Spy Kids actress Alexa PenaVega covers the December/January issue of Fit Pregnancy and Baby and opens up about her first pregnancy with husband, Big Time Rush star Carlos PenaVega.

On her road to pregnancy: “We tried to get pregnant for a good six months without luck. When it’s not working, you think, ‘Is there something wrong with me?’ I struggled with an eating disorder when I was younger. It was a big part of my life, and I was worried that I wasn’t getting pregnant because of some long-term damage from what I’d put my body through. Even though my doctor said I was healthy, I felt so guilty about it. It’s such an emotional ride, and you blame yourself for everything. What brought me peace was my faith in knowing that it would happen when it was supposed to happen.”

On their sex life: “I started using an ovulation kit that gives you a happy face when it’s a good time to try. Carlos was rehearsing for Grease: Live at the time, and I’d text him, ‘Baby, you need to get home now.’ I found there’s such a difference between having sex when you’re trying for a kid and when you aren’t. For us, sex became so much more intimate, beautiful, and passionate when we were trying. Suddenly the realization hits you: ‘Oh my God, we could be starting another life!’ That brought us so much closer. Of course, once I got pregnant, I felt so bad for him, because between the puking and exhaustion, I was just done. Carlos kept saying, ‘I can’t wait for that horny state to kick in.’ He hasn’t read any of the books, but he knew about the horny state! Now, in my third trimester, I’m finally getting riled up again.”

On when she discovered her pregnancy: “After a vacation I took a pregnancy test and then tried not to look at it, because I’d seen so many negative ones already. But this time it said ‘Pregnant.’ I just stared at myself in the mirror, and then I started pacing back and forth. Even though we wanted it for so long, I thought, ‘Oh my God, are we ready?’ Carlos was getting bags out of our car, and I ran outside and called him—not like ‘Babe!’ but more [guttural] like ‘Carlooooos!’ He looked up, and I blurted out, ‘I’m pregnant!’ There was nothing sweet or romantic about it. And he did not believe me. He literally started looking around for cameras.”

On bonding with her growing baby: “Women told me how connected they felt to their baby. I wanted to feel that way too, but I didn’t at first, and it was really getting me down. We’d get the ultrasound pictures, and they just didn’t feel real. I even thought, ‘Could I have prenatal depression?’ But now, at 29 weeks, I finally get it. It wasn’t until I could really feel my son move that I understood what everyone else was talking about.”

On finding out the baby’s gender: “We were so convinced that we were having a girl that we picked out a name and called the baby that. Big mistake. I’d focused on what I thought was a little girl in my tummy, and when the doctor told us it was a boy, I felt a little crushed, like she just disappeared. Of course, now I’m so in love with my son that I’d feel robbed if it were a girl. But I wish I would’ve held off on allowing myself to get attached in the first place.”

On her birth plan: “I’d like to have a natural birth, but I don’t know how I’m going to feel on the actual day. I might get an epidural after five minutes. That’s why I don’t want to have any birth plan set in stone. You never know how your body will react to labor….Carlos will be with me during the delivery. And while we love our families, we’ve already told them that we don’t want any visitors at the hospital. This is our new family and a special moment for my husband and me to share.”

For more from Alexa, go to Fit Pregnancy and Baby…

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