Elizabeth Hendrickson on motherhood: "It's the best, hardest job you'll ever have"

The Young and the Restless' Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe Mitchell) talks about giving birth during the coronavirus pandemic and how she's handling her new role as mom.

Elizabeth Hendrickson knows a thing or two about bringing a baby into the world, having given birth twice on-screen as The Young and the Restless' Chloe Mitchell. Well, at least she thought she knew all about it -- until she had to go through the experience in real life!

The actress gave birth to her daughter, Josephine James, on March 27, and jokes to Watch! magazine that it was nothing like what Chloe went through.

"I've been pregnant on the show a couple times and it was wonderful to not have to PLAY pregnant, but just BE pregnant... and then realize that you were playing it all wrong, the whole time!" she says with a laugh. "When I was in the throes of active labor and in the most excruciating pain in my life, I looked at the nurse and said, 'I've done this on my show two times... and I just feel like I'm a horrible actress!'"

Fortunately, she'll get the chance to right her past "wrongs" because, as soon as the show gets up and running again, Chloe will give birth to her third child.

"I am so looking forward to getting to shoot what delivering was really like, whenever that happens," Hendrickson says. "Although now, I just remember all the amazing, incredible parts. I've blocked out that couple hours of excruciating pain!"

As fans know, the actress gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was an incredibly scary experience for her and her family -- especially because her costar Greg Rikaart (Kevin Fisher) began feeling symptoms of the virus the day after they last shot scenes together and later tested positive for the virus. Hendrickson had to go through a 14-day quarantine and would have been forced to give birth alone had the baby decided to come during that time. Luckily, the baby "listened to her mother for the first time and didn't come," and Hendrickson and her husband, Rob Meder, decided to induce labor the day after her quarantine was over.

As for what it feels like to be a mother, Hendrickson says, "It's kind of everything I expected it to be and more. It's like the greatest love you'll ever have... and there are such challenges. Some days are so hard, and then some days are just easier. It's like the best, hardest job you'll ever have. The crazy thing is that it is flying by. I didn't expect it to be going by so fast. Everybody keeps saying in the blink of an eye, she'll be 16."

She continues, "I was so scared... and now, I'm just so thankful that this has been one of the most beautiful experiences. It's really given me a lot of time to just quiet my mind, be with my family, and be appreciative of my health. My heart goes out to those who are on the frontlines, those who are sick and mothers that are being separated from their babies."

For more from Hendrickson on becoming a mother, check out her full Watch! interview here.

Hendrickson originally joined the soap world in 2001, when she landed the role of All My Children's Frankie Stone. When Frankie was killed off later that year, negative fan response prompted the ABC soap to bring Hendrickson back as the character's twin sister, Maggie Stone. The actress played that role until 2005 and returned for a short stint that spanned from late 2006 to early 2007. In 2008, she landed the role of Y&R's Chloe and played her until 2014. Hendrickson returned to the show from 2016 to 2017 and again in 2019, and she remains there to this day.

What do you think about Elizabeth Hendrickson's birthing experience? Would you like to leave your congratulations to the actress on the birth of her daughter, Josephine James? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.