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Journalism of Courage
You say in your book that 8216;8216;my daughter8217;s poop was an endless, very live volcano erupting without warning.8217;8217; What8217;s your worst poop story?
I had guests coming over one evening when Maia now three, was about four months old. I had just bathed her and was putting her diaper on, when she struck me with a lightning rod of poop, which sprayed all over the walls and lampshade. It was horrific. I had exactly two minutes to get her back into the bath and clean up before my guests arrived. It was like her insides were just a clear channel. Every-thing was in and out in two minutes.
You had celebrity moms Karisma Kapoor and Priyanka Vadhera at the book launch. Did they relate to your writing?
Karisma said the book read her mind and tapped all the emotions she went through as a mother. Priyanka8217;s a great friend and she8217;s constantly regaling me with funny stories about her two children, who are full of beans.
Describe pregnancy in one word.
I can8217;t use one word. It8217;s a swollen confusion of beatific experiences.
Motherhood?
A adventure that never ends.
You say perfect strangers came up to touch your belly. How did you react?
I was amazed at how a pregnant woman loses her sense of space8212;people just trespass into it. They think a jutting belly is theirs to touch. I used to do it, and I8217;ve seen my husband do it to other women. There8217;s something about a pregnant belly that8217;s just deliciously inviting. I was quite taken aback to see the frequency at which this happens. It8217;s a universally shared phenomenon.
Do you think people change around pregnant women?
I think so. At my previous workplace a senior citizen8217;s charity in the Bronx, three of my colleagues were pregnant at the same time I was. Our usually stoic and unapproachable boss transformed into this effusive, gushing dad. He8217;d reminisce about his days of changing diapers and teething problems. It was really sweet.
Could you try and describe labour?
It8217;s unbelievably excruciating and torturous. It8217;s something you just can8217;t prepare for. I used to meditate and run, thinking I was prepared for it. I ended up in labour for 10 hours, after which I had to have a C-section. It was terrible.
What8217;s your body like post-Maia?
After pregnancy, the skin loses its firmness; it becomes this rubbery, elastic, kind of gooey structure that you have to recreate with muscle. Breasts lose their shape when you8217;re feeding, you have wrinkles and dark circles, and hair that was once plush falls out in clumps. Almost three years later, I think my body8217;s coming back, but it8217;s just never the same.
