Naya Rivera is one hot mama!
The 29-year-old actress, known for her role as singing cheerleader Santana Lopez on Glee, shows off her rocking post-pregnancy bod on the May cover of Fit Pregnancy and Baby magazine. In the issue, Rivera poses with 8-month-old baby boy Josey and discusses the excitement and challenges of being a new mom.
Judging from the photo shoot, it's hard to imagine the actress was 60 pounds heavier while pregnant in 2015. "I completely let myself go when I was pregnant," says Rivera, who craved sugary snacks and meat. "Weight wasn't something I wanted to focus on. I ate anything and everything and had a blast. Afterward, I was, like, 'Let's get back to business.'"
She credits nursing, healthy eating and low-impact exercise that helped her lose some of the baby weight, in addition to working with a personal trainer.
Rivera also describes how she and her husband, Justified actor Ryan Dorsey, are learning as they go. "You're always going to wonder if you're doing things wrong, but that's what it means to be a mom, to care so much about someone else that you just want to be as perfect as possible," she says.
Rivera also addresses the difficulties of being a mom in Hollywood and overexposing her son on social media. With 1.5 million Instagram followers and 1.7 million Twitter fans, she says, "I try to keep [shots of Josey] to a minimum. Don't get me wrong. I want to post photos of him every day because he's so cute, but I try to just post mostly on holidays, because some things should be kept private. Obviously, doing a magazine cover with him was a big decision, but I know it's something we'll look back on and cherish."
The new mom also kept busy during her pregnancy by documenting her experiences in her first book, a memoir entitled, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes and Growing Up, which she finished just a week before Josey was born. The book is set to be released this September.
Rivera describes that after having a child of her own she feels her relationship with her own mother has been strengthened. "I have these 'aha' moments about motherhood all the time," she says. "Now I understand that the day you give birth to your child, and see him for the first time, will always be such a special day."