Melissa Claire Egan Opens up About Being a First-Time Mom
Almost four months after welcoming her first child, son Caden Robert, and several weeks after resuming work as THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Chelsea, soap veteran Melissa Claire Egan is finding her groove in being a working mom. “I’m obsessed with my son, but it feels good to brush my teeth before noon again and have a reason to shower,” the Y&R star shared in an interview with Soap Opera Digest. “I was definitely anxious about having to learn all of the material again with not a lot of sleep, but the body is an incredible machine. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still tired and need a shot of espresso in the afternoon, but it truly feels good to be back.”
Then, after her workday is done, Egan gets to go home to her husband, TV executive Matt Katrosar, and their adorable little boy — whom she said is “totally” the love of her life. “It’s everything they said it would be,” the actress gushed about being a first-time mom. “Of course, it’s exhausting and I’m definitely tired, but it’s so worth it. I can’t wait to get home to see him. It still feels so surreal that he’s ours. He’s a really good boy and we’re so grateful for him.”
When it came to their son’s name, Egan revealed that she and her husband had arrived at a decision before he was born — but kept it to themselves. “We were already going to use Robert for the middle name because that was Matt’s dad, who passed away a while back,” explained the actress, adding that they wanted their baby’s first name to have alliteration with the family’s surname, Katrosar. “We were looking at all ‘C’ and ‘K’ and even ‘Q’ names.”
One day, Egan’s mom sent her a list of potential names that included Caden — which struck a chord with the parents-to-be. “We both loved the name,” she confessed. “We looked it up and Caden means ‘friend’ in one language and ‘warrior’ in another language. So that’s how we arrived at it.”
Egan began airing again this week following her maternity leave. The actress teases that there is “good soapy stuff” ahead for Chelsea, so stay tuned!
