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Knowing and naming
Getting fatter by the minute
Health and wellbeing
Emotions
The birth itself
Being a mum
What about dad?
Knowing and naming
"We have always wanted to have children," says Sarah, "but the fact is, for it to happen, one does have to be in the same place at the same time as one's partner for those two given days of any month." As two popular actors, Sarah and Matthew had spent much of their marriage working in different cities, but finally managed to connect in winter 2001. "And lo and behold! It was completely thrilling when I took that little test and the second line came up - I just couldn't believe something so wonderful had happened!" Unfortunately her pregnancy was the worst kept secret in showbiz and in early April the couple made a "mad dash" to tell their loved ones before the papers leaked the news. "We weren't able to call all the people we wanted to, and we felt bad. People's feelings were hurt." Sarah now confirms, "We don't want to know the baby's sex in advance," although gossips say this was a point on which she initially disagreed with Matthew, as she thought knowing would make planning easier.
Getting fatter by the minute
Due to her cravings for saltines and ginger ale, skinny Sarah has been expanding at a healthy rate. "I now know what it feels like to have a gut. I'm already having a problem being able to see over my stomach to look at my feet." This has posed a problem for Sex And The City's wardrobe department. "They're still dressing me in clothes that seem right for the character and we've been able to get away with it to a point. We've just had to keep reminding the cameramen to shoot me straight on this season, and not in profile, because the profile is the real giveaway. I'm still wearing the high-heeled shoes, by the way, although I'm not moving around so much." In fact, top shoe designer Manolo Blahnik is creating a special line of comfortable kitten heels especially for his number one fan.
Health and wellbeing
Sarah's first trimester proved a strain with all-day 'morning' sickness and exhaustion. "The tiredness was shocking for me," she says. "I always have plenty of energy, but in those first three months I was stunned by just how tired I was." She was sent home to put her feet up and the SATC set was closed for three weeks until she was ready. "I wanted to make sure I took care of myself, and it seemed like the only way to do that would be to take a few weeks off and get through the scary time of any woman's pregnancy," she recalls. "For the last part of the trimester, I just lay down and did nothing but go and see the doctor." One benefit of Sarah's pregnancy is that, alongside Matthew, she has given up smoking and turned to chewing gum instead.
Emotions
Although leaving it until quite late in life, Sarah has always been open about the fact that she is broody. "I'm very comfortable about the thought of motherhood," she said. "I come from a really big family - I'm the fourth of eight children and my sister and I basically raised all the younger ones, so I've always been around babies. A lot of my friends have them now, and my sister has a 14-month-old. I love holding them, touching them and smelling them, and now I'm going to get to hold my very own."
The birth itself
Sarah is due in late October, so watch this space…
Being a mum
"The thing I want most for my children is for them not to be aware of money, which means I have been very aware of my own financial situation," said Sarah two years ago. The career mum plans to take five months off filming. "Relaxing is foreign to me," she admits, "but I'll have a baby and my time will be taken up with something far more important than me." She will return to the set of Sex And The City next year alongside pregnant co-star Cynthia Nixon, who will also have had her baby by then. "I'm lucky, because I'm in a profession where I can bring my child to work - a lot of women don't have that opportunity. I can take a baby anywhere with me - and Matthew's career is such that he doesn't have to be away all day either."
What about dad?
As an actor who has appeared in several children's films, Matthew is equally enthusiastic about starting a family. "I like kids," he says. "In my fantasy, I would be like a British guy reading the paper and smoking a pipe, and the maid brings the kid in, and I tickle its belly, and then I go to dinner. But I'm sure that's not how it works!" Meanwhile Sarah reveals she hopes his influence will be somewhat further reaching. "All I want is that my child be happy and well-adjusted … and when the time comes, do a little better in school than I did! I keep saying: 'Oh, please, let the child have Matthew's brain!'"
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