Teyonah Parris Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby with Husband James: 'Very Excited'

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Teyonah Parris is going to be a mom!

The Marvels actress, 34, and husband James are expecting their first baby together, she reveals exclusively to PEOPLE.

Parris, who is currently five months along in her pregnancy, says she was "flooded with so many emotions and excitement" when she found out the happy news by way of a Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test.

"I was definitely surprised and a bit shocked. But I was only surprised because we've been trying for a while and had not had any success," she explains. "I used the Clearblue Pregnancy Test, so the fact that it clearly stated 'pregnant,' there was no confusion this go round. So that was exciting."

To share the joyful news with her husband, Parris says she made him a "little gift box and put the pregnancy test in there along with some other little first-time dad goodies."

"When he opened it and saw the test, and it was very clearly written, it said 'pregnant.' And he just started screaming, he was just very emotional and excited and we were crying and just really, really happy," she adds.

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The actress says she and her husband also got creative when sharing the news with their families — though it took them a little while to catch on.

"There are these fake scratch-off cards we did. Those were the worst and the best because people were so confused," she says with a laugh. "They were just so very much trying to win some money, that clearly says we're having a baby, and they just skipped right over that."

Still, she says she and her husband's families are both "very excited" as it is the first baby for both of them. "So you know this baby is going to be very, very loved," she adds.

Parris says she and her husband are waiting until the birth of their baby to find out the sex.

"My husband and I came to that decision because we feel like it's one of the greatest gifts and surprises that God can give us," she says. "I think it's also helped to not have preconceived notions of our child and try not to dictate who this baby is before we even meet the baby. And so that's been really helpful."

Once the baby arrives, Parris says she plans to "take the time [she] needs and prayerfully be able to go back and work as many moms have done before [her]."

"We're being very calm and it's actually really beautiful," she says of her pregnancy journey. "I'm really proud of us."