Jamie-Lynn Sigler says motherhood is more "difficult" than she expected.
The former 'Sopranos' star, who has a seven-month-old son, Beau Kyle, loves being a parent but admits it is "exhausting."
The 32-year-old actress told PEOPLE.com: "It's really hard -- it's a test on every level. The amount of love is incredible, but it's difficult.
"You don't get a lot of sleep, it's exhausting, you have to be on 24/7, [and] you've got to breathe through. It's amazing that a little thing can cause that much frustration sometimes.
"(You feel) like you deserve a medal every day. You feel like you should get props when you walk out of the house [and] you're just alive and breathing."
But the 'Guys with Kids' actress tries to spend as much time as possible with her little boy.
She said: "I'm with him every single day, all day so [I'm] watching every little milestone. He's starting to crawl which is fun, and he's really into Mommy, reaching for me and asking for me."
Jamie credits her fiancé Cutter Dykstra for helping her to adapt to her new lifestyle.
She said: "Dad's amazing - he's playing baseball so he's on the road [and] we're doing a little long distance, but he's a really good dad. [He's] really hands on and it's pretty sexy to see a guy with a baby."

Ice Cube insists he was a "fan" of Paul Walker.
The rapper had blasted the MTV Movie Awards for overlooking him and his 'Ride Along' co-star in the Best Onscreen Duo category at Sunday's ceremony (13.04.14) in favour of the later actor who died in a car accident in November - and his 'Fast and Furious 6' co-star Vin Diesel, but has now insisted his remarks that they took a "sympathy" vote was misunderstood and he felt Paul should have been honoured before his death.
He tweeted: "Re: The MTV Awards. I wasn't really mad we didn't win. So I would never diss the actors who won. Not even Paul Walker. Seriously people!" the movie star wrote.
"Re: The sympathy vote: We should honor people before they die. That's all. Shame on you 'make something out of nothing' ass reporters. Smh.
"Re: MTV Awards. Ice Cube is not a sore loser. I was born losing. This winning s--t is what I gotta get use to. Last tweet and I'mma leave it alone. Remember this: A lie travels further then the truth. Damn the devil is busy. And Paul Walker fans don't trip. I was a fan too.(sic)"
And the 44-year-old star also insisted he didn't leave the ceremony on Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre early because he was unhappy about losing.
He also wrote: "Don't believe the hype. Re: Leaving early from the MTV Awards. They told me our catagory wasn't gonna be televised. So I left. Just promoting that RIDE ALONG DVD. (sic)"
Hitting out at the ceremony initially, Ice said he felt "robbed" by the result.
He said:"We was robbed. Shame on you, MTV.
"We had the best chemistry of everybody nominated, for us not to win was crazy. We were the best onscreen duo, period.
"They should have gave it to him before he passed away."

Brandy Norwood has split from her fiance.
The 35-year-old singer has parted ways with music executive Ryan Press - who she got engaged to in December 2012 after taking the time to "reevaluate" their relationship.
Her spokesperson told Us Weekly magazine: "They are no longer together. The engagement is off, but the friendship is still on.
"They decided to take a step back and reevaluate the relationship. Brandy is 35 now - that's what her whole #35 on Twitter is about, becoming her own woman.
"They haven't ended things on a bad note and they still speak all the time."
The 'Boy is Mine' hitmaker - who has daughter Sy'rai, 12, with former boyfriend Robert Smith - is too busy to settle down to family commitments now.
Her representative added: "Brandy has a daughter and she still wants to be married and have more kids but she is working on so many other things right now."
The former 'Moesha' actress previously admitted Ryan had restored her faith in relationships.
She has said: "I had given up on love a long time ago. It just didn't seem to work for me, so I was single for a very long time. I stopped looking for love and then I ran into my boyfriend.
"He just loves me for who I am."

