. “And I’m now learning to set the order of my responsibilities. Instead of spending on things that aren’t really important, I’ve started really saving.”

Ryan’s thankful that his workload is full these days. Aside from “Panday Kids,” which premieres on February 22, he also hosts Q Channel 11’s Sunday night program, “Misteryo,” and was in the cast of the Kim Chiu-Gerald Anderson big-screen starrer, “Paano na Kaya?”