Jeri Ryan Cries Over Ending Maternity Leave

Elizabeth Messina for PEOPLE for use on CBB

She put her acting on hold for a year so she could be at home with her new daughter, Gisele Lynn — and Jeri Ryan lost her pregnancy weight. But now that she is back to work, for a role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the actress calls the adjustment “rough.” “I cried,” Jeri, 41, admitted about the first time she left day Gisele in Los Angeles to go to work on the NBC show in New York. “It was especially hard since I’ve been with her nonstop since she was born.”

The actress, who’ll play “ball-busting” attorney Parice Larue in the episode to air April 7th, terms her time as a stay-at-home mom as idyllic. “Gisele loves to be outdoors, and we garden together,” says Ryan, whose vegetable garden includes broccoli, cabbage and carrots. “She’s a great eater. Any green vegetable, she’ll go to town on. She has a very adventurous palate.”

And after gaining 28 lbs. during her pregnancy, Jeri is also back in shape. “It took me 10 months to get back to normal,” says the actress, whose exercise regime consists of Pilates three times a week. “It was a little frustrating, but I realize it’s harder to take the weight off when you’re 40.”

Jeri will reprise her SVU role this fall, and she looks forward to bringing her family with her to New York. “I loved my year off,” says Jeri, who is married to chef Christopher Emé and has son Alex, 14, from a previous relationship.

“I milked [my maternity leave] for as long as anyone could milk it!” she says. “Now it’s time to go back to work.”

Source: PEOPLE

– Ulrica Wihlborg