Kate Hudson Opens Up About Struggling To Balance Work & Breastfeeding

Juggling a career and a child — much less three children can be tough on anyone and celebrities really are no different. Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of bring a working mom is breastfeeding. Strict pumping schedules and maintaining a steady milk supply are often at the top of working, nursing moms' minds. For example, Kate Hudson recently opened up about breastfeeding as a working mom while appearing on the TODAY Show and the struggle is real.

Hudson gave birth to her youngest, a little girl named Rani Rose, back in early October, according to People. Since then, the mom-of-three has been busy trying to balance breastfeeding and a hectic work schedule. As Hudson shared on TODAY, she is now the global ambassador for WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers), and her health and breastfeeding come into play in her professional life.

"I'm trying to figure out how to balance the breastfeeding and the work," Hudson told TODAY hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. Both Guthrie and Kotb are moms as well, so they understand how difficult it can be to have your time and energy split between parenting and professional success. Guthrie added that she knows many a mom struggles to reach their breastfeeding goals after returning to work.

Hudson went on to explain that her prior experience as a mom doesn't make the transition from staying home any easier when it comes to breastfeeding, as USA Today reported:

Even moms that have multiple kids, it's just hard. I mean it's just hard — and the pumping — look I have one friend who's like a milk machine. I wish I was a milk machine, I'm not. I need to pump.

Breastfeeding after going back to work can be a challenge for any mom. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to make the transition a bit smoother. Working Mother recommends starting your preparation before it is time to go back to work, rather than waiting until the last minute. A month or more before, figure out your childcare plan to avoid added stress.

Three weeks before is when you should start building your milk supply, according to Working Mother, as getting to the point where you produce extra milk can take a while. And don't get discouraged if it doesn't work out as you planned in the beginning; as with anything, your body needs time to adjust to then pump. The next step is making sure that your baby is comfortable feeding from a bottle; do this at the two-week mark at the latest. And a week before you start back at work, do a trial run of your work day to pinpoint any potential issues.

But despite all of the struggles, Hudson isn't finished having children just yet. According to People, she told Guthrie and Kotb that a big family was always her plan:

I always thought I’d have four to six kids. That was like, when I was really little, I thought that. When you come from a big family… you either don’t want kids or you want a lot of kids. So I always thought I’d have [more kids].

Her love for her partner Danny Fujikawa, Rani Rose's father, played a big role in inspiring Hudson to continue growing her family. She told the TODAY hosts that she wanted to give him children if his own, People reported: "At one point I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m done.’ And then I met Danny and was like, ‘Alright, I got to pump them out for him.' He needs a boy. He needs his own boy."

Rani Rose joined Hudson's two other children: 7-year-old son Bingham Hawn, who she shares with ex-fiancé Matt Bellamy; and 15-year-old son Ryder Russell from her marriage to ex-husband Chris Robinson, Good Housekeeping reported. And if you're wondering how motherhood feels with such a large age gap between children, Hudson said that she's much "more responsible" now, according to TODAY:

You know, Ryder and I had this 7 years of like, nomad, gypsy life. It was amazing. He was attached to my hip, we traveled the world and he came everywhere with me and I was shooting movies. And then you add another one into the mix and it just becomes a little bit more challenging. I tried to do that and I realized I had to kind of hunker down at home a little bit more. Now I have a really good balance.

Finding a balance between motherhood and being a working professional can be tough. But Hudson's commitment to her family and determination to make the best life for them shines through in the work that she does. I have no doubt that she will get into the swing of things in no time.

After a very frustrating first birth experience, this Deaf mother wanted a change. Will the help of two Deaf doulas give the quality communication and birth experience this mom wants and deserves? Watch Episode Four of Romper's Doula Diaries, Season Two, below, and visit Bustle Digital Group's YouTube page for more episodes.