Kimberly Perry Says She's Going to 'Work Hard to Not Be a Pushover' When Baby Boy Arrives (Exclusive)

Perry is expecting her first baby at the end of August with husband Johnny Costello

<p>Michael Buckner/Getty</p>

Michael Buckner/Getty

Kimberly Perry is in mom-mode.

The former Band Perry member, whose EP Bloom was released June 9, is expecting her first baby with husband Johnny Costello in August, and she already has a sense of what kind of parents she thinks they’ll be.

“I think I'm going to have to work really hard to not be a total pushover!” the 39-year-old tells PEOPLE with a laugh.

“The only sort of test that we have in parenthood so far is our Toy Poodle, Harper Lee. And Johnny is definitely the one to give her boundaries and to make sure that she is not being given scraps of food under the table when she begs for them to sort of give her structure, and then I'm the one sneaking her a piece of fried chicken," she adds.

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<p>Kimberly Perry/Instagram</p>

Kimberly Perry/Instagram

Related: Pregnant Kimberly Perry Makes Red Carpet Bump Debut at 2023 ACM Awards After Revealing Baby&#39;s Name

But, the couple ultimately makes a good team, and they even have a name picked out for their baby-to-be: Whitaker James.

“We definitely make up for each other's weaknesses and compliment strengths, for sure,” Perry says. “I know that I'm going to have to definitely help and balance all that with baby Wit, but by default, I would say I'm super nurturing, and Johnny is really good at maintaining structure.”

Perry and Costello tied the knot in June 2021, later revealing the news of their nuptials while celebrating their six-month anniversary that December.

Related: Kimberly Perry on Arriving at First Solo Project: &#39;It&#39;s No Secret That There Were Highs and Lows&#39; (Exclusive)

In terms of how else she’s preparing for motherhood, Perry says she’s still all ears for input.

“Right now I'm in the phase of taking in everybody's advice. I know that everybody has an individual story. And I do this a lot as I'm making decisions in life. I want to hear all the information, I want to hear everybody's opinions, and then I'll kind of pair that with my gut instinct,” she explains.

As for a birth plan, she and Costello are still deciding, but they have chosen to deliver at the hospital.

“I think we have a ballpark of a plan,” she teases. “We have a sketch!”

In this next chapter of her life, Perry plans to marry her career with her family as best she can, and she’s feeling as confident as ever in her decision to do and have it all.

“There was just this switch that flipped, whether it's just feeling more secure in my skin, more secure that I've now added commas to sister and to daughter; I'm now a wife, and I felt the confidence to add mother to that too,” she says. “We can get all the things that we're going after and all the dreams can come true at once if that's our choice to pursue at the same time.”

For more on Kimberly Perry, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday.

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