Entertainment

15 Times Celebs Got Real About Being First-Time Moms

EntertainmentPublished Jan 19, 2018
By Maressa Brown
Amber TamblynPhoto Image Press/Splash News

Let's all just be honest here: From the minute a woman shares the joyful news that she's expecting her first little one, judgment and opinions rain down upon her as it likely never has before. (It's similar, but different from all those comments she had to field while planning her wedding -- or opting against marriage for whatever reason.)

Navigating her way through pregnancy is one thing. But then, she gives birth, welcomes her first baby into the world, and begins that whole new chapter of motherhood. Being a first-time mom can feel overwhelming, incredible, and just plain miraculous all at once. 

Celebrities -- many of whom are outspoken about their personal lives and others who might prefer to remain private -- are asked about those first days, weeks, and months as moms pretty much as a rule. Thankfully, plenty of stars have decided not to pull any punches and explain all the amazing highs and lows that come with their first brush with parenthood. 

From having to deal with breast milk stains to defending themselves against mom-shamers for the first time to contending with partners who perpetually smell like poop (thanks to all those newborn diaper changes!), plenty of celeb moms have shared the pros, cons, and middle ground of becoming parents. And many of them have gone on to expand their broods, which may make looking back at their thoughts on life with their first LO even more intriguing. Here, 15 times famous moms got candid about that first-time #momlife.

1/15

Hilary Duff

The Younger star gave birth to her son Luca in 2012 with now ex-husband Mike Comrie. In 2015, Duff spoke to ET about feeling judged as a first-time mom: "Even before you have your baby, you can start feeling the judgment, and becoming a mother and that whole process is so special and so magical, but it's also really isolating." 

She explained that not only did she feel judged for having an epidural when giving birth, but also for weaning Luca off of being exclusively breast fed. "Once I had a breastfed for a certain amount of time and I was starting to work and starting to supplement with formula, I felt judged. A lot of the times, you think you should have all the answers, and nothing should go wrong. You put so much pressure on yourself, and it's really kind of a lonely place to be, so I think women and families need to boost each other up instead of bully one another."

2/15
Amber Tamblyn-placeholder
Amber Tamblyn
AmberRoseTamblyn/Instagram

Amber Tamblyn

The actress and comedian gave birth to her first child in February 2017, and about a month later, she took to Instagram to share a shot of herself in the mirror -- complete with a T-shirt covered in breast milk stains -- and wrote, "Who Wore It Better? Left tit or right tit? #MilkLife #StarsTheyreJustLikeUs." All too honest and all too real!

3/15
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Chrissy Teigen
ChrissyTeigen/Twitter

Chrissy Teigen

Just two weeks after giving birth to her first daughter Luna, Chrissy Teigen stepped out to dinner with husband John Legend. She quickly became the target of truly wild social media backlash from commenters who took issue with the new mom having a date night shortly after giving birth. In the moment, she responded with cheeky tweets. 

Later on, over a year after the incident and following many other moments when she was shamed for everything from Luna's jelly shoes to how she held her in a photo, she told Today that the criticism on social media "gets to me every time. ... You realize you’re going to get it no matter what, and it started when I was pregnant. If I seem like I don’t care, I definitely care.”

More from CafeMom: Amber Tamblyn's Pregnancy Reveal Nails Our Fears & Hopes for Our Own Daughters

4/15
Kristen Bell-placeholder
Kristen Bell
IMKristenBell/Twitter

Kristen Bell

Of her first pregnancy with daughter Lincoln in 2013, Kristen Bell readily admitted that she just wasn't sure how she felt about bringing the baby into their life. "I kept saying to [now-husband Dax Shepard] in all sincerity during my pregnancy, 'I just don't know how I'm going to like her as much as I like the dogs.' I was being serious. Because I f--king love my dogs; they are my children .... I love people the more I know them, and I didn't know her. It could've been a water bottle in my belly, that's about how connected I felt to her during my pregnancy. But within about 24 hours after she came out, my hormones reset, and they reprogrammed my feelings about her." 

