he has played a bride in the movie Father of the Bride and a sister on According to Jim. Now Kimberly Williams-Paisley is stepping into the role of a lifetime: mom. She shares her thoughts with us on split pants, soap in bed, and loving a baby so much it hurts.

The Cradle:  Pregnancy while living in the public eye – what are the pressures and what are the perks?

Kimberly:  I had to shoot my show while I was pregnant, so the hardest thing for me was trying to hide my belly. But when I was in the awkward stage – when my stomach looked more like a beer gut than a budding pregnant belly – the writers on the show wrote a gag where my character was in denial about having trouble losing weight and so she squeezed herself into a pair of too-tight pants that then split down the back. I walked in with my belly hanging over the waist of these white pants, and did a little turn so the audience could see the purple underwear hanging out of the rip in the back. It got a big laugh when we shot it, but I have yet to go back and watch the scene. It was VERY humbling.

But the perks! I did get a lot of wonderful gifts from various companies. I got some great cloth diapers from Fuzzi Bunz, and some cute T-shirts from 2 Chix, and some stylish maternity wear from Pea in the Pod.

The Cradle: What were your biggest cravings?

Kimberly: I drank about a half a gallon of milk a day.

The Cradle: During those nine months, what couldn’t you live without?

Kimberly: My body pillows. By the end, I’d sleep with five different pillows in the bed, and there was no way I’d fall asleep without one of the pillows. Of course my husband was relegated to the little sliver of space left on his side of the bed.

The Cradle: Decorating the nursery: enjoyable or emotional?

Kimberly: We were really behind in decorating the nursery. Our son slept in our room for six weeks after he was born, so the nursery came together after he was born, bit-by-bit. I love it now. There is a mural on the wall with ducks and rabbits and birds. It’s very light and reflects the outdoors where we live in Nashville.

The Cradle: What was the best advice you got while pregnant?

Kimberly: I suffered from some pretty bad leg cramps at night, and someone suggested I put a bar of soap in the bed to help. I don’t know why it worked, but it seemed to. And it made me laugh.

The Cradle: Name your top maternity-wear pieces.

Kimberly: All the maternity jeans were great. I loved my Juicy sweat suits. And Gap had some great casual pants and tees.

The Cradle: Are there any books that helped get you through your pregnancy?

Kimberly: I liked the day-to-day pregnancy books that told me what was going on each day. And The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy was great.

The Cradle: What did you rely on most: information gleaned from books or the Internet, wisdom from friends, or trusting your own instincts?

Kimberly: I trusted my doctor and my friends and SOME of the books. But I got really annoyed by the books that went into all the things that could be going WRONG with my baby as it was developing in my womb. When in doubt, my doctor’s advice trumped all.

The Cradle: What feelings came up during your pregnancy that surprised you?