Chrissy Teigen, who gave birth to her first child, daughter Luna Simone, just about a month ago, hasn’t let us down with her quirky commentary on parenting – and her latest interview with Entertainment Tonight is no exception. In addition to gushing over her beautiful baby girl, the model wife of John Legend tackles the hot topic of breastfeeding, likening herself to a normal mom.
“We’re so happy. It’s been really exciting and fun, and every day is so different, and seeing all her little changes is so cute,” she told ET’s Jennifer Peros about the joys of early motherhood.
“Her eyes have uncrossed a little bit, and, like, now, rather than looking right through you, she looks at you, which is really nice,” she joked, adding that it’s the smiles that “get” her.
“There is no feeling like that first little smile, your first Mother’s Day, which was so beautiful and sweet to me. The entire day my eyes were on the verge of tears because I was so happy.”
However, like the majority of most of us new moms, Chrissy was caught off guard by the time demands of nursing and admits that though it is pleasurable, it is no easy feat.
“The feeding schedule surprised me a lot. If you kind of do the math, you’re kind of breastfeeding for 10 hours a day total,” she said.
“It’s very loving and sweet, but it’s not easy. They just use you for your milk and you just feel like you are just a cow all day. It’s hard to work your entire day around getting her the nourishment she needs because they are just little animals.”
Having given birth to my second child in January, I totally agree with Chrissy on this one. Unlike many women out there, I didn’t struggle with the physicality of breastfeeding — both my babies immediately latched on, my milk supply was in full force, and there were no other complications — but there was no way I could have ever prepared myself for the amount of time I would spend with a baby attached to my boob.
Breastfeeding is truly a full-time job during those first few months, and unlike working at a regular job, where you get to put in your time and go home, we work around the clock, 24/7.
Despite already looking absolutely phenomenal in a crop top and cutoffs, Chrissy, whose cookbook Cravings was published in February, insisted that she still has some baby weight to lose and that she hasn’t even started working out, which unlike us, she actually enjoys.
“I’m only four weeks out from birth, so I still have a couple more weeks before I can work out — which is fine with me,” she said. “I love the feeling of working out, but I’ve never been a gym rat, ever, so now, it’s all about taking in what I can if it’s good for the baby, because it all translates to her in a way.”
While other celebrity moms enlist a nutritionist and start counting calories as soon as they give birth, Chrissy hasn’t given much thought to her diet, as she has so much more on her plate.
“You just don’t think about food as much. So it’s not that you’re not hungry, or that you want to diet — food just doesn’t cross your mind,” she said.
“It’s like whereas before it was number one on my list, now Luna’s up there, and John and keeping the dogs happy, because they get jealous. And then you’re like, ‘Oh, I haven’t eaten in seven hours, this is horrible.’”
Self-sacrifice isn’t an uncommon struggle for most mothers trying to juggle the duties and responsibilities of our demanding lives. The first few months of my daughter’s life, I had trouble finding time for myself (though regretfully, I have never forgotten to eat a meal!). Sleeping when the baby slept wasn’t an option, as I had my toddler to care for, and in the stroke of luck that he was napping at the same time as the baby, I would be frantically trying to pick up the house, throw in a load of laundry or get an hour of writing in.
So, once again, Teigen proves she is just like us. Well, sort of.
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