Alyssa Farah Griffin Prepares for Maternity Leave from “The View” Ahead of Baby Boy’s Arrival: 'This Isn't Easy!' (Exclusive)

Ahead of her maternity leave, the mother-to-be opens up to PEOPLE about working through pregnancy, late-stage logistics and the women who will be filling-in for her at the Hot Topics table

NEED TO KNOW

• Alyssa Farah Griffin is preparing for maternity leave from The View as she expects her first child, a baby boy, due this month
• She opens up to PEOPLE about working through pregnancy and the support she’s felt from her co-hosts and her husband, Justin Griffin
• “I’m ready for any scenario, really,” she says, of her birth plan

Alyssa Farah Griffin is officially in what she calls the "very, very pregnant" phase, and counting down the days until she can call herself "mom."

The former White House Communications Director turned television personality — who is expecting her first baby, a boy, with husband Justin Griffin — tells PEOPLE she’s feeling “great” as she prepares to step away from The View for maternity leave — even as the physical realities of late pregnancy have fully set in.

"I’m feeling good and I’m beyond excited, but I am convinced that the science of pregnancy is meant to be a little uncomfortable at the end so you are so ready for the child to come,” Alyssa, 36, says with a laugh. "Right after Thanksgiving, I hit that stage where I was like, 'Okay, I'm really really pregnant now.' Because you just feel it at all times."

"My respect for working pregnant women has always been there, but it's even more through the roof than it was before experiencing it myself," she says. "This isn't easy!"

Alyssa says she’s been especially grateful for the support she’s received behind the scenes at The View, where pregnancy at the table is nothing new.

"I’ve been really lucky and I felt really, really supported by the show," she says, noting that co-hosts over the years like Sara Haines, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Abby Huntsman and Meghan McCain have been pregnant on air before her. “Everyone’s used to the rhythm of it here. It's old news!"

That support has included contingency plans to account for a range of health-related scenarios, like discreet camera adjustments if she feels nauseous or prearranged exit routes if she needs to step off set unexpectedly. “So far, knock on wood, none of it has happened,” she adds. "But everyone's ready for it."

Earlier this week, during a special baby shower-themed episode, there were even EMTs on guard and ambulances waiting outside in case Alyssa or one of the pregnant women in the audience went into labor.

"I'm due Feb. 19, but my doctor expects he'll arrive slightly early, so it's keeping me on my toes," the conservative pundit says. "I'm ready for any scenario, really."

That preparation has carried over to the Griffin home, where Alyssa's bags have been packed for two weeks now.

"Oh, we're ready," Alyssa shares. "I'm a very risk-averse person. And after going through such a difficult IVF process, and being a higher risk pregnancy to being with, I've really leaned into trusting what my doctor's best recommendations. So I just went over my birth plan with my amazing OB-GYN and feel really happy about where we landed."

"The only fear I have now is, 'Am I going to be with my husband?' " Alyssa says. "That's something every pregnant woman deals with. 'Are we going to hop in the car together and drive into the city? Am I going to be at the studio and he's working?' Those logistics are all up in the air. But it's all going to be fine."

One thing that's brought her comfort has been her "amazing husband" Justin, whom Alyssa wed in November 2021. "Justin has just been such a source of support and strength throughout this entire journey," Alyssa says. "The world needs more good people, so I’m especially excited to bring a little boy into the world who will have his dad as a role model to look up to."

The couple had a long journey to get to this point, trying for two years until eventually conceiving after five rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF). PEOPLE helped announce their happy news back in October.

Since then, Griffin has been letting viewers in on the ups and downs of her pregnancy between political debates six days a week on The View.

The reality of motherhood truly hit once the nursery was finished. "Getting that finished was when I was like, 'This is very, very real. He is arriving!' " she laughs.

“It's the sweetest thing," Alyssa adds of the space. "It doesn’t technically have a theme; I just went with baby blue because it’s a boy. But there’s a big Disney footprint with a lot of Winnie the Pooh, too. It’s exactly how I dreamed a little boy’s nursery would look."

In fact, the room has been a place Alyssa visits often now. She tells PEOPLE she sometimes sits alone in the nursing chair at night, dreaming up what her son will be like. “You just imagine what everything’s going to be like with him,” she says.

"I really can't wait to meet him," she smiles. "Putting a face to who that little creature is? That’s going to be most magical thing.”

Alyssa's final day on The View is expected to be Friday, Feb. 13, should she make it to her due date. From there, guest hosts will start filling in, beginning with Savannah Chrisley on Feb. 17. Others announced to keep her seat warm include Amanda Carpenter, Sheryl Underwood, Whitney Cummings and former co-hosts Hasselbeck and Huntsman.

"Being a View host is one of the hardest jobs in TV, but it’s the most fun job in TV," Alyssa says. "You want women who have strong POVs, but can also talk about a wide range of topics — from what's happening in Minneapolis, to what's happening with Brooklyn Beckham and his parents, and to everything in between. These need to be people who are dynamic on all sides of it, and are also going to be comfortable with the big celebrity interview. And most importantly to me, because I'm very close with my co-hosts, I want people who are going to be respectful of them will powerful to fit into the rhythm of the show. So I think they've done a great job of finding women who fit that brief."

Any advice for them? "Don't feel like you have to fit a certain mold," Alyssa says. "Each of the women at that table have their own view, which is informed by our lived experiences, our generations, our politics, the communities we grew up in — all different things. So trust that. The one thing breaks through with the audience is when people know you're authentically giving your voice and you're also listening to and wanting to understand the other women at the table."

Alyssa will surely be watching and cheering them on — though, not likely during the show's 11 a.m. ET live time slot.

"I bet it's going to be at 1 a.m. when I'm breastfeeding on Hulu, but I do plan to watch," she says. "I don't think I'm going to be like Joy Behar when she's out and she's live texting us all what she would've said differently if she were at the table. I'll leave the recap with the girls until the next morning!"

And though she's not gone yet, Alyssa says she’s already looking forward to returning to the table.

"It'll be a fun time for the show, because it's always fun to see new people and new dynamics at the table. And of course, I can't wait to have that time with my baby. But also, I'm going to be excited to get back," she says. "What's so incredible about this job is that we are a morning show, so I can go back to doing what I love and still come home at a reasonable hour and be with my son. It's the best of both worlds, and I feel beyond blessed for that."

The View airs weekdays (at 11 a.m. ET) on ABC.

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