2015 fascinating mom: Amanda Booth

s the second oldest in a household of seven children, Amanda Booth grew up nurturing her maternal instinct. “I’ve always been the mother of the group,” she says, “and I always knew I wanted a baby of my own.” So naturally, after a couple months of trying, Booth was ecstatic to find out she was pregnant. “I told my sister first,” she says, “because I wanted to tell my husband, Mike, in a fun way.” (She ended up leaving a note on the kitchen dry erase board that read, “Do you think it’s a boy or girl?” and put the test beside it, so Mike would see both when he went to get his morning coffee.)

As a model and actress, Booth’s changing body factored into every job she landed during her expectant months, and she spent most of the time doing maternity shoots. (In fact, she was the cover and fashion model for Pregnancy & Newborn’s September 2014 issue!) Fortunately, though, the mom-to-be didn’t mind: “I loved doing shoots after having two breakfasts. The bigger the belly, the better!”

Now that her baby is here, Booth assures she hasn’t felt any pressure to get back to her prebaby body right away. “The agencies and managers have been so patient and kind. I honestly haven’t thought about it at all.” Plus, she adds, “It helps that the weight is melting off. I think once you see your belly so big, anything less seems like progress.”

Although she’s taken a couple jobs since her son, Micah, was born, Booth has also taken advantage of the flexibility that freelancing offers. She treasures the ability to shape her own schedule and spend extra time with her baby boy, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome at 3 months old.

“It was suggested [that he might have Down syndrome] soon after he was born, but the very few markers Micah had also could have resulted from intrauterine growth restriction, or IUGR,” Booth explains. “Our pediatrician didn’t think it was a major concern at the time, so we waited to test.”

Because he was developing so well and seemed to be quite strong, Booth and her husband were surprised when their doctor came to their home to deliver the news. “I shed tears, of course,” recalls Booth, “but I quickly realized that I already knew my son and that a number on a piece of paper would not ever change who he already was in my mind.” Being Micah’s mom has made Booth grow thicker skin, a stronger backbone and bigger throbbing heart, but so far, she says, his diagnosis hasn’t presented any exceptional challenges. “He’s our firstborn, so we’ve been treating him like we would have treated any other baby … and we plan to continue to do just that.”

Booth looks forward to getting back in front of the camera regularly at some point—“I enjoy work and definitely can’t wait to balance the two”—but for now, she has little inclination to do anything more than hang out with her new love. “I thought I would count down the days [to going back to work],” she says, “but my heart is already where it needs to be.”

Name: Amanda Booth
Age: 28
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Occupation: Model and actress
Children: Micah (9 months)
Favorite thing to watch on Netflix: “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
Strangest pregnancy craving: Kale and vinegar
On her bucket list: Star alongside Leslie Mann in a movie