Poppy Montgomery Expecting Third Child

The Unforgettable star and husband Shawn Sanford are expecting a son this fall, she tells PEOPLE.

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Poppy Montgomery‘s popping out — and she’s ready to share why.

The Unforgettable star and husband Shawn Sanford are expecting their second child together — a boy! — this fall, she tells PEOPLE. The actress is already six months pregnant and glad the cat’s finally out the bag.

“I’m so happy. I’m hoping to get all of the privileges now of a real pregnant person,” jokes Montgomery, who broke the news at a taping of ABC’s The View, airing Friday, then revealed the sex on Thursday’s episode of Late Night with David Letterman. “I want to be respected and given lots of royal treatment.”

She also wants to set the record straight. “I haven’t told anyone yet, so people just think I have enormous boobs,” she says. “I was like ‘I wonder if they think I went and got a boob job?'”

The new baby will join sister Violet Grace, 14 months, as well as the actress’ son Jackson, 6½, from her previous relationship with actor Adam Kaufman. Sanford, a Microsoft executive, also has two children — daughter Haley, 11, and son Braydon, 8 — from his previous marriage.

Courtesy ABC

So what did all the kids say when they found out? “‘Cool! Can we go swim now?'” says Montgomery with a laugh. “With Violet they were all really really excited and then they realized that babies don’t do all that much.”

Meanwhile, Montgomery has been working non-stop on her show since the beginning of her pregnancy. Despite the hectic schedule, “I feel good,” she says. “I had nausea up until just recently.” Now all she can think about is her favorite meal: Chinese duck noodles. Says the actress, “I dream about them. It’s so bizarre.”

But she’s determined to curb the craving. “With Jackson I gained 83 lbs. This one I’m working out and really trying hard. Not too many doughnuts and Ding Dongs and Twinkies — all the things I wish I could eat and that as soon as I’m not an actress I will eat for the rest of my life.”

For more from Poppy on her pregnancy journey, check back Monday, when the actress will be posting the next entry to her PEOPLE.com blog series.

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— Janine Rayford Rubenstein

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