Goddess: Celebrity Moms and DadsAmy Adams Gears Up for Her First Xmas As a Mom
In the latest issue of Parade, Amy Adams, 36, talks about her new movie, "The Fighter," and how she plans on celebrating her first holiday season as a mom with fiance Darren Le Gallo and their new baby daughter, Aviana. Check out highlights from her interview below:
On her childhood Christmas memories.
"There was always a lot of energy around my house during the holidays growing up -- a lot of food, a lot of football. The whole season has a magical feeling for me that I don't think ever goes away."
She's also looking forward to starting some new traditions.
"Just little things, like a certain candy in a certain dish. I find that it's the simple things that remind you of family around the holidays."
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Adams realized she was starting her own family one morning when she tugged at her refrigerator door.
"I saw almond milk in the fridge -- Darren drinks it, but I'd never tasted it -- and it triggered an animal response. I was like, 'I need that,' and I drank the entire carton in 10 minutes. I looked at Darren and said, 'I think ... yeah, I'm pregnant.'"
She describes the months that followed as one of the most liberating periods of her life.
"Being pregnant finally helped me understand what my true relationship was with my body -- meaning that it wasn't put on this earth to look good in a swimsuit. I was like, 'Look, I can carry a baby! I'm gaining weight right, everything's going well.' And I've had that relationship ever since."
She wasn't stressing about losing her baby weight.
"I've been working out when I can, and I'm trying to eat in a healthful way, but losing weight is not my number-one priority. It's part of my job to return to some semblance of what I was before. But I don't feel I've ever made my career on my rockin' bod."
Her role in "The Fighter" required her to wear short shorts and a crop top for the bar scenes and lingerie in the bedroom with Mark Wahlberg.
"David [director David O. Russell] said, 'This is kind of how we see her dressing. And I said, 'I'm getting in a gym, 'cause there's no way I'm going to end up not looking my best.'"
But Russell KO'd that impulse, telling her he didn't want her to look like an actress who'd gotten in shape for a role.
"He said, 'I want you to look like a girl who drinks beer.'"
Adams' discovery that she was pregnant, just as she finished filming The Fighter, brought back memories of her role as an expectant mother in "Junebug" -- not all of them pleasant.
"Because of how that film ended [with a delivery-room stillbirth], a lot of women have talked to me about their own similar experiences and how much that character touched them. But having played somebody who went through that, I was terrified."
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To combat her anxiety, she threw herself into research.
"That's how I prepare for anything -- I read whatever I can get my hands on, talk to people. I'm a bit of a nerd like that."
She took birthing classes with Le Gallo, who provided the support she needed for a natural, drug-free delivery.
"He was really calm."
The couple, who met in acting class, have been together nine years, but the birth of their daughter has deepened their relationship.
"Now we understand the importance of teamwork. And if we have a disagreement, we work toward a solution."
She's been learning to focus on the moment and not be too hard on herself.
"The best advice I've gotten as a parent is, 'You're not gonna be perfect. Take today -- she's teething and I want to be in there with her. But I also want to do a good job here for everybody who worked on the film. I actually love my work more now, 'cause I feel if I'm going to be away from her, I'd better enjoy it. I'm trying to be more present in each moment of my life. She's taught me that."
