Boston Legal star Julie Bowen revealed last year that she was pregnant. According to the most recent reports, she is expecting twins. Oliver, the first child of Bowen and her husband Scott Phillips will be a happy big brother come spring.

Bowen’s hit series wrapped last year after a four year run. Don’t expect her to be too busy onscreen anytime soon. She will however appear in Crazy on the Outside in 2010, directed by Tim Allen.

Actress Nicole Sullivan is also expecting. Sullivan and her husband Jason Packham are looking forward to the birth of their second son. Their first son Dashel was born in 2007. Sullivan was quoted as saying, “Jason and I are beyond thrilled to share our amazing news with everyone.”

Sullivan is best known for her work on Mad TV, where she lampooned famous people like Hilary Clinton, and King of Queens which co-starred Kevin James. Now she has her own show on the Lifetime network called Rita Rocks. There are plans to write the pregnancy into the show, as Sullivan said, “I am so thankful that the wonderful team at Lifetime is embracing this, and will be including my pregnancy into the Rita Rocks storyline.”

Sullivan has kept herself pretty busy with guest appearances in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Party of Five and Suddenly Susan to name a few. She will also appear in the film 17 Again due for release in April.

While these actresses are happily sharing their baby news with the world, actress Nicole Kidman has been forced to deny rumors that she is expecting another baby. Her reps have come out saying there’s no truth to the rumors. Apparently the buzz started when she was seen with her arms over her stomach at recent events. One report claimed that Kidman “tenderly stroked her stomach as she posed for snaps” while promoting her movie Australia in Japan.

Congratulations to both Julie Bowen and Nicole Sullivan. And where Kidman is concerned, I hope that if she does have any plans to give Sunday Rose a brother or sister, she will be able to share the news at a time of her own choosing.

Hollywood star Tom Cruise is full of surprises. According to recent reports online, he said that he would love to have seven more kids with wife Katie Holmes. It’s not clear if he has shared this information with his wife as yet. The 46-year old said in an interview “I want ten children. I love kids. I feel really fortunate to have the teenagers and a two and a half-year-old. It’s a great dynamic.”

Tom and his ex-wife Nicole Kidman have two adopted children, Isabella, 16, and Connor, 13. Suri, his biological daughter with current wife Katie Holmes was born on April 18, 2006. In the interview he said of his youngest, “She’s so charming, she’s so beautiful, she’s just great.” If Tom has his way, Suri will be having lots of company.

Tom also recently revealed that a big part of what drives him as a father is the strained relationship he had with his own father. His parents divorced in 1974 when Tom was 11, and he admits that he never saw his father much after that. This is an all too common story, but often the affected children grow up determined to break the cycle.

If Tom’s own words are any indication he has remained true to his convictions. “I’m a great parent. I want to be with my kids, and they get to do all the stuff that I wanted to do when I was growing up. My own father wasn’t there much for me and I want to be a different dad to my kids. My family is the most important thing in my life.”

Tom and his ex-wife Nicole have also done their best to ensure that they continued to have a strong bond with Connor and Isabella. “Nic and I are very committed and successful in sharing the parenting,” he said. I know he has received a lot of negative press lately, but I certainly admire his stance.

It’s clear that, like so many of us, parenting has helped Tom Cruise grow as a person. With all the ups and downs, and everything that parenthood can throw at you, it can really help you to find out who you are. Best of luck to Tom with his baby plans, and if he hasn’t let Katie in on them yet, well now would be a good time.

By the way, here’s a nice bit of Tom trivia for fans who didn’t know, his birth name is  actually, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV.

One celebrity or another seemed to announce her pregnancy, deliver a baby, or deliver twins almost daily in 2008. Never mind the latest it-handbag, babies are by far the most fashionable accessory in Hollywood.

Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights of the celebrity baby year!

Mom working furthest into her pregnancy: Amy Poehler on Saturday Night Live performing her infamous moose rap with Sarah Palin just seven days before giving birth to son Archie.Best Celebrity Baby Name: That’s a hard one. My favorites are Harper Rosie, daughter of Dixie Chick Martie Maguire, and Harlow Winter Kate, daughter of Nicole Ritchie.

Worst Celebrity Baby Name: Bronx Mowgli Wentz, son of Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Pete Wentz. Bronx Wentz? Try saying that three times fast.

