Celebrity Baby Blog /

Keisha Castle-Hughes Finds Young Motherhood a Blessing

Juan Rico/Fame

Since becoming a teenage parent, Whale Rider Oscar nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes is relishing the role of a lifetime – costarring her daughter.

“I absolutely love being a mother,” Keisha, 19, told PEOPLE at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of her new movie The Vintner’s Luck. “It’s been a blessing. It’s fun and it’s hard, but it’s absolutely amazing.”

At the age of 17, Keisha gave birth to Felicity-Amore, now 2, with boyfriend Bradley Hull. Since then, she’s chosen to be out of the Hollywood spotlight to focus on taking care of her toddler, who is blossoming into a mini version of herself.

“Felicity’s just like me. All trapped into a little body,” says Keisha. “It’s quite full on. She’s got lots of energy and quite dramatic. She’s picked up quite a few dramatic tendencies from me, which is good and bad. But it’s very exciting to watch her personality develop.”

As for being a teenage mom, the youngest female star ever to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award – she was 13 – says, “It’s no different for me than any other mum in the world. It can be a little stressful and tiring, but it’s the most rewarding thing.”

While critics called her too young to become a mother, Keisha said she respectfully disagrees. “I was in a very different situation when I had her. I was in a loving and stable relationship with her father, who I’m still with. I had quite an established career and so the decision to have her was very easy,” she says.

“Once I found out I was pregnant there was no decision really. I was shocked but it was just like, ‘Okay, we are having a baby. That’s great.’”

She adds, “I’ve lived a fast-paced life, but I had the best childhood. I didn’t miss out on anything by having my daughter at a young age … If I would go back and change things, I would not. I can’t imagine living my life without her.”

Click below for more on Brad as a father and if the couple want more children.
Read More

Maggie Gyllenhaal Seeks Balance As a Working Mother

Splash News Online

Raised in a family that promoted female success in the work place, Maggie Gyllenhaal never doubted for a second that she could have both a career and a family. After making a name for herself in Hollywood, Maggie moved on to motherhood — welcoming her first child with Peter Sarsgaard in 2006 — and quickly realized the harsh reality of balancing life as a working mom. “I was brought up to believe I could do anything I wanted professionally and, of course, be a mother at the same time — but I’m finding that it’s complicated,” she tells Working Mother.

“It requires a lot of thought and planning and I haven’t figured it out yet.”

Missing out on the day-to-day routine with her daughter Ramona, now 2 ½, often leaves Maggie with a heavy heart. “Now that I have my own daughter, there are definitely times I think, ‘Why do I have a job?’ Sometimes I fantasize about staying home with Ramona all day, so that I don’t miss a thing in this amazing 2-year-old’s life,” she admits. And while the long days spent on location pull at the actress’ heartstrings, Maggie is confident that her decision to continue acting is best for all involved.

“I’m an artist; I love my job. I feel very, very lucky to be in the position where going to work means I’m feeding myself. As a mother, you have to make sure you do that because that will nourish your child too.”

With Ramona showing increasing signs of “a real strong, deep connection” with her mama, Maggie can’t help but consider any effects her career may have on her child. “She’s in the phase of being very attached to me and that makes me wonder all the more whether the inconsistency of my job is difficult for her,” she explains. “I think that if she were able to know, for example, that every day after breakfast I will leave for work, and every day after her nap I will be home from work, it would be a lot easier for her.”

While Maggie has made a conscious effort to limit her roles to ones that “justify being away from [Ramona] all day,” she and Peter recognize the fact that their growing daughter is in need of a consistent routine. “I find that the older Ramona gets, the more comfortable she is when she’s in her own bed…when she sees the same people every day,” she says. To that end, the couple recently enrolled their toddler in preschool — a task that Maggie never envisioned would take so much effort on her part!

“I’d say I spent all of last fall researching which schools I wanted to apply to for her. I put more energy into that than almost anything I can think of recently.”

Click below to learn about “the luxury” her own mother Naomi gave Maggie recently.
Read More