“Parenting is a series of shifting and a series of letting go and a series of having to be agile,” Gwyneth explained. “I felt like every time I had one idea of parenting like, ‘Oh, I’m comfortable with this now,’ then they’d be out of diapers or they go into the next phase. There has to be an agility around how you approach it.”

One of the biggest lessons she has learned in her role as a mom, though, is the value of maintaining your own identity.

“I learned it’s important, as a woman, not to totally forget or abandon yourself when you become a mother,” she shared. “It’s so all-encompassing and so beautiful to have children and to surrender to that.”

The Shakespeare in Love actress added, “It’s important to remember that you have an inner life and you have your own values and priorities because they do go off. It’s hard to imagine when they’re little that they will, but they do. It’s important to have built that relationship with yourself along the way.”

Read on for a look back at Gwyneth’s cutest pics with her and Chris’ kids.

—Reporting by Emily Curl