Emily Procter ‘Grateful’ to Experience Pregnancy

Rene Macura/Palmer’s/AP

How much does Emily Procter love being pregnant?

“I started crying the other day just thinking that the baby is going to leave me soon!” says Procter about her first child — she’s keeping the sex a secret — with her boyfriend, musician Paul Bryan.

“You have this relationship with this person in your belly and it’s really amazing.”

Procter, 41, is enjoying finally feeling her baby move.

“It’s really fun at night, because I can see the baby kicking,” says Procter, who is the new face for Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula stretch mark products.

“I can feel the knee or the foot. The baby is starting to get heavy, and it’s a really incredible feeling. I’m so grateful I get to experience this.”

And how does she feel about her changing body? “There’s not a stretch mark!” says Procter, who uses Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Tummy Butter on her belly in the morning and the Skin Therapy Oil at night.

Rene Macura/Palmer’s/AP

The actress, who has gained 20 lbs. so far, is keeping active walking, swimming and taking a hip hop dance class once a week.

“It’s hilarious!” she says about her dance class. “But I feel really good. I would love to tell you that I don’t worry about losing the weight after the baby is born, but I do try to think before I eat. The first cookie? Definitely! But I try to think about if I really want to do the extra sit-ups before I eat the second one.”

Procter and Bryan have already agreed on a name for the baby, due in December. “We’re naming it after one of my grandparents,” she says. And as for the nursery? Although it’s not quite ready yet, they’re keeping it gender neutral in soothing green colors.

The birth plan is also not locked in place. “It’s one of those things where I’m trying not to be nervous and see what happens,” says Procter.

“I was leaving work the other day and as I was saying goodbye to [CSI: Miami costar] Eva LaRue, she said, ‘Emily, you’re having a baby!’ And all of a sudden it hit me and yes, I got nervous! So I went home and signed up for CPR! But I try not to get stressed about it. I’m probably going to have this experience only once, so I’m just so thankful.”

Rene Macura/Palmer’s/AP