Keke Palmer attends Boss Featuring Keke Palmer terrace after party at The GRAMMY Museum on May 10, 2023 in Los Angeles.Photo:Rebecca Sapp/Getty

Keke Palmer attends Boss Featuring Keke Palmer terrace after party at The GRAMMY Museum on May 10, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Rebecca Sapp/Getty

Keke Palmeris getting candid about the challenges of motherhood, specifically breastfeeding.

TheHustlersactress, 29, recently spoke withEssenceabout how life has changed since becoming mother toLeodis “Leo” Andrellton. Although she focused on creating her look forthe Met Galaearlier this year for the magazine’s Fashion Issue, Palmer also explained the one factor of motherhood that was “difficult” for her.

“I think mybreastfeeding journeywas also very empowering because it was so difficult,” Palmer stated in the interview. “And I wanted to give up at so many different points, but I just kept pushing myself and kept trying to figure it out.”

Keke Palmer and son Leo.KeKe Palmer/Instagram

Keke Palmer Says She Loves Being a Mom: It Just Gave Me a Sense of Freedom

KeKe Palmer/Instagram

“The relationship I had with my son during that process empowered me to get back up and do things for myself again,” Palmer shared. “In the midst of trying to work out and do things that I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do — like going to the Met Gala — I was able to say, ‘You know what, I’m gonna get out there and experience everything again, and I’m still gonna be there for my boy.'”

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When it came to breastfeeding, providing for her child was all the motivation she needed. “That kind of resolve built so much confidence and so much strength in me. I just got this overwhelming sense that I can do anything,” theAliceactress toldEssence.

Sergio Hudson, who designed Palmer’s Met Gala gown, explained to the magazine that Leo’s birth came into play when preparing for the big night.

Keke Palmer, Leo Jackson, and Darius Jackson.Derek White/WireImage

Keke Palmer, Leo Jackson, and Darius Jackson

Derek White/WireImage

The Emmy winner noted that shedidn’t want to feel insecureabout her “brand-new body” and admitted that fashion can already be “quite overwhelming” at times. However, in the end, Palmer was proud to admit that she felt like the belle of the ball at the annual event.

“I feel like I was the most beautiful woman there,” the new mom recalled of the evening. “I knew that my hair was on point.I knew that my makeup was on point. I knew that my look was on point. And then Sergio being beside me made the whole thing that much better, because he was acting like my mom, Sharon.”

Palmer said it was “so funny” how Hudson acted. “He was like, ‘Get out there and talk to these people. You need to work the room. These people need to see how good you look,'” she recalled. “He was breathing so much life into me. It makes me feel a little bit emotional now, talking about it, because I honestly feel like he brought me back to the world, honey. He really did.”

source: people.com