Eva Mendes is basking in baby bliss!
The new mom opens up about motherhood for the first time in Violet Grey's digital magazine, The Violet Files (via People), where she reveals how she and Ryan Gosling came up with their daughter's name, Esmeralda Amada.
"Ryan and I both love the Esmeralda character from the Victor Hugo novel, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' and we just think it's a beautiful name," she tells the publication. "Amada was my grandmother's name. It means 'beloved' in Spanish."
While the 40-year-old actress is loving life as a mother, her baby girl has had a tough time adjusting to life outside the womb.
"Everything is a struggle for her," Mendes jokes. "For instance, I haven't thrown up since the '90s and she's thrown up twice since we started this interview."
"Motherhood is cake compared to what it's like to be a baby," she adds.
Eva and Ryan also are committed to keeping their daughter's life private, to give her the space she needs to grow up.
"Whether we like it or not, privacy is going to be very difficult for Esmeralda. I think it's unfair, but that's our reality," she explains. "Ryan and I decided early on to give her as much privacy as we could. And my pregnancy was the first opportunity to give her that."
What do you think of Eva's candid comments ... and her little one's unusual name? Sound off below!