Most Expensive Baby Photos: We don’t know for sure, but we are guessing that it’s Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s twins, Vivienne and Knox.  Photos of their first baby, Shiloh, sold for $4 million, Jennifer Lopez recived $6 million for her twins, and the sum paid for Vivienne and Knox’s snaps is reportedly a “record” we can only imagine they are the most expensive baby pictures ever. As with Shiloh’s photographs, the Jolie-Pitts donated the money to charity.

Most Normal Celebrity Moms: A parade of Hollywood stars taking their babies and toddlers to the Hollywood Pumpkin Patch. See, they are just like us. Albeit with high heels.

There’s Defnitely Something in the Water: The must have celebrity trend? Not it-bags, not a baby – the most fashionable accessory seems to be twins. Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez, Marcia Cross, Lisa-Marie Presley, Diane Farr, Ricky Martin,  Tony Dovolani, Nancy Grace all became parents of twins, and Charlie Sheen, Jenna Jameson and Rebecca Romijn are expecting twin babies.

Skinniest Pregnant Mom: Nicole Kidman. Aussie Nicole Kidman barely seemed to gain weight with her pregnancy. We know it’s vital to be invisible when you turn sideways to make it in Hollywood, but surely the rules are relaxed when you are pregnant? I was pleading for you to eat a burger, Nicole. Or lasagne. Mac & Cheese? Anything with cheese is good. Growing babies love cheese. And food, in general.

Most Delightful Disregard of Hollywood Standards: Has to go to Salma Hayek, for still nursing her 14-month-old daughter and prioritizing her baby above diet and exercise. Way to go, Salma!

What was your favorite celebrity pregnancy moment of 2008? What is your favorite and least favorite baby names?

I’m sure that many moms, especially first timers find the very idea laughable, that a mom can over-bond with her baby. But that seems to be the opinion of Nicole Kidman’s mother. According to reports, the actress was quoted as saying, “My mum thinks I’ve over-bonded with my baby, but I don’t care.” Yes, most women experiencing motherhood for the first time wouldn’t much care either.

Kidman also said in an interview, “I can’t bear to be separate from my baby; I’m totally devoted to her.” Well that certainly sounds like new mom euphoria to me. Perhaps her mom just has a different parenting style. Thankfully Kidman still seems to be doing her own thing. It’s tough sometimes to raise and nurture your child with all the advice you’re bombarded with.

Interestingly, a quick search on Google for the term ‘over bonding‘ revealed results that only had to do with animals. Well, on the first page at any rate. So does it even exist, or is it just something Kidman’s mom coined to get her point across? Is it even possible for a mom to over-bond with her baby? And what does that entail really?

I guess this raises the age old issue of parents disagreeing with the parenting methods of their children. After all, if they brought them this far, surely they must have done a great job right? Maybe Kidman’s mom is just angling for a little more time with precious Sunday Rose. For that we can hardly blame her.

New moms are understandably protective of their babies, and spending every possible moment with them seems like the most natural thing in the world. How would you react if someone suggested that you might have over-bonded with your baby?

Incidentally, Kidman’s character in the new film Australia, can’t have children of her own. This seemed to be the case with Kidman, who eventually adopted after suffering miscarriages while married to Tom Cruise.

She went on to reveal that no less than seven babies were conceived during the filming of the movie. “There is definitely something up there in that Kununurra water. We all went swimming in the waterfalls, so we call it the fertility waters now,” Kidman said. Maybe that will be a new selling point for the country’s tourism.

Recently, actress Nicole Kidman was quoted in an interview saying she had no intention of showing pictures of her daughter, Sunday Rose to the world. The Moulin Rouge star described herself as a “lioness” when it came to protecting her daughter’s privacy.

However, during a recent chat with talk show queen, Oprah Winfrey, the actress had a change of heart. Kidman was doing an interview alongside her Australia co-star Hugh Jackman when Winfrey reportedly insisted on seeing a picture of the baby. Let’s face it, if anyone could change someone’s mind about something like this it would be Oprah.

Kidman revealed a black and white photo that showed her and the baby sleeping. She said the photo was taken by hubby Keith Urban on his iPhone. At any rate don’t be too hard on her folks. It’s the most natural thing in the world to want to show off your precious child. I guess there were a few folks out there who scoffed at her declaration that she wouldn’t show pictures of the baby. At any rate as relentless as the paparazzi can be, maybe it’s best that she shows images of her daughter on her own terms.

It seems that Kidman would love to give Sunday Rose a brother or sister. She revealed in another interview that she would love to be a mom again. She was quoted as saying, “I would love more children – but that’s up to God!” Kidman has two adopted children with ex-husband, Tom Cruise. Kidman struggled for years to get pregnant before she was blessed with her daughter. Here’s hoping her wish for more children is fulfilled.

