Hilary Duff couldn't get her "feet to touch the ground" for a "solid year" after having her third child

And the 37-year-old actress has recalled being ill-informed that parenting would get easier once she had her third child.

She told Us Weekly magazine: "People lied to me and said that when you get to three, once you get past two to three is easy.

"Three sent me for a loop. I could not get my feet to touch the ground for a solid year."

After several months of getting to grips with having four young children, Hilary has learned that it's impossible to keep everyone happy all the time.

Hilary continued: "It's taken me having four kids to realise that I can't control everybody's happiness and I can't be constantly the cruise director of everything.

"I try my hardest, but it's been a really nice practice to just say no a little bit more."

Hilary noted how third child Mae has to "run everything".

She said: "She is a wild woman, but she has her own ideas."

However, it wasn't enough to put her off extending her brood.

She said: "And then we obviously liked her enough to go for number four

"And [it] felt like there was space, and I'm not sure there is, but we're figuring it out."

Hilary also revealed she sometimes turns to Meta AI to assist her when she is feeling overwhelmed.

She said of the AI-powered personal assistant: "The burden is heavy for the moms. I wake up in the middle of the night like, 'Oh, I have these things I didn't handle, and just driving when you shouldn't be using your phone. And of course, that's when all the wheels are turning. So I'm getting slowly but surely prepared and definitely excited. I love the holiday season so much, but being an adult now and making it magical for so many people is just so much.

"So I have been utilising Meta AI and it's been incredible because it's like a thought partner. It's just something that you can rattle your thoughts off with, and it comes with ideas that maybe feel a little stale to me."