'Motherhood is a rollercoaster!' Hilary Duff shares her joys and struggles of being first-time mother to baby boy Luca

By Jennifer Pearson

PUBLISHED: 21:57 EST, 12 May 2013 | UPDATED: 21:57 EST, 12 May 2013

She makes it look so easy.

Yet having a new baby hasn't always been smooth sailing even for a multitasking star like Hilary Duff.

Feedings, diaper changes, sleep deprivation and raging hormones are some of the stressful things that the 25-year-old actress has endured in the last year since giving birth to her first child, son Luca, 13 months.

'Capturing sweet moments': Hilary Duff, who shared this picture on her Twitter, recently compared the highs and lows of becoming a first-time mother to being on a rollercoaster

Even though becoming a mother has been the best thing that ever happened to her, Hilary could do without the up-and-down post-pregnancy hormones.

'It's easy to get frustrated and it's easy to blame yourself - especially being sleep-deprived and on a hormonal roller coaster,' Hilary said in an interview with Us Weekly.

'Exhaustion is a good one to start with. You're very sleep-deprived.

'Sometimes you have a crying baby and you can't do anything to get them to stop crying… you feel, as their mom, that you should be able to have all the answers and be able to take care of them so easily.'

Hormones: The 25-year-old actress admits that those post-pregnancy hormones can be a pain to deal with

'But babies don't come with a manual and you don't always know what's going on,' the former Lizzie McGuire star said.

Hilary has joined Johnson's Baby Cares Program, which strives to provide all families with the funding, resources and support they need to care for their babies.

The star is grateful that she has an understanding husband, Mike Comrie, 32, and a selfless mother, Susan, to help her through those rough patches.

'She's been so great -- helping me with the baby, coming over when I need to take a nap or escape for a little bit,' Hilary said of her mother.

Sleepy: Hilary says it's easy to feel frustrated with herself especially when the baby's crying, needing attention and she's sleep-deprived

'My husband is amazing, too. If I want to run out of the house for an hour to go work out or go meet a friend for lunch, I can. I think that's really important.'

Stress aside, Hilary is beside herself with glee whenever Luca goes through a pivotal stage, from getting a new tooth to taking his first steps.

'The whole process has been incredible,' Hilary revealed. 'He started walking right around 11 months and ever since then it's been one thing after another.

'He started walking, he learned how to use a fork. Those are both really big things, you know? He's popping out teeth like it's his job!'

Support system: Whenever she needs a mini-break, Hilary can rely on her understanding husband Mike Comrie or her selfless mother to relieve her of mothering duties

And they keep her from feeling overwhelmed or depressed.

Hilary shared that she and Mike definitely want to expand their brood - but further down the road.

'We don’t really have any plans right now, but I think we’d be happy if it happened and maybe a bit overwhelmed,' Hilary told Us Weekly.

'But it’s not something I’m dying to rush into. I’m enjoying him [Luca] so much, and now that he’s a year, I’m finally getting to have a life again.

Ah, the joys: The Lizzie McGuire star savors those precious baby moments like Luca's first tooth and Luca's first baby steps

'He’ll go down at 7 and then we can go out for dinner or go do something fun and he doesn’t even know we’re gone.'

She further added: 'I think with two kids that would be a little harder. But we also want to do right by him and give him a sibling not too far apart so they have a lot in common and can be really close.'

Hilary and Mike were spotted on Friday taking off on a much-needed getaway - with son Luca, Hilary's sister Haylie and mother Susan.

Hilary recently made a television appearance on CBS' Two And A Half Men, in which she played a 22-year-old called Stacey who enjoys a series of dates with Ashton Kutcher's character Walden.