Pregnancy might be causing Laura Allen to remember her youth "romantically" but she says she'd like to recapture some of that nostalgia with the baby she expects in late August nonetheless.  She tells The Cradle that although "the temptation is great to stick a kid in front of a television or a video game or a DVD player" she hopes that she'll employ "an imaginative and free childhood style" as a parent.  "I suppose I have lofty ideals of creative parenting," Laura said, "but seriously - fingerpaints? Camping? Building forts and listening to Annie? I can’t wait!"

Laura admitted to battling some "hormonally charged big questions" in her first trimester -- like "will I be a good mother?" -- before learning to "relish and celebrate" pregnancy during her second trimester.  Now happily settling into her third trimester, the 34-year-old actress said the baby's kicks make her laugh because "it is so outrageous to feel something alive inside."  She added,

I am emotionally exuberant, ready to fall in love with this new person in a couple months.

Click continue reading to hear about Laura's favorite maternity products, her pregnancy cravings and her thoughts on the name game.

Like many pregnant women, Laura said she struggles with her prenatal vitamins, so she's become a fan of Bellybar lemon chews with folic acid and Omega-3 DHA; She also counts Mommy's Bliss Belly Butter and Heartburn Comfort among her favorite maternity products. Laura has had some pretty diverse cravings -- including everything from hummus on raisin toast to Indian food to doughnuts -- but they are fleeting, which Laura said she appreciates.

Luckily once I satisfy an impulse I can then move on to some other odd need. I opened the pizza joint in my neighborhood a few weeks ago, knocking on their glass door in the morning to get their first slices. My cravings are dire and maniacal, and then they subside.

Because baby-on-the-way will be a delivery surprise for Laura and her husband Bruce Weyman, the couple has -- thus far -- opted to chose a single name which can be used for either a boy or a girl. The name was actually chosen relatively early in the pregnancy "and so far it’s stuck," Laura said, adding "we only hope the baby loves it for 80-plus years." That they've reached an agreement is "a big deal" Laura said, for the couple were at an impasse when they first began playing the name game.   

I was getting into some old fashioned names. For instance, for a boy: Curly, Hank, Montgomery... Bruce wasn’t going for it. But his choices, especially for girls, all sounded like stripper names to me. Finally we found something that is tomboyish enough for a girl and still tough enough for a boy through manhood.

Photo by Stephen Lovekin/WireImage.com.   

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