The former Disney Channel star took some time to reflect on her experience of becoming a mum at age 24 on the new Motherly podcast.
We love to see mums come out publicly and talk about the real and the tough aspects of motherhood. Instagram can give a one-sided view of parenting and in my opinion, it is so refreshing to see someone in the public eye talk about not only the amazing aspects but also the tough times of parenting too.
Hilary Duff has recently talked very candidly about her experience with motherhood and as a mum myself, I find it incredibly relatable.
Duff opened up about becoming a mum at 24 on the new Motherly Podcast.
She explained how she felt her perception of motherhood was a reflection of her own parents and how they appeared so much older and wiser than she felt when she became a mum.
I think it is something we can all relate to. I for one felt complete imposter syndrome when I became a mum, I thought mums were meant to have all the answers, but it turns out they don’t. None of them."
"I guess I thought like you're a real adult once you have a baby. But, that looked very different than how I looked. Like, when I think of my parents when I was like ten or so, I feel like they looked so old even though they didn't," she explained. "My perception was like, 'Oh, you have all the answers and you know all the things”.
I could really relate to Duff as she recalled having her first baby Luca and feeling very isolated. It can be incredibly lonely when you are the only one out your friends to have started a family. It is refreshing to hear someone in the public eye say they felt the same way.
"It was a little isolating in the beginning because I didn't have any friends that had babies yet” she recalls.
"But I had been working for such a long time that it felt like a natural step for me and I always knew I wanted to be a mom and I always knew that was going to be my number one priority in life. So, I felt ready on some fronts and a little scared on others, but really I only got scared once I was pregnant, you know, thinking like, 'Oh this is actually really happening. What if this? What if that?'"
She was raw and relatable as she spoke about how she felt she lost her old identity when she had her son, whilst learning who her new one was. I think all first-time mums have been there.
You can do all the preparations, the books, the classes but nothing can compare to when you have your first and you are thrown into a role you really have no experience of.
"I did feel like after I had him, I lost a big chunk of my identity for like maybe the first year and a half, but I don't think that was a negative thing," she said.
I knew it was the most important, biggest job in the world but you know, it looks very different once you're just in the household with the baby by yourself all the time. It was shocking and it was also the happiest, most beautiful experience, so those two things butting up against each other is quite a strange mix sometimes."