Giada De Laurentiis discusses her surprise pregnancy

TV Chef Giada De Laurentiis, 37, announced last month that she and husband, clothing designer Todd Thompson, are expecting their first child, a daughter, the first week of April.

The mom-to-be sat down with Redbook magazine to discuss her surprise pregnancy.

Click below for interview highlights.

Did your pregnancy come as a surprise?

It was a complete surprise — not planned at all.  It was never that we didn’t want children; it was more like, "If we have them someday, great.  If not, that’s fine too."  So when this happened I was shocked, and the first thing I said to my husband was, "How is this possible?"  And he looked at me, laughing, and said, "You know how it’s possible."  Which I did — it was just that in almost 18 years together, we’d never run into this before.

Is your husband treating you like a queen?

Yes, it’s so funny.  We call the baby "the lemon."  It started off as "the lima bean," but now we’ve moved to "the lemon," and pretty soon, it’ll probably be "the melon."  So he’s constantly asking me, "How’s the lemon today?" He’s also been extra protective and worried about how I’m feeling, how I’m eating.  And I’m like, "God help me."

I’m sure you just want a healthy baby, but do you have a preference for a girl or boy?

Of course you’re right, a healthy baby is the most important thing, but I think it’s just easier to tell you that it’s definitely a girl.  It’s a girl, it’s a girl, it’s a girl!

How do you see your life changing once the baby arrives?

I’m taking a hard look at my calendar and realizing, "Holy cow, how can I possibly do all these things?"  It’s a huge life change.  I’m going to ask every professional woman I know, "How in the hell do you do it all?"

Is there anything you’re nervous about?

Oh, yes.  Everything, in fact.  How big will I get?  Will it be an easy delivery?  How is my child going to turn out?  Will I be a good mom?  Every single moment of the day I hope and pray I’m doing the right thing.

What’s something your parents gave you that you want to pass on to your daughter?

I hope I can pass on the love of food to my child the way my family did to me.  We spent a lot of warm, loving times in the kitchen.  But watch, I will probably end up with a child who not only doesn’t care about food but doesn’t ever want to set foot in a kitchen!

Source: Redbook Magazine; January 2008 issue, pg. 90