She paid tribute to her mother during the interview for helping to make her the mom she is. “When you’re raised by a woman who has strong beliefs and is opinionated and compassionate – you’re lucky, she said.

The busy actress has three movies coming out soon, Australia, Nine, and Need. She can expect to get a lot busier if she does indeed have another child, and I guess her admirers would have to wait a while to see her on the big screen again. In the meantime, any of her upcoming releases should satisfy her fans.

If you?ve seen the ABC show, Pushing Daisies, you?re no doubt familiar with actress Anna Friel. She plays the love interest to the show?s main character, Ned, played by Lee Pace. Friel and her boyfriend, British actor, David Thewlis have a daughter, Gracie, and they would love to increase the size of their family. ?I really want to be a mother again?, she is quoted as saying.

According to reports, UK born Friel wants her next child to be born and raised in America. The family is so comfortable in Los Angeles where the show is filmed, she wants to make it home. ?You know, I’d always thought we’d go back (to Britain), but David and I had that conversation the other day asking, ‘What happens if Daisies doesn’t continue – would we then go back?? she said.

It seems like a lot of foreign born actors either set up roots or spend a lot of time in the good old USA. I remember reading an article once that suggested that Jude Law?s desire to stay in the US put a strain on his marriage to Sadie Frost, who wanted to stay in Britain.

The late Heath Ledger, who was born in Australia, spent a great deal of time in the US, with a home in LA, and fathering a daughter with American actress, Michelle Williams. A number of other Aussie imports also seemed to find the USA a great place to raise a family. Simon Baker, who garnered attention for his work in The Guardian, saw his career take off after relocating with his family to Los Angeles.

Nicole Kidman was also very much at home in the US during her marriage to Tom Cruise. It?s not certain where she will end up now that she has remarried and has a new baby, Sunday Rose to complete her family. Given her Hollywood career however, it?s reasonable to assume that she will continue to spend much time in the US.

On the other side of the coin, Eric Bana who has worked with some of the top names in Hollywood, still resides in Melbourne, Australia. Other notable foreign born actors who spend much of their time in LA include Kate Beahan (The Wicker Man) who was born in Australia, and Daniel Goddard (Beastmaster), another Aussie, who resides in LA.

One of the pitfalls of being a celebrity is the loss of privacy. Celebs can’t do the things most of us take for granted without being confronted by flashbulbs. Living in this fishbowl has even caused a few of them to snap from time to time. We are probably evenly divided on the issue of sympathy, some feeling that it comes with the territory and others, like myself, feeling that a little space is not too much to ask for.

One thing I’m sure we can all agree on, however, is that the children’s privacy should be protected, no matter how famous their parents are. Nicole Kidman, who gave birth to a daughter, Sunday Rose in July, has made it clear that she will protect her baby from unwanted attention.

‘When it comes to my kids, I’m like a lioness. I’m like, no one gets near my babies, ’she is quoted as saying. I can certainly understand that sentiment. The obsession with celebrity has created an industry onto itself, with tabloids and paparazzi being the main players. Sadly, these photographers often go too far for that one big shot.

I remember seeing footage of Britney Spears on TV during the height of her troubles. There she was, a young mother trying to make it to her car, carrying one of her sons and wading through a throng of photographers, all clicking away.

Her child looked like a deer caught in headlights, literally, because all these flashbulbs were going off and it was impossible to shield him from them. As I looked at the terrified face of that child I wondered if any one of those photographers cared about what they were doing to him. Would they have liked to see their own children in a similar position?

Sadly, the old adage of treating others as you would want to be treated doesn’t seem to mean much any more. So I say bravo to Ms. Kidman for making her position clear. Opening up about her feelings she said, ‘It’s almost like my heart is stretching – I’m feeling like all these muscles stretch with emotion. It’s a beautiful love but there’s a lot of fear and pain for her life.‘ I’m sure we can all relate to that.

You know the age-old expression that “there’s something in the water”? According to Nicole Kidman, swimming in Australian Outback waterfalls is the cause of her unexpected pregnancy.

Nicole says that she, and six other women who swam in the same waterfall pool all became pregnant during production of her last movie, Australia.

Her daughter, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, was born in July this year, when Kidman was 41. Pretty first names, but the multiple last names don’t get any easier after a few months…

She says the pregnancy was completely unexpected, especially after a miscarriage she suffered while married to Tom Cruise.

