Jenna Bush Hager: Being a mom changes everything

Former U.S. First Lady Laura Bush (C) speaks with her daughters Jenna Bush Hager (L) and Barbara Bush as they accept the Woman of the Year award during the 21st annual Glamour Magazine Women of the Year award ceremony in New York November 7, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT POLITICS) - RTR2TQIC

NEW YORK – Former First Daughter Jenna Bush Hager is juggling a lot these days as a mom, wife, contributing correspondent for the Today Show and Editor-At-Large for Southern Living Magazine. FOX411 had a chance to sit down with her for an exclusive one-on-one at the Consumer Product of the Year Awards in New York City where she talked about her famous parents -- former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush,  her famous grandfather -- former President George H. W. Bush, First Lady Michelle Obama and how she does it all.

FOX411: Earlier this week, you sat down with First Lady Michelle Obama for a behind-the-scenes look at the first White House room to get a modern update. What is it like each time you return to the White House?

Jenna Bush Hager: It’s always so much fun when you go back there -- it is an incredible place. I’ve gotten to go back and interview the President and the first lady several times so the fact that I’ve gotten to go back in that capacity at first was a little strange. I didn’t know what entrance to go in, like do I go in the press entrance? I used to hide from that. But it’s really wonderful, and the really cool thing is I get to see all these people that have worked there since when my Grandpa was president, since when I was in first grade, and to see all these people is incredible. It is just great to see these people that I never get to see that I adore.

FOX411: Do any great – or not so great – memories come back to you when you step foot through the doors?

JBH: Yeah, I mean you get a feeling when you walk into it because it is this magnificent sort of historical place and when I was little, we would go when my Granddad was president with all my cousins, and we would mainly just go during the holidays. We would go during Christmas, Thanksgiving and totally decorate it. It’s more of a feeling being there -- memories don’t necessarily come back but this feeling of when I was little how magical we all thought it was.

FOX411: Your daughter, Mila, turns 2 in April. What has motherhood been like so far?

JBH: Being a mom has been fantastic! Time disappears quickly – I can’t even believe it’s been almost two years. Life has definitely changed a lot. I took Mila to Texas last week to visit my parents, and she was up and down on the airplane the entire time and was constantly moving. But it also gets sweeter. She’s so funny, and her personality has totally emerged. She’s hilarious, she’s smart, she’s a nut, but life has definitely changed. You can’t do anything sporadically anymore. Henry and I used to walk out our door and go to dinner in our neighborhood, and now it’s all about paying a babysitter or hanging in and ordering food. It still makes life so sweet. You hear all these clichés like you never know what love is until you have a child, and it’s really true. I have found more joy out of being a mother to Mila, than anything else in my entire life and it makes my life have purpose.

FOX411: How do you maintain balance?

JBH: I was nervous about the balance of all of it because I wanted to continue to work. My husband works, we live in New York City, but I found you can do it, you really can. You have to have a supportive husband and supportive friends and family, but women can seem to have - not all -- but seem to have almost all that they want.

FOX411: Has being a mom made you appreciate your own parents more considering how devoted you are to your own daughter?

JBH: Yes -- I’ve always been really close with my parents … really close with my parents. One thing people probably wouldn’t get about them is that they always wanted my sister and I to form our own opinions and voice them and be curious, independent thinkers, and so I appreciate that. Being a mom has made me realize how much they love me. It definitely makes you realize what your parents have gone through and the type of love that is the crazy, crazy love that it is to be a mother or father.

FOX411: What made you decide to host this year’s Consumer Product of the Year Awards where 40,000 consumers vote to select the winners?

JBH: I’m a new mom, well new-ish. She’s nearly 2. Time goes by fast and I’m a working mom -- I work all the time. I travel, I am taking care of Mila and my husband and so I don’t do much shopping because I don’t have that much time, so I support anything that helps moms in particular find the best products for their babies and newborns -- anything that makes life easier.