Liv Tyler talks pregnancy, career – and flossing! – in SELF

For the June issue of SELF, Liv Tyler graces the cover and a photospread inside. Opening up on a number of topics, the 30-year-old actress discussed pregnancy, why she and estranged husband Royston Langdon chose a delivery surprise, raising son Milo William, 3, and advice she got from her own celebrity father, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.

Click below for the interview highlights.

On pregnancy:

I loved being pregnant so much, and experiencing a child growing inyour body just gives you such a newfound respect for the human body.It’s just fascinating. It gives you this sense and this feeling oftimelessness, this sort of evolution of man and what a miracle it isthat you get pregnant at all. It’s not like you take a special pill andthis pill makes the baby grow. The baby just grows, without your evendoing anything but breathing and sleeping and eating. That is anamazing feeling. You feel so proud of your body.

On choosing not to find out the sex:

We didn’t find out ifMilo was a girl or a boy. At first I think I wanted to find out but Roy didn’t want to and I’m really grateful that we didn’t, because there’ssuch a beauty in the mystery, in the awe of not knowing. It’s thegreatest surprise ever.

On parenting a boy:

Milo lovesanimals. And I want to teach him to feel strong and manly and…youknow! It’s funny, it’s like, wow, I have a son. This is myresponsibility now, to teach him how to be a man. I feel like thedynamic between gender — male and female — has changed so much and I wantto help teach him how to be able to do everything. To cook and sew andalso mow the lawn and chop down trees. I want him to learn and knoweverything.

On the balance between work and home:

It’s hard as a woman to be working so much all the time and out inthe world and then also really wanting to be a mother and wanting to doall those things around the house for your child. It’s reallyoverwhelming, especially when your child is young.   

My dream my wholelife was to be a mother, not to have a career or be famous. I love myjob and care a lot about what I do and I get a lot of pleasure fromacting, but I want to be able to be home and be [Milo's] mother. Idon’t want somebody else raising him. 

On the best environment for Milo:

I’ve been obsessed with real estate. I really want to live in thecountry, so I was trying to think of a way that I could move to thecountry full time and have a crash pad here in New York. But it’s notrealistic. So now I’ve decided to stay in my house and get a house inthe country. It took me years to come to that conclusion. I had toomany options almost. I know that sounds so boring!

I want the bestenvironment for Milo. I really cherish the years that I had growing upin Maine and just being in nature and having that feeling of being freeand making up your own games and stories and playing by yourself in thegrass and in the woods. You don’t get that in New York.

How she copes with stress:

[By] either calling a friend to yap, like, "Oh my God, blahblah blah," Or just being with Milo. Whenever I’m stressed out aboutanything and I walk in the door and I see his face and he’s like"Mommy!" And he runs into my arms. And I like turning my phone off andjust being really present in the moment with him. Taking a bubblebath. Or playing with toys and getting lost in their world. Createstories.

On her best tip from her father, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler:

I floss every day. My dad taught me to floss when I was reallyyoung. He was like, "Smell the floss" after I flossed. Ugh, it was themost disgusting thing! Seriously, if you try it, you’ll never not flossagain!

Source: SELF, June issue; Photo by Flynet.