Mercedes “MJ” Javidcouldn’t be happier with just a few weeks to go until she becomes a mother, and she’s not shying away from the public despite the “mommy-shaming” she is already enduring.
“A lot of people on social [media] have already come at me for faking my pregnancy,” she says, giving examples: “My face doesn’t look pregnant, my nose doesn’t look swollen, mybump isn’t big enough, I am using a surrogate, I am making this up for attention.”
Despite these accusations, the mom-to-be isn’t interested in letting the negative public opinions get to her.
“I don’t mind the shaming, I just think it’s very odd that so many people would think a woman would make a choice to lie about something so important,” she explains. “I thinkif I get mom shamed, I’m notgoing to care … if anyone wants to mom shame or bully someone in general, they should bully me because I won’t be affected.”
Shannon Laurine
Javid discovered she was expecting her first child in August via in vitro fertilization, after difficulties in getting pregnant for some time.
“When you do IVF, you take progesterone shots and medication for almost a month leading up to your [embryo] transfer. You arebasically pumping yourself up with hormones,” she recalls. “That made me gain weight, it made me very moody, it made me feel not my usual self. It is something people don’t know, or maybe they don’t talk about.”
Javid hit a hiccup earlier in the summer when doctors discovered polyps in her uterine lining; they had to first remove them before they could do an embryo transfer. She then had a little bit of “down time” before going on medication again. Doctors finally transferred the embryo on Aug. 23 — and it stuck.
“We had that grueling 10-day waiting period when you’ve done the transferbut you don’t know if it worked, and you just have to wait until you are 10 days in so it will show up on a blood test,” the star tells PEOPLE. “We basically just hung out, stayed super calm and positive and laughed a lot and waited until we went in and got the blood test and urine test.”
And when the news was positive? “That moment was just surreal,” Javid says. “It was the blessing we had been praying for. It was just the beginning of, ‘Finally, thank God.'”
Along with pregnancy struggles, the Bravo star also faced a family tragedy last year: her father’s death.
Javid is planning to keep his legacy alive through lessons she’ll teach her child.
But “I’m going to make it a win-win for both of us,” the star continues. “I am going to make sure Tommy is happy, andI want it to be a name that isculturally acknowledging his Irish side and my Persian side. I want it to be a name that will be beneficial for someone to have throughout their life, because it is part of your identity.”
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)=
Throughout her pregnancy, Javid has gotten support from friends and family, as well as her fellowShahs of Sunsetcast members and new dadAndy Cohen.
“He has been really sweet. We chat on DM and he has been great,” she says of theWatch What Happens Livehost, 50, who welcomed sonBenjamin Allenvia surrogate on Feb. 4.
“The most supportive of the cast is Reza [Farahan],” Javid adds. “He visits me all the time.Destiney [Rose]has been really sweet bringing me these sweet little care packages over.”
“Nema [Vand]is awesome. He takes care of the FOMO department because he’ll bring me all of his drama and events he goes to, and I get to playDr. Philwith his dating life, so we are always in touch,” she jokes. “He makes me feel like I am still going out and still in the fray of L.A. life.”
Greg Doherty/Getty Images
“The thing I am most afraid of is that the fact that I am responsible for this little creature 24 hours, seven days a week,” she says. “Being a new mom will be nerve-racking. I am going to be worried that I am doing everything little thing right andworried I’m doing everything wrong.”
“I am most excited to fall in love on a different level and [for] motherhood and something that Tommy and I have created together,” Javid reveals. “I am most excited to experience something that apparently you cannot feel unless you experience it.”
For more from Mercedes “MJ” Javid, pick up the latest issue ofPEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
source: people.com
