Katarina Rodriguez rhapsodizes about her newfound sense of purpose and joy as a mother.
“I love it,” the actress and former Miss World Philippines beamed.
"For me, it's the best thing that's ever happened.
“I feel more confident with myself now that I'm a mom. My priorities are in order.
“And the world just makes more sense for me as a mom.”
It has been three years since Katarina and businessman Nino Barbers started their family, but she admitted, "I still am learning. I still have a lot of questions.
“There are many times that I don't know what I'm going to do. What will my husband eat? Or what I'm going to eat? Or where my kids are?
"So that happens. But it's all part of the fun also.”
Read: Divine Lee on motherhood: "Hanggang ngayon nanghuhula ako, walang manual ito"
Katrina and Nino have two kids—Robert Joaquin, who turns three in August, and a year-old baby Clara Amal.
And being away from them, she said, would tear her apart each time.
“So I pick really the events I want to go to and the jobs that I do choose to take.
"Because of course time is precious. And you want to spend your time mostly with your kids, right?"
Read: Katarina Rodriguez recounts "intense" experience water birthing Baby Quino
KATRINA'S CHALLENGES AS A MOM
Talking to PEP.ph (Philippine Enetrtainment Portal) at a recent Rustan's event, Katrina said the most challenging for her, so far, has been “balancing it all out.”
Managing a household appeared easy to her when she was not the one in charge, but now that she is, "It’s quite rattling at times."
She elaborated, “Like every morning, I wake up, I'm like, how do I make sure that everyone survives and everyone eats?
“And just being the manager of a home, it's work. It's a lot of work.
"When you're single, even if you live independently, that's just you. If I choose to stay longer in bed and skip meals, that's just me.
"But now, my choices and decisions affect people. And I have a household.
"And we have to do this and that to see if it works, then make adjustments to have that organized routine. So it’s always a team effort.”
And slowly she's heading towards resuming her acting career.
Said the VIVA talent, “I want to go back into acting. I plan to go back to workshop because it's been five years.”
Read: Sam Pinto: "Everything about giving birth is so intense."
FITNESS AND BEAUTY ROUTINES
Not surprisingly, breastfeeding has become part of Katarina's fitness routine.
Asked how she's been keeping herself fit, she said, “Breastfeeding, pilates, and eating healthy.”
She has also "simplified" her skin care routine and the products she's been using "because of time.”
Katarina added, “And then also I'm more conscious about what ingredients are in the products I use.
"Because, of course, l do breastfeeding. I don't want them to be exposed to ingredients that could eventually lead to cancer or provoke cancer.
"I'm very health-conscious now. So I try to use the cleanest ingredients.”
Read: Camille Prats reacts to Angelica Panganiban's sentiments about struggles of motherhood