Jessica Alba is not easily ruffled. After all, this is a woman who takes on superhero stunts and the red carpet gauntlet with aplomb. But finding out she was pregnant last September threw her for the biggest loop of her life. "I was shocked!" she says with a laugh. Curled up on a couch in a Manhattan hotel, the 26-year-old star of the new horror film The Eye—in black tights and a gray knitted top that fits snugly around her expanding belly—beams as she recounts the moment she describes as both "bizarre" and "amazing." Now nearly five months along, she absentmindedly twirls her 2.5-carat engagement ring from fiancé and proud dad-to-be Cash Warren, a producer she met in 2004 on the set of Fantastic Four. "He was shocked, too!" she says. "It was a total surprise. It wasn't what we were thinking about, it just happened. We thought, 'Okay, let's do it!' We were both really happy. But it was jarring at first, because we knew the rest of our lives would be different now."

But Alba—whose big-screen appeal, fashion savvy and famously fit frame have made her a style icon in young Hollywood—didn't realize just how quickly her life would change: getting engaged, buying a house and, of course, watching her celebrated body slowly get bigger and bigger. Within two weeks of finding out she was pregnant, "I was like, 'Wow, where did these breasts come from?'" she says of going from a size 32B to 34D. "It was instant. It was great, but shocking." But having a baby is a dream come true. "I've always wanted to be a mother," she says. "This couldn't have happened at a better time in my life. I feel super-blessed." Adds Warren, 30, who is already bonding with the baby by talking to Alba's belly: "We're about to embark on the biggest journey of our lives, and I can't wait."

Pregnancy in the Hollywood spotlight, though, has been a surreal experience, Alba says: "You go through life, getting engaged, having a baby, and you never think it's going to be something your friends read about." She tried to keep her pregnancy a secret from the press for her first trimester—even doing interviews while fighting nausea. Instead of morning sickness, she had "all day sickness," she says. "I had a hard time. Everything smelled so strong." The nausea forced her to cut out meat and cheese, while she picked up a craving for lemons. And her dreams turned vivid, with images of breastfeeding for the first time. And those famous pregnancy hormones? "My emotions were on volume 10!" says Alba. At one point, she even threw her fiancé out of the house. "Yes, she did!" says Warren with a laugh. "But it hasn't been bad at all. It was more of a joke that she kicked me out, and I was laughing." Now, in the middle of her second trimester, "I'm finally enjoying being pregnant," she says. "And I'm finally showing! I can't wait to have a really big belly."

Alba—who has said she battled an eating disorder when she was a teenager launching her acting career—has a low-key attitude about her changing body. "It doesn't feel weird, it feels normal," she says as she takes a big bite out of a spinach omelet with turkey bacon. "Gaining weight is natural and it's what's needed for the baby." Her intense workouts have downshifted to focus on stretching and walking. And she's traded in her old eating habits—large breakfast, no lunch and a salad for dinner—for healthy meals every four hours that include organic meats and plenty of fruits and vegetables. "Before I got pregnant, I wouldn't be hungry to eat that much," she says. "Now, if I don't eat anything I get tired and cranky." Pointing at her belly—she has yet to find out if she's having a boy or a girl—she jokingly says, "It's like, there's somebody here who needs food! This body isn't mine anymore and I'm okay with that."

Alba grew up as an Air Force brat; her father, Mark, 47, is a Mexican-American Air Force staff sergeant. Her mom, Catherine, 46, is a homemaker of French, Danish and Canadian descent. Alba landed her breakout role in James Cameron's 2000-02 TV series Dark Angel and went on to star in films such as Into the Blue, Sin City and the Fantastic Four films. In The Eye, she plays a blind violinist who gets a cornea transplant and begins to see frightening visions. "I feel like I've been hustling for a long time, trying to prove myself," she says. "Now, I feel grounded." In 2004 she was introduced to Warren, who was then a director's assistant on Fantastic Four (see box). "When I first met him, it's not that I thought, 'Oh this is the guy I'm going to marry,'" she says. "But it felt easy being with him. I just knew right away I was going to know Cash for the rest of my life."

But things haven't always been so smooth. Last summer the pair briefly broke up, though Alba declines to go into specifics. "Every relationship goes through ups and downs," she says. "It was private." Says Warren: "[The bumps] have given us the confidence to take this challenge on." During the Christmas holiday Warren proposed with a platinum diamond engagement ring from Jason of Beverly Hills that he helped design. "He completely surprised me," says Alba. "And of course I cried! Especially now being pregnant, he didn't have to try too hard." As for when the two will wed, "Life is changing every day and I'm just going with it," says Alba.

For now, Alba (whose next movie, the Mike Myers comedy The Love Guru, is due out in June) and Warren are enjoying downtime together, serving up lasagna or enchiladas to friends and decorating their new home. A Prius-driving environmentalist, Alba is shopping for organic fabrics and furniture made out of recycled wood. The baby's not kicking yet, but Alba has felt tiny "flutterings" that bring motherhood closer day by day. "I'm excited to meet this baby," she says. "I think it's going to be the best thing in the world."

More From This Article

Meet the Dad-to-Be
Cash Warren (with Alba on Jan. 10 in Los Angeles), the son of Hill Street Blues star Michael Warren, is a Yale grad who speaks fluent French. He and NBA star Baron Davis run Verso Entertainment, financing movies and start-ups such as the documentary Made in America and the Web site ibeatyou.com, launching this month.

Dressing for Two
Now in her second trimester, Alba (from left: in a Gucci gown in N.Y.C. on Jan. 27, and a Gold Sign dress for an appearance on MTV's TRL on Jan. 29) is taking pride in dressing for her expanding belly. "She loves to show that little tummy off!" says friend Valarie Rae Miller, who costarred with Alba in Dark Angel. "She likes to pull up her shirt and push it out so it looks even bigger. She's really embracing her new, rounder body. She loves the idea of being a mother, so she's okay with her body changing."

Keeping Her Famous Body Fit
Alba (right, pre-pregnancy in Miami) has traded in her intense workouts—mixing running and weights five times a week—for 30-minute daily sessions that include the treadmill, stationary bike, Pilates and yoga. "I do everything completely differently," she says. "I don't have the stamina [anymore]. But [exercise] keeps me grounded and makes me feel both healthy and happy. And it's supposed to make giving birth easier. Anything that makes that easier, I'm all for it!"