WASHINGTON DC: American actor-singer Hilary Duff opened up about the challenges of being a mother at a young age.
During an episode of The Motherly Podcast, the 31-year-old star revealed becoming a mother at just the age of 24 years was pretty "isolating," reported People.
The actor welcomed her first child, son Luca Cruz with ex-husband Mike Comrie in 2012.
"It was a little isolating in the beginning because I didn't have any friends that had babies yet," Duff said.
"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," she explained.
Duff, who seemed to be at her candid best, added, "I only got scared one I was pregnant, you know, thinking like, 'Oh this is actually really happening. What if this? What if that?"
Duff went on to say that once Luca arrived everything in her life changed.
"I did feel like after I had him, I lost a big chunk of my identity for maybe the first year and a half," Duff said, adding that it wasn't necessarily a "negative thing."
However, she admitted, "At times, I was sad about it, but you know it's full on. I don't remember setting him down for the first three months of life. I was obsessively googling things and I just took it really seriously that I didn't realize how all-encompassing it would be."
"I knew it was the most important, the 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," she added.
Nonetheless, Duff said that being a mother has been "the happiest and most beautiful experiences."
Duff said being a mother at a young age has been "shocking and it was also the happiest, most beautiful experiences, so those two things butting up against each other is quite a strange mix sometimes."
"Once you do find yourself again, you have the biggest thing under your belt that nobody can take away from you and you're so confident," Duff said of getting her identity back.
She also noted that being a mother makes her feel like a "superwoman."
"I did spin it as a positive thing because sitting in it when it was happening maybe I was a little sad about it and I didn't feel like I had anyone to go through the experience with, but then I came out on the other side. I'm like, I'm a freaking superwoman and I can do anything and I have confidence for days," she added.
Duff split with Comrie in 2016. The actor has since welcomed another child, daughter Banks with fiance Matthew Koma.
Duff also reflected on how her postpartum wardrobe of choice -- high waisted sweatpants and jeans -- was her nightmare outfit during her teenage 'Lizzie McGuire' years, when low-waisted Juicy Couture sweatsuits and her beloved Frankie B jeans were the most fashionable outfits out there.
"I was thinking if I told my 14-year-old self that I would hang out in sweatpants that cover my belly button I think I would have vomited on the spot and laughed in your face. My Frankie B's were lyfe (who's with me?)," she joked.
Duff's body image has come a long way since her time on the iconic Disney Channel show. In those days, she used to restrict her food choices to achieve a look that Duff now says was "too thin" and "unhappy."
The actor said that those thoughts continued in the months after she gave birth to Luca, but she has since learned to embrace her body.