Everything changed once Mariska Hargitay and hubby Peter Hermann welcomed a second child into their lives.

“It’s a new skill to have two children that want you at the same time,” Mariska tells People.

The Law & Order actress was already a parent to son August, 4½ , when she adopted baby daughter Amaya in April.

“Sometimes…I wanted to rip my hair out,” she admits. “Where I’m like, ‘August! Amaya! August! Amaya!’ You don’t know what to do.”

“So…[it’s my] first time with two-children syndrome and I’m trying to figure it all out. But so far everyone’s been pretty good.”

Mariska is at least confident in the chemistry between her two kids, considering how big brother August has stepped in.

“He is so protective,” she says. “He is a little bit like the gate-keeper of her. He’s been really amazing…so affectionate. He says, ‘I’m going to be her protector.’ And something else. Teacher. Guider and protector. She gets a lot of kisses.”

In the midst of gushing over her kids, Mariska mentions another one of her loves: “I’m so madly in love and married to my show."

But, balancing working and motherhood is no easy task. That’s why Mariska is planning on cutting down some of her working hours, in order to spend more time with her children. “I needed more time with my kids. So I will be working a little bit less and eventually getting a little promotion, so we are going to bring on a new detective.”