Jaime King Shares How 'Everything Takes on a New Meaning' After Son's Birth
May 8, 2014 — -- Jaime King's entire life changed for the better last October when she welcomed her baby boy James.
The model and actress told ABC News "this baby was a long time in the making and I feel like the universe put a little extra magic dust in him. He's like the happiest, most joyful, social and loving child."
In fact, King said she and her husband Kyle Newman tried for four years to get pregnant, so "everything takes on a new meaning" when her little guy's smiling face entered the world.
When the "Hart of Dixie" actress, 35, was finally able to get pregnant, all that mattered was its health.
As a model, King admitted "there's definitely an identity crisis you go through, but it took a long time to get pregnant, for me the baby was such a blessing that the most important thing for me was that I was active ... I was never obsessive about dieting or exercise. I didn't care how much I gained. I just wanted to make sure he was healthy."
Since James was born seven months ago, King went back to work just weeks later and "he's been on set with me every single day, always laughing and giggling and happy. He does a really good job of sleeping through the night, he's just an awesome child ... I'm always trying to set up a way he can be with me, that's why I bring him to set with me, I want him to know his mother's with him, because that's the way I was raised."
Read: Jaime King, Kyle Newman Welcome a Son (Photo)
It's that kind of amazing bond with her child that has also affected the causes King champions.
Recently she partnered with Toms shoes for their "One Day Without Shoes" at the end of April.
"Toms [was] asking people to go barefoot to bring awareness to children's health and education needs," she said.
As a new mom, this cause hits close to home.
"If children don't have shoes, there's obviously so many diseases that they can catch," she added. "In an industry where everything is so self-centered, there's just something after having a child where anything in relation to helping other children that's my top priority. I want to be a good example for him."
As an actress, King has turned to her friends also in the industry on what to do in her very unique situation.
"My No. 1 is Jessica Alba, she is one of my best friends and his godmother," she said. "She's just a shining example of someone who's not just an incredible mother, balancing work and motherhood, but also what she does with her company Honest. I really feel like I'd be lost if I didn't have her in those moments to call like simple things 'How do I travel?' ... 'How do I deal with the hotel rooms?' 'How do I deal with him onset?' ... 'How do you breastfeed at the same time as shooting?'"
She continued, "When you don't have a normal maternity leave, if I didn't have someone like Jess or January Jones, who's also a mom. Drew Barrymore, there's several new moms out there in my industry."
But King stresses that no matter what industry women work in - banking, accounting, etc. - there are pressures that are unique to them after the baby is born, including getting back to work.
