Detailing that she feels “very blessed to have a granddaughter” and that she is “happy” for Schwarzenegger Pratt, 31, and Pratt, 41, Shriver said of her daughter, “I’m in awe at what a beautiful mother she is, but I’m not surprised.”
“It’s been a gift to me,” she continued. “It’s been a gift to her siblings, her father and to everyone who loves [her and Chris]. To see somebody step into a role of motherhood is really a beautiful thing. I’m a big believer that motherhood and parenting is the most valuable work that we do in this world.”
Schwarzenegger Pratt and her husband welcomed their daughter, Lyla Maria, back in August. At the time, the couple shared the first photo of their newborn baby girl’s hand alongside a sweet announcement about her birth shortly after she arrived.
Gallery: The Today Show Crew’s Cutest Family Photos (People)
Get to know the growing families of the morning show’s anchors
Carson Daly
Dad to daughters London, 4, and Etta, 6, and son Jackson, 10, with wife Siri — plus a baby on the way! — the former MTV host has changed his feelings on parenthood a bit since losing his mom and stepfather in 2017.
“I sometimes try to love my kids less, almost on purpose because I’m so scared of loving them too much,” he said in an interview with Hoda Kotb.
“My mom especially loved me so much. It was almost too much. And I know that now because when she died, the hurt was a transference of the love. It hurt so much because I’m so bummed that that love isn’t there anymore. And that’s a byproduct of her love for me,” he explained. “That’s the greatest gift you can give your kids, but it’s scary. It’s a scary proposition too. I find myself falling in love with my kids and I almost want to put a little bit of a guard there out of fear.”
“It was unexpected,” Bush Hager told PEOPLE after announcing her pregnancy in April. “We really hadn’t planned to even have a third baby and it feels like this blessing that I hadn’t even asked for. “
Dylan Dreyer
The weather correspondent and husband Brian Fichera welcomed son Calvin in 2016, and regularly document their adventures on Instagram.
However, in April 2019, Dreyer revealed something she’d been struggling with behind the scenes: a miscarriage, and difficulty conceiving another child.
She “didn’t know secondary infertility was a thing,” she said on Today, sharing her experience with her fellow anchors. “God has a plan,” she continued. “And I pray every night, ‘Just let me stay out of your way — you do what is best for us, and we’ll figure that out.’ ”
In July, things turned around: Dreyer announced she was pregnant with baby No. 2, and already well into the second trimester, due this winter.
Savannah Guthrie
The mom of two — daughter Vale, 5, and son Charley, 2 — opened up about her road to motherhood in the Beautiful Issue of PEOPLE.
“I always wanted to be a mom, and it took us so long to get married — we dated for so long — that we thought maybe it was too late and we’d lost our chance,” said Guthrie, who began dating husband Michael Feldman in 2009 and later wed in 2014.
“When we found out we were pregnant [with Vale], I don’t think there were two happier people on this planet.”
Hoda Kotb
On April 16, 2019, Kotb surprised fans by announcing she’d welcomed a second child by adoption, daughter Hope Catherine.
“My first time around, I spent my whole time going, ‘I got it! I got it!’ ” she told PEOPLE of parenting daughter Haley Joy, now 2, with boyfriend Joel Schiffman. “I didn’t know what to expect with two. All of a sudden, with two kids, you’re like, ‘Wait, baby one is crying, baby two needs to be put down. Hope is hungry, Haley needs me.’ “
Kotb added, “I was always like, ‘I have to fix it! Here I come.’ Now I’m just like, ‘Haley’s safe. She’s good. The baby’s going to eat in a minute. She’ll be okay.’ “
Al Roker
In April 2019, the longtime Today weatherman opened up about his 17-year-old son Nick’s special needs in a moving story for Guideposts.
“Do I get frustrated with my son sometimes? You bet,” Roker wrote. “But then I remember my dad, how understanding he was. And [wife Deborah Roberts] reminds me that I have to show my son not only that I love him but that I like him as well. More than that, I admire him.”
In addition to Nick, Roker and Roberts share daughter Leila, 20. Roker also has a daughter Courtney, who was adopted during a previous marriage.
Craig Melvin
After the arrival of his second child, daughter Sybil, with wife Lindsay Czarniak in 2016, Melvin wrote a moving blog post for PEOPLE about the importance of paternity leave — and finding his place as a dad of two.
“I spend a lot of my time making sure our son knows there’s enough love in this house for two children,” he wrote of splitting time with Sybil, now 2, and son Del, now 5. “A friend who has twins admitted months ago one of her great fears was, ‘Would I have enough to give to two children? How would I divide?’ “
“There’s no division — you multiply,” he continued. “Sure I haven’t changed as many diapers this time around or helped with as many newborn feeds, but I’ve discovered I’m valuable in a whole new way. I can piece together a Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle with my eyes closed, rush to the grocery store to stock up on “yo yo” (A.K.A overpriced squeeze yogurts) and fruit snacks (overpriced gummy bunnies), negotiate nap times or night-nights and run a shuttle service for a 2-year-old whose play-date and school schedule rivals a cable and network news anchor’s work day.”
Sheinelle Jones
With twins Uche and Clara, 6, and big bro Kayin, 9, Jones and husband Uche Ojeh have their hands full. But she keeps parenthood in perspective.
“Nothing is going to happen if I wake up the next morning and the laundry hasn’t been folded,” she told Parents. “I don’t want to be the mom that spends so much time trying to wash the grass stains out of their jeans that I’m not actually in the grass playing with them.”
9/9 SLIDES
“We are beyond thrilled to announce the birth of our daughter Lyla Maria Schwarzenegger Pratt,” the caption on both parents’ posts read at the time. “We couldn’t be happier and we feel extremely blessed! Love, Katherine and Chris.”
The baby’s middle name is seemingly a nod to Shriver, who then commented on her daughter’s post, “So happy for you Lyla Maria is so blessed to have you both as parents you are going to be a amazing mama you already are !!!”
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While speaking with PEOPLE in December, Schwarzenegger Pratt called motherhood “the greatest gift and such a joy” despite the “unique experience” of having to balance it all amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s a really hard time for everyone, and being pregnant and having my first child in a pandemic is definitely a silver lining in this wild year we’ve had,” she said. “I feel really blessed to have been able to become a mom during this time.”
Schwarzenegger Pratt added, “It’s something that I’ve looked forward to my whole life.”
RELATED VIDEO: Katherine Schwarzenegger Says She’s ‘Obsessed’ with Putting Her Daughter’s ‘Name on Everything’
And for the New York Times bestselling author, help is always there when she needs it, according to her mom.
“She’s blessed. I think what you learn, and what she’s learned, is the importance of a village,” Shriver said of her daughter while chatting with ET. “The importance of your parents, the importance of your friends, the importance of people who you can count on.”
The message, Shriver said, is one that she believes anyone can relate to, no matter their circumstance.
“I think maybe that’s a really great lesson for all of us at this time in our lives, is to learn about, how dependent we are on one another,” she added. “Whether we’re having a new baby or whether we’re living alone and getting older, we’re all dependent on one another.”
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