Oscar Pistorius read out a Valentine's Card he was given by Reeva Steenkamp hours before she died in court today (14.04.14).
The paralympian - who is on trial for murdering his girlfriend in February 2013 - sobbed as he read out the brief note on the final day of cross-examination in Pretoria.
He read: "Roses are red, violets are blue. I think today is a good day to tell you that I love you."
Earlier in the trial, Pistorius - who claims to have shot the model in the mistaken belief she was an intruder - had admitted he could not face opening the card or Reeva's gift of a framed selection of pictures, for many months after she died, but finally did so on her birthday last August.
Given another chance to address Judge Thokozile Masipa today, Pistorius said he was "terrified," "scared" and fearful for his life in the incident, thinking there were intruders in his home, adding he fired off his gun "before [he] could think".
He added: "I was thinking about what could happen to me, to Reeva. I was just extremely fearful."
Legal teams on both side how now asked for a two-week adjournment to the case, beginning on Friday (18.04.14), and the judge has promised to consider the request and make a ruling tomorrow (16.04.14).
The defence is then expected to conclude its case by mid-May, but another postponement is likely before concluding arguments.

A photographer claims he was attacked with a box cutter when trying to take pictures of a Lana Del Rey video shoot. In a lawsuit that will be filed later this week, Karl Larsen - a well-known concert photographer who regularly works for Rolling Stone ...

Britain's Prince George has been inundated with gifts during his visit to New Zealand.
The 8-month-old son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - who is on his first royal tour and will soon head to Australia - has received dozens of presents from officials and members of the public.
There have been unusual and fun gifts handed to his parents, including a kangaroo backpack and a tiny vintage flying helmet, a favourite of his father's, given to him during a visit to Sir Peter Jackson's Knights of the Sky exhibition in Blenheim, which was made especially for the Prince out of leather and possum fur.
The little boy has also been handed a number of teddy bears, lavish gifts and plenty of books for his parent's to read to him at bedtime.
Nicola Legat, who was involved in organising a book competition between authors in the country, was thrilled to be able to give George a number of autographed books.
She told HELLO! Magazine: "By the time Prince George grows up, the Cambridge family will have a wonderful collection of New Zealand literature, all personally inscribed."
The royal couple will leave for Australia tomorrow (16.04.14) afternoon.

Ice Cube claims he's finding it difficult to cast the right actors in the 'Straight Outta Comptom' movie.
The rapper has been working on the N.W.A biopic about the iconic 80s hip hop group and has spent months trying to find the right stars to play the lead parts.
He told Collider.com: "We've been casting for six months now, so we're still in that process of finding the right people to represent the world's most dangerous group.
"We're telling the story from the inception of NWA to the death of [rapper] Eazy-E, that's the story."
The parts of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, MC Ren and Eazy-E, who died in 1995 of AIDS-related pneumonia, are all expected to be cast.
Ice Cube is producing the film along with Dr. Dre and F Gary Gray will direct.
Asked if the film would be better as four-hour miniseries than a two hour film, Ice Cube said: "I would love for it to be a miniseries because there's so many nooks and crannies to the story but it's a feature film and we'll try to tell the story - not try, we actually will tell the story within that two [to] three hour time period."
He added: "We will be filming this year, definitely. We're schedule to film and start production in July."

Chris Brown has teased his long-awaited track with Ariana Grande.
The R&B singer, who is currently in a Virginia jail awaiting trial for an assault charge, has collaborated with the young star on new song 'Don't Be Gone Too Long' and his representatives have posted a black and white clip of a new promo, lasting three minutes and 25 seconds on his Twitter account.
It shows the 24-year-old star performing a freestyle dance routine with a spotlight on him while Ariana's voice can be heard.
The 20-year-old beauty doesn't appear until later on in the video in a shot similar to a movie poster, which shows her embracing the 'Fine China' singer.
The song's release has been pushed back a number of times while Chris dealt with court appearances.
Ariana previously tweeted: "My brain hurts, so much happens in a day lol. I'm going to be just as surprised as you guys for these next few days. expect the unexpected. (sic)"
Responding to a question about the release from a fan, she also wrote: "I get a call that the song was pushed back... then I get a call that it isn't... gonna take the back seat with this one. (sic)"
Meanwhile, Chris stands accused of breaking Parker Adams' nose when he tried to insert himself in a photograph the singer was taking with two female fans outside the W Hotel in Washington D.C. last October.

