Gov. Sarah Palin shocked and awed many in Alaska in March, when she announced she was expecting her fifth child – and was seven months along.

Here’s coverage of the surprised reaction, published earlier this year, from The Anchorage Daily News.

“I thought it was becoming obvious,” Palin said. “You know, clothes getting snugger and snugger.”

But people just couldn’t believe the news.

“Really? No!” said Bethel state Rep. Mary Nelson, who is close to giving birth herself.

“It’s wonderful. She’s very well-disguised,” said Senate President Lyda Green, a mother of three who has sometimes sparred with Palin politically. “When I was five months pregnant, there was absolutely no question that I was with child.”

She’s kept a hectic schedule in recent days, traveling last week to the National Governors Association conference in Washington, D.C., followed by a trip to Los Angeles on Monday for a Newsweek magazine conference also featuring Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. The magazine profiled the two in its Oct. 15 “Women & Power” issue.