Jenna Bush Hager will be the new co-host of 'Today's' fourth hour alongside Hoda Kotb
Jenna Bush Hager will be the new co-host of 'Today's' Fourth Hour alongside Hoda Kotb beginning in April, when Kathie Lee Gifford leaves the morning show.
After announcing in April that she had adopted a second child, Hoda Kotb has now revealed how quickly her life has changed as a mother of two.
“I just can’t believe how in a blink, life changes, and all of a sudden there are two babies in this house. I’m just overwhelmed with joy,” the 54-year-old “Today” show co-anchor told People.
Kotb adopted a baby girl named Hope Catherine in early April and told her morning show colleagues about it in a phone call on April 16. Kotb adopted now 2-year-old Haley Joy in 2017.
HODA KOTB SHARES FAMILY PHOTO WITH NEWLY ADOPTED DAUGHTER HOPE
Between the adoption of Haley and Hope, Kotb told People she forgot “everything.”
“I was like, ‘How do you hold the baby? How do you feed a baby? How do you swaddle?’ I was Googling swaddling and — you’re not going to believe this — how to put on pajamas,” she told the outlet.
She admitted having two babies can be overwhelming, but she’s learned to let go of trying to fix everything immediately.
“I was always like, ‘I have to fix it! Here I come.’ Now I’m just like, ‘Haley’s safe. She’s good. The baby’s going to eat in a minute. She’ll be OK,’” she explained.
“I just can’t believe how in a blink, life changes, and all of a sudden there are two babies in this house. I’m just overwhelmed with joy."
A battle with breast cancer 10 years ago left Kotb unable to conceive and her two-year marriage to tennis coach Burzis Kanga fell apart a year after her recovery. The news anchor had all but given up on having a child.
"One of the things in my life I've always wanted was to be a mom," Kotb told People in 2017. "Sometimes in your life, things just don't work out for whatever reason, so you say, 'Well, I wasn't meant to have that.' But it was really hard to come to terms with it."
JENNA BUSH HAGER ANNOUNCES THIRD PREGNANCY: ‘I DON’T KNOW HOW I HID THIS’
But then one day, Kotb decided she was going to be a mother. She asked her boyfriend Joel Schiffman, 61, if he was open to adopting a baby and he was onboard immediately.
Kotb finally brought her newborn daughter home in February 2017. Haley Joy was born on Valentine's Day.
“I felt like, before Haley came, I’d had an average life.” Kotb told People this week. “She stepped in it, my heart exploded. And then, all of a sudden, this little girl Hope steps in and you realize how much room there is in there.”
“You think you’re topped out. But your heart’s ability to expand blows my mind,” she added.
On Easter Sunday, Kotb shared an adorable family photo of her two daughters and her boyfriend.
“This is us,” Kotb wrote in a simple, yet reflective caption about her family.
Fox News’ Sasha Savitsky, Andy Sahadeo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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