Mandy Moore Shares The ‘Super Mom’ Advice Hilary Duff Gave Her About Having Two Kids

Having a second child is a massive step for families — or at least it was for Mandy Moore. The This is Us star just welcomed her second son, Ozzy, last month with with her husband Taylor Goldsmith and recently opened up about how fellow mom and BFF Hilary Duff has helped her navigate her expanding family.

“It feels like a completely different experience,” Moore said in a new interview with Access Hollywood of having a second baby. “I feel like, it’s so indescribable. Before he came... it’s hard to imagine your heart expanding and...you know allow the privilege of loving another human the way we already love our son,” she added.

Moore and Goldsmith welcomed their first son, Gus, 20 months, on February 21, 2021.

And while Moore said that things the second time around have been more “zen,” she also was nervous about 21-month-old Gus’s reaction to having a younger brother, since he “didn’t seem to clock” what was happening when Moore was pregnant.

This is where BFF Duff comes in. Most of Moore’s other mom friends have one child; Duff has three: Luca Cruz Comrie, 10, Banks Violet Blair, 4, and Mae James Blair, 20 months.

“And she is just super mom with three kids,” Moore gushed of her bestie. “I don’t know how she does it. She’s such an incredible mother.”

Moore explained how Duff helped her balance the needs of both her newborn and firstborn. “Make sure that you’re not just constantly telling your older kid like, ‘Mommy can’t do that right now because Mommy’s with the baby.’ Make sure you kind of play both sides,” Moore said Duff advised her before Ozzy was born.

“And let the baby know, sometimes, ‘You know what? I’m going to hand you over to Dad because now I have to spend time with Gus.’ So it sorta goes both ways. And your older kid is not feeling — not necessarily neglected, but sort of shut down all the time because you just have to feed the baby or you have to change the baby.”

That is a super mom tip! It’s also a piece of advice that can help balance out newborn duties between parents. “And making sure that you’re sort of shifting responsibilities so they see that you’re also spending time with them and letting, you know, Dad take care of the baby or somebody else help out in that regard.”

“So I found that to be very helpful advice so far. It’s nice sometimes to be like, ‘Hey, Ozzie, Mommy has to go play with Gus now,” Moore continued. “I promised that Gus and I were going to go out and play in the yard.’ And being able to hand him over and for Gus to sort of feel that acknowledgement.”

So far, it seems like Duff’s strategy is working, considering all Gus wants to do is kiss his little brother! “Our biggest hurdle right now is making sure [Gus] doesn’t kiss [Ozzy] too much,” Moore said, noting that winter cold and flu season is already here. “We’re making sure he kisses [Ozzy] on the top of his head, or on the bottom his feet,” Moore smiled, “and not on his face where he just wants to drool on him incessantly.” Ah, slobbery, brotherly love. Watch the entire interview below: