Mena Suvari Pregnant with First Child at 41

“American Beauty” actress Mena Suvari has a baby on the way!

Suvari, 41, is expecting her first child, a baby boy, with husband Michael Hope.

Suvari told People magazine, “It's still this process for me of believing it and accepting that something this beautiful could happen for me. It's been a very emotional experience. It's very weird finding out — I was like, I can't believe it!"

Of her pregnancy so far, she said, “I've had to learn how to be a different way with my appetite and my sleep habits and not pushing myself, asking for help — all these things are hard for an independent woman!”

While the couple had been trying for a baby, the pregnancy still came as a surprise. She shared, “I was recording my temperature every morning and peeing on these ovulation sticks. You expect that it'll happen and it didn't. I got to this place where I felt overwhelmed and stressed out. I was like, 'I can't do this anymore. I'm so tired of stressing over this.' I was trying to feel like if it's meant, it's meant… By the end of July, I had a couple of other symptoms and I decided to take a test and there it was. It was a huge surprise, an absolute miracle!"

“It was something that we've always wanted, but a couple months before, I had stopped calculating. I pulled back and let go, which apparently they say that that's when it happens,” Mena pointed out.

Mena opened up about trying to conceive in her 40s. She said, "I'm 41 and there's this air of like, I've got one foot in the grave and good luck… Even in my late 30s, I had people questioning me. It put a lot of fear in you. It took a lot of work to really pull back from that and really believe and trust in my own body and where I was at, have my own journey with it."

Suvari also explained how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected her pregnancy. Due to the safety restrictions, Michael was unable to be on hand for her first ultrasound. She recalled, “I remember talking to my doctor and they were like, 'Okay, you have to wear a mask, you have to come alone ... ' I was like, 'Wait a minute, he can't come?' They were like, 'No, sorry.' My husband came home and I told him and we were both so sad.”

Mena is due next spring and has already opted for a home birth with a doula. She explained, “When I thought of what I wanted, [my doula is] like the embodiment of Mother Earth. I was like, 'This is the vibe that I want.' I know none of these things we can control and so much of it changes. We'll find out what the real deal is, but that's my plan and I hope it can go that way."

While she hasn't met her bundle of joy yet, Mena has an idea of parenthood will be like for her. She said, “I've always had this attitude of, I can't wait to get to know them. I just want to be like, 'Who are you? Where do you come from? What do you have to teach me?' I want to give as much as I can and try to communicate as much as possible and be really present."

“But I don't want to be that helicopter parent! I feel like my husband is going to be the cool one and I'm going to be the one that's nervous about everything,” Suvari emphasized.