Behold the power of moms. There were so many happy tears, hugs, kisses and spontaneous exclamations of delight in the TODAY studio, that the joyous surprise reunions between the TODAY anchors and their moms temporarily took over the show.
“This is the craziest thing ever,” Carson Daly said. But in a good way!
For the past few weeks, we’ve been asking you to tell us how your life changed after becoming a mom or dad. You can share your own stories with the TODAY Parenting Team community.
Related: Share your stories and photos with the TODAY Parenting Team
And as part of TODAY'S "Mom's the Word" series celebrating Mother's Day with wonderful surprises, the TODAY anchors had a chance to be astonished, too, on Friday.
Related: Military dad surprises spouse who battled cancer while pregnant for Mother's Day
First, Savannah Guthrie, Natalie Morales, Kathie Lee Gifford, Sheinelle Jones and Jenna Bush Hager shared how their lives changed after becoming moms.
Related: See TODAY's complete Guide to Mother's Day
“There are those moments where you think, all right I'm officially a mom. When I find my toothbrush in my shoe, I know, OK, there's a new person who has moved in and she is running the place,” Savannah said.
“So you know the little things don’t matter. Laughter matters, love matters and being together,” Jenna noted.
“Biggest surprise? No sleep for ever more. No, the biggest surprise I think was how naturally I took to it,” Natalie said.
“I can't imagine my life without my children,” Kathie Lee added.
Love
“When they get here and you lay eyes on that little boy or that little girl, it's like you didn't realize that your heart could love so much,” Sheinelle said.
“It’s like finding your innocence again. It's discovering this whole new dimension to love. She is my everything,” Savannah explained.
“When I had my kids in my arms it was like: this is what I was meant to do,” Natalie recalled.
Joy
“The part of that that no one explains is how whatever you lost of your old life is so far exceeded by the absolute joy of your new life with this child,” Savannah said.
“The greatest joy for me as a parent has been watching my children love each other and care for each other,” Kathie Lee noted.
“The biggest change is the joy. We laugh at everything as a family. There's so much more to laugh at,” Jenna said.
Weekends
“I'll probably never sleep in till 9 a.m. again and I don't really mind because I can't wait to wake up with her,” Savannah said.
“Weekends aren’t quite as wild as they used to be, they're still wild but they’re wild in a very different way,” Jenna said.
Advice to new moms
“We go through the same things, we have our ups and downs and we're a team, you kind of need to help prop each other up,” Natalie explained.
“You can't do it all. As much as you want to do it all, you have to ask for help,” Sheinelle advised.
“I think I would give a warning about the mom guilt because it is real. It’s real if you work, it’s real if you don’t work; it’s real if you travel for work, it’s real if you don't travel for work; it’s real if you’re living your dream or if you’re not,” Jenna said.
Message from mom
Joan Epstein, Kathie Lee’s mom: “When I watched Kathie become a mom, you relate to her joy and I asked her, 'Now how are you going to raise them, honey?' and she said 'I'm going to raise my children the way you and dad raised me, mom.' Now, I thought that was kind of nice to say to me.
Kathie Lee: “I love you, mommy. Her nickname was Cuddles. I call her every morning at 9 o'clock right before we're ready to get on the air. She's still so beautiful, isn't she?”
Nancy Guthrie, Savannah’s mom: “You know Savannah, I'm so proud of everything you've accomplished in life. And nothing delights my soul more than watching you with your little girl Vale.”
Savannah: “Well, now you know why she's the perfect mom. She really is. And you know just watching her taught me everything I needed to know about being a mom.”
Sheila Kinnard, Sheinelle’s mom: “In the words of Maya Angelou, you are phenomenal. You are a phenomenal mother. Yes, you are.”
Sheinelle: “How sweet is that. Oh my gosh, I'm going to lose a lash. That is so sweet. I look at this and I realize that's why I am the way I am.”
Laura Bush, Jenna’s mom: “Your dad and I have loved watching you mother our grandchildren, Mila and Poppy Louise. You're a fabulous mother and we're proud of you.”
Jenna: “I learned from the best. I learned that kindness is the most important thing and that also, I mean even when she was first lady of the United States, Barb and I always felt like we were her first priority and she showed us unconditional love.”
Penelope Morales, Natalie’s mom: “Natalie, happy Mother's Day. You make me so proud. You grew into an amazing woman and a mother. The first time I saw you with Josh, it warmed my heart.”
Natalie: “This is the sweetest thing! That's the ultimate compliment. That's the best compliment because that's how I see my mom. She is the kind, gentle person and that's all I ever wanted to be -- just to emulate the kind of mom that I have. So, so thank you mom. Happy Mother's Day.”
Surprise!
TODAY picked some special moms from the plaza to join the TODAY anchors for a Mother’s Day brunch — or at least that’s what the anchors were told.
When Savannah Guthrie began calling their names, starting with “Sheila from Kansas,” it turned out the "winners" were the anchors’ moms (and Al Roker was joined by his sister, who he said looks just like his mom, which he later clarified was a compliment!). There were hugs, tears and shrieks all around, with the happy chaos temporarily taking over the show.
Carson Daly then rushed over to the Orange Room — with his mom, of course — to share stories from TODAY Parenting Team contributors of how their lives changes when they became parents.
Happy Mother's Day!