Not only did she connect with her LO, but she also took to Twitter to crack jokes about her. She referred to Lincoln as the "new roommate" who pooped her pants and didn't pay rent -- like Dax before getting sober. Burn!

5/15
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Salma Hayek
Splash News

Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek gave birth to her daughter Valentina back in 2007. In 2008, she told American Baby that as a first-time mom, she got the best advice from her aunt: "When Valentina was not even 1 month old, my aunt [gave me the best advice]: 'Put her to sleep yourself every night. Sing to her and cradle her in your arms and sit by her side -- every night. Because one day you won't be able to, and it's going to happen really fast.'" So sweet, and so true.

6/15
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Kim Kardashian
Splash News

Kim Kardashian

Though she's now a mom of three, Kim Kardashian sat down to chat with the Mail Online when she was a new mom to eldest daughter North. Having her first LO taught her that Kim needed to build in some me-time in order to feel her best and be an effective businesswoman, mom, wife, friend, daughter, etc. "It's that simple: to prioritize. And make some time for yourself ... I make sure I do take time for myself; I have lunches with my girlfriends, and do things that are important," she shared. "I get up and work out every morning. I know that I don't feel as good as I could feel if I don't -- and you want to feel your best so you can give to everyone else."

More from CafeMom: 14 Times Celebs Perfectly Captured Motherhood IRL This Week

7/15
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Kristin Cavallari
All Access Photo/Splash

Kristin Cavallari

Before welcoming her first LO Camden with husband Jay Cutler, the Hills alumna said she was warned by friends about the first few weeks as a new, first-time mom. "I had set myself up for the first six weeks just to be brutal," Kristin told The Bump. "Everyone I talked to said you walk around like a zombie and you get no sleep and it's just really difficult. I had set the bar pretty high for it to be really bad and I was actually pleasantly surprised. It was definitely hard but I expected just to be a zombie and I wasn't, so I think I just had that new mommy high, and so it just felt great."

That said, she realized how important it was to have a good support network in place during those early days. "Get all the help that you can," she advised. "Luckily we had a lot of family around and so my mom came and stayed with me the first week, which helped a lot. Even just having someone else washing the dishes and taking out the trash for you makes a huge difference. Also, know it's going to be difficult. Don't beat yourself up about it, and just know it's going to get easier."

8/15
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Pink
Pink/Twitter

Pink

After welcoming her eldest, daughter Willow, in June 2011, Pink celebrated her first Mother's Day nearly a year later in 2012, taking to Twitter to share her gratitude with fans. She also opened up to Cosmopolitan about another way motherhood had her feeling better than ever

"I'm used to going into the studio and smoking and drinking until three in the morning. But I can't drink as much because I'm breastfeeding,” the now mom of two told the magazine. "See this glass of wine? Before, I'd have, like, four of them. Now, one is good. Oh, and I quit smoking. I've exorcised a lot of my demons, but I'm still working on myself. I think I'll be a work in progress for the rest of my life." Cheers to that!

9/15

Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis and husband Ashton Kutcher welcomed their first baby, daughter Wyatt Isabelle, in 2015. Mila sat down with Ellen Degeneres to discuss what life was like with her LO in those first few weeks and months. 

The actress explained the thing she was most surprised by as a first time mom: "You think you know love -- and I know people say this all the time -- but the truest meaning of unconditional love is my child. I thought I loved Ashton. I thought I loved my parents, my dogs. I was like, 'I know love.' It's such a different aspect, though. It's not like it's greater or lesser. It's just in a whole other field. And if she murdered somebody in cold blood I would love her. I would be like, 'That's OK!' But it's true. It's so weird, but when she was born, I was like, 'This is the most incredible thing that's ever happened.'" 