She’s so convinced that the waters were the cause of her pregnancy that she’s encouraging other women to visit the town of Kununurra and swim in the water too.

Would you go all the way to Australia to get pregnant?

Source

I never gave it much thought until Nicole Kidman’s birthing music information was released online. For Kidman who recently gave birth to her first child, daughter, Sunday Rose, the music of choice was a combination CD of music from husband Keith Urban and flautist Sir James Galway. According to online reports, Kidman was always listening to the music of Galway, so there’s no surprise that she chose to include him on her special birthing playlist.

Sir Galway is a noted Irish flautist known by the name, The Man With The Golden Flute, because of his calming yet powerful music.

As a matter of fact I was quite surprised when I started to do some research for this blog entry and found so many sites online selling birthing music, in addition to conception and pregnancy music ‘where have I been’

How many of you have thought about and selected a CD of the type of music you want to listen to while delivering your bundle of joy. It’s funny because I listened to a lot of music while pregnant, especially classical music and my favorite singers form the 50s to 80s.

I can’t help but wonder if Nicole did deliver her daughter to the special musical CD she had created for the occasion.

Ok, another celebrity baby has joined the 2008 list of newborns with the birth of actor Matthew McConaughey and model Camila Alves first child. The baby boy was born on Monday, July 7 at 6.44p.m. The newest McConaughey on the planet weighed seven pounds, 4 ounces (7 pounds 4 ounces) at birth. Young McConaughey followed a couple of hours after Australian actress, Nicole Kidman and her husband, Keith Urban welcomed Sunday Rose into the world.

McConaughey in a statement on the birth of his son to OK! Magazine said, ?Camila and I were side by side the entire time. We are both tired and elated, and are so happy to have created the greatest miracle in the world. Having a child and making a family. Now comes the greatest adventure ? raising one, together.

Thirty-eight year old McConaughey and 24-year old Alves, who hails from Brazil, announced they were expecting their first together on his Web site in January.

The proud parents have not yet given the name of their son to the press, but as soon as they do, we?ll give you an update.

Welcome to the world of parenting!

I’m surprised to hear Nicole Kidman is joining the likes of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and plans to be posing for nude photographs later in her pregnancy. Belly photos can be absolutely beautiful, especially if you have a great photographer like glossy magazine darling Patrick Demarchelier, whom Nicole has apparently commissioned to take the shots. But she seems so quiet and retiring, and while it’s one thing to have photos taken for yourself, it’s quite another to have them published for all the world to see.

Perhaps her good taste and judgement meter is not operating properly? She had the sense to ditch batty old “cure post-partum depression with vitamins” Tom Cruise, but then she hooks up with oily chest-hair baring Keith Urban. And she sometimes dresses in Bacofoil. And fishscales. So perhaps we shouldn’t be all that surprised.

OK, enough with the digs. She looks very happy, and glowing, and I wish her and Keith all the best. Nicole is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN’s Development Fund for Women, and has been speaking out against violence towards women, which she calls “most widespread human rights violation of our time.” Only 98 countries out of the 200-ish in the world have any laws against domestic violence. And even in countries like the USA existing laws can be hard to enforce, and certainly don’t deter men from acts of violence against their partners. So good for you Nicole, I hope you’ll be able to make a difference.

And back to the pictures….I’m a trashy celebrity magazine junkie. Will I be reading whichever magazine buys the photos? Yup. And I’m steeling myself against wailing at the checkout at how unfair life is for the amount of stretchmarks she hasn’t got. Or perhaps she will have stretchmarks. Imagine, celebrities showing they are mere mortals just like us? Now that would be worth seeing!

After weeks of denial, actress Nicole Kidman?s publicist has confirmed that she is in deed pregnant. The 40-year old Australian who has two adopted children with ex-husband Tom Cruise was rumored to be expecting especially after she pulled out of her latest movie. Online sources reported over the week that the Oscar winner was seen wearing a loose dress over the weekend. Kidman and her husband, Australian musician Keith Urban are said to be ecstatic at becoming parents. Kidman is the latest in a string of celebrities who have denied their pregnancies before confirming. This year will be a bumper year for celebrity babies with actresses Jessica Alba, Halley Berry, Jennifer Lopez and Melissa Joan Hart all expecting and will be delivering their bundles of joy in 2008. As a celebrity watcher, I?ll definitely be reporting more pregnancies among Hollywood?s rich and famous.