Anthony Mackie says little girls "deserve" a Wonder Woman movie.
The Hollywood hunk has called for a film to be made about the iconic female superhero regardless of budget needed to do so, because she would make a good role model.
Mackie told geekdad.com: "Scarlett [Johansson] does great representation of [Black Widow] for all the other girls, but there should be a Wonder Woman movie.
"I don't care if they make 20 bucks, if there's a movie you're gonna lose money on, make it Wonder Woman. You know what I mean, because little girls deserve that.
"There's so many of these little people out here doing awful things for money in the world of being famous. And little girls see that. They should have the opposite spectrum of that to look up to."
Meanwhile, Mackie hits the big screen in 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' and was overcome with emotion when he landed the role of The Falcon.
The 35-year-old actor gushed: "When I first got this [Captain America] role I just cried like a baby because I was like, 'Wow, next Halloween, I'm gonna open the door and there's gonna be a little kid dressed as the Falcon', that's the thing that always gets me. I feel like everybody deserves that."

Helen Mirren is in talks for 'Trumbo.' The 'RED 2' actress is negotiating a role to star opposite Bryan Cranston in the biopic which is based on the life of the late blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, according to Variety.com. The American scree...

'Emmerdale' star Verity Rushworth has teased there will be more "twists and turns" for her character Donna Dingle.
Viewers were left stunned last week when the feisty policewoman admitted she was dying from a rare form of lung cancer and, although she's determined to hide the secret about her illness from the rest of the village, Verity admits it's set to get more "dramatic" before her death.
The 28-year-old actress, who left the soap in 2009 before returning last month, told The Sun newspaper: "It is very definite, but I couldn't say no to such an amazing and challenging storyline. It feels right. I played Donna for 12 years and it is closure. It's going to be so draining and challenging and then it gets much more dramatic. There are more twists and turns and gear-changes after this."
Donna knows she needs to tell her friends and family about her lung cancer - known as mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure - but she doesn't want to upset her young daughter April.
Verity explained: "Donna knows she has to tell her family, but she doesn't want to upset everyone and dreads telling April. She wants to keep normality for as long as possible and she doesn't know how long she's got. As soon as people know, she will be 'Donna who is ill', and she hates the idea of April knowing."
Meanwhile, fans need to brace themselves for some heartbreaking episodes coming up as Donna begins to put together a memory box for April for when she's older.
Verity said: "She fills it with the perfume she wears, money for uni and a deposit, photos and videos, birthday cards until she is 21 -- scenes that are so sad. She's in a terrible situation."

Lauren Pope has created a one-off motorcycle helmet to raise money for Breast Cancer Care.
The 'Only Way is Essex' star-turned-DJ has teamed up with a number of UK leading artists - including Tim Rockins and Sarah Maple - for the Helmets for Heroines Auction.
Lauren, who has supported Breast Cancer Care in the past, said: "Helmets for Heroines is a fantastic campaign to be a part of, I've created my own DJ-inspired motorcycle helmet with a Lauren Pope twist. I'm hoping it raises lots of money for charity as it's such a great cause - Breast Cancer Care provide expert support and information for those affected by breast cancer".
The auction, which was created by The Gabriel Hounds, a group of motorbike fanatics and friends, will be launched by a parade of over 200 motorbikes that will ride through central London.
Ludovic Robert, from The Gabriel Hounds, said: "All the artists have created amazing works and we hope to raise as much money as possible for Breast Cancer Care. We are proud to rally the motorcycle and art community together to create a truly special event."
The auction will be held on the April 25, with a selection of helmets available to online bidders via the Helmets for Heroines website.