More from CafeMom: This Mom Just Nailed What Every Day Looks Like for Boy Moms

10/15
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Amanda Seyfried
Splash News

Amanda Seyfried

Though she's remained fairly private about her first child with husband Thomas Sadoski, whom the couple welcomed in 2017, Mean Girls star Amanda Seyfried did open up in an interview with Dr. Berlin's Informed Pregnancy Podcast. As a first time mom, the actress says she struggled with breastfeeding

"I was ready to quit about five days in because it was a searing pain and I couldn't get a good latch," she shared, noting that she was also overproducing milk. She also explained that she suffered from mastitis, an inflammatory, painful infection of breast tissue, and she admitted that the process of feeding her daughter initially had her feeling "stressed" and "fearful." Thankfully, she "mastered" nursing after identifying what worked best for both her and her daughter. "She's getting milk, and she's gaining weight like a champ," the proud mom reported.

11/15
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Serena Williams
SerenaWilliams/Instagram

Serena Williams

Tennis champion Serena Williams and husband Alexis Ohanian welcomed their first daughter Olympia in September 2017, and the new mom recently opened up to Vogue about the toughest parts of being a first-time mom. 

"Sometimes I get really down and feel like, 'Man, I can’t do this,'" Serena admitted. "It's that same negative attitude I have on the court sometimes. I guess that's just who I am. No one talks about the low moments -- the pressure you feel, the incredible letdown every time you hear the baby cry. I've broken down I don't know how many times. Or I'll get angry about the crying, then sad about being angry, and then guilty, like, 'Why do I feel so sad when I have a beautiful baby?' The emotions are insane."

12/15
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Beyonce
Splash News

Beyonce

Having welcomed twins Sir and Rumi this past summer, Beyonce is of course now a proud mom of three. But back in 2012, when she welcomed first daughter Blue Ivy with husband Jay-Z, the multi-hyphenate entertainer shared her thoughts on first-time motherhood with People. She made the point that although she had just become a mom, she didn't feel the need to dismiss other parts of her identity: "I want to show women that when you become a mother, it doesn't mean you put everything away. You can be a mother and a seductress to your husband. You can be strong and nurturing to your child. You can be driven and emotionally generous. You can love yourself and your family. I want to continue to push myself."

More from CafeMom: 15 Then & Now Photos of Celebrities Rumored to Have Gotten Plastic Surgery

13/15
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Blake Lively
Splash News

Blake Lively

Though Blake Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds are now parents of two daughters, Blake admitted during a 2015 appearance on Live with Kelly that life changed dramatically when they welcomed their first baby James. "Everything is just so much more heightened. We're crying all the time for no reason," she said. "I slept two hours last night .... The last time when Ryan was here, he smelled like baby powder. He was knee-deep in being a dad. Now, he just smells like poop … He's in full diaper duty!" Yep, all of that sounds about right!

14/15
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Ali Fedotowsky
Tony DiMaio/Splash

Ali Fedotowsky

The former Bachelorette star opened up to Fit Pregnancy and Baby about the challenges she faced as a new mom to Molly Sullivan, her first LO with husband Kevin Manno. "For the first eight months of Molly's life, we never had anyone else watch her -- not even a family member," Fedotowsky explained. "After months of no breaks and little sleep, I legit had a mental breakdown." She shared that soon, she and Kevin "learned to ask for help, whether it meant leaning on friends or calling our moms and asking them to fly out and stay with us for a week, and now we have a part-time nanny who comes once or twice a week."

15/15
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Olivia Wilde
Headlinephoto/Splash

Olivia Wilde

In 2014, Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis became parents to their first child, son Otis. When their baby boy was 10 months old, Olivia appeared on The Daily Show and said to then host Jon Stewart of motherhood: "It's so much fun, it's amazing. He's wonderful." 

At the same time, the new mom acknowledged that she saw parenting as "a balancing act. There's no such thing as a leisurely brunch anymore." When Stewart asked if she and Jason were considering expanding their family, the often-candid actress cheekily replied, "If I can keep one alive, I'll be really proud of myself." Way to keep it real, mama!

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