While he’s had plenty of practice on reality TV, Hank Baskett was nervous about making the jump to acting — until he learned his first role would involve a subject close to his heart.

“When I saw the script, I definitely thought this is going to play into my natural life,” he tells PEOPLE of playing a father and husband in the web series Super Moms, about a group of women whose superpowers help them juggle their parental responsibilities.

“To get that as your first opportunity to act, it was like training wheels.”

And lucky for Baskett, 29, he has the perfect person at home to run lines with: Kendra costar and wife, Kendra Wilkinson.

“Oh my goodness, no casting director can hold a candle to her when it comes to being critical,” he says. “Whenever I have an audition or as with Super Moms, the script, she comes home and makes me practice. I say one word, and she’s like, ‘No, do it again.’”

But despite her candid input, having his wife on board only strengthened Baskett’s commitment to the project, in part because he recognized Wilkinson and even his own mother in the work.

“I’m like the biggest mama’s boy you’ll ever meet,” he says. “I think this is a message to all moms out there, from the director and the producer and everybody behind this, saying, ‘Thank you. We know what you do, we know that you work all day and then you still know how to take care of the family.’ It’s just saying moms are secretly superheroes because of all they go through.”

And when it comes to the mother of his own son, 2-year-old Hank IV, Baskett is equally effusive in his praise.

“I believe she does go above and beyond when it comes to being a mom because she doesn’t want to be known as that quote-unquote celebrity that just passes her kid off,” he says. ”Last night, I shot a little video of her. At the end of a long day — she filmed some stuff yesterday — she was sitting in front of an easel where we do letters and shapes and numbers and she was teaching him stuff. That’s just the way she is.”

“She wants to be hands-on, every part,” he continues.

– Kiran Hefa

After years of unsuccessful attempts to expand her family, Elizabeth Banks finally got to experience What to Expect When You’re Expecting — at least on screen.

But off, when the actress and her husband Max Handelman eventually decided to travel down the path of gestational surrogacy, Banks kept her eyes on the prize: her son.

“It helps that other moms had said that once they had their babies, they forgot they were ever pregnant,” she says in the March issue of Women’s Health.

“So once my focus became the baby and not the pregnancy, it was a very easy decision.”

Thrilled to have welcomed Felix last March, the couple still make it a point to carve out plenty of couple time.

Fortunately, 19 years into their relationship — and co-owners of a production company — the pair have mastered a system.

“Working together provides a lot of balance in our life and it’s a way for us to [see each other], because I travel so much for work,” the Man on a Ledge star, 37, explains.

In addition to the demands of her blossoming career, the delicate balance of baby and her marriage allows Banks — who plays Effie Trinket in the highly anticipated Hunger Games film adaptation – to be a “good role model” for the life she leads.

“I have an amazing marriage and it will be long-lasting. I think I’m a good mom,” she says. “I could run for office, no problem, because there are no skeletons in my closet. Not that I would run for office…”

– Anya Leon

Jamie Lynn Spears may be kicking her music career into high gear, but says her number one priority is still her daughter Maddie Briann, 3½.

“These days, the only thing I’m afraid of is not being a good mom,” Spears, 20, tells Glamour in their March issue. “As long as Maddie is healthy and she loves me, the rest doesn’t matter.”

She’s been taking performance advice from her older sister, Britney, and says motherhood has helped to bridge the 10-year age gap between them.

“Maddie loves her Aunt Britney’s songs,” according to the younger Spears, who adds that her little girl often has playdates with cousins Preston and Jayden.

“She loves dancing and singing and all of that. I definitely think music is in her genes.”

Spears said she’s using her own music to be honest about her pregnancy and how she feels about being a young single mother.

“That’s been the coolest thing — realizing that it’s okay to just be myself and really tell my story,” she tells the magazine. “I expect the scrutiny. The last time anyone heard anything of me, I was 16 and pregnant. All I can do is be my best — there will always be people who will never like me.”

As a teen, Spears says, she was embarrassed to see a doctor and ask for birth control — even more so because of her position as the star of Nickelodeon show Zoey 101.

“I was 16. I’d had one boyfriend. It doesn’t make it perfect or all right. But I was judged for something that probably most everyone does,” she notes. ”I was young. I was in love. I was like every other teenager, except I had this last name. And I made a decision that is forever my decision.”

But the backlash that Spears experienced when she announced that she was expecting still stings.

“I had to make a decision that I could sleep with every night,” she explains. “I did feel responsible for the young girls and the mothers who I probably confused and let down. I apologize for that. But I wasn’t trying to glamorize teen pregnancy. I hated when [the tabloids] said that. Everybody is dealt a hand of cards. It was my choice to play them the way I played them. But the hateful comments hurt.”

Spears soon found herself under the watchful eye of the media and moved from Los Angeles back to her home state of Louisiana. In June 2008, at age 17, she delivered her daughter.

“I just wanted to get away from it as much as I could … move to a town in the middle of nowhere and just raise my child. All I could be was a good mother. If anybody had anything to say after that, there was nothing I could do,” recalls Spears. “I was very OCD about Maddie at first. I didn’t want anybody to watch her or touch her. I wanted to do it all myself. I breastfed for almost a year; I couldn’t leave her at all.”

Though Spears and fiancé Casey Aldridge split in 2010, they are both fully committed to raising their daughter.

“I do wonder about how [Maddie] is going to feel about the fact that I was young when I had her and that her father and I aren’t together anymore,” she admits. “It’s sad because my and Casey’s love had to turn into an adult relationship so quickly. There’s a slim chance of two young people making it through high school and all that drama, but making it as parents?”

“We tried,” she says of her relationship with Aldridge, who takes care of their daughter one weekend a month. “We really wanted to do it right. We loved each other. I will love him as Maddie’s father until the day I die.”

As for dating? Spears says that’s not her number-one concern right now.

“I’ve been on dates here and there, going to dinner or a movie, but nothing further than that. I’m a mother first,” she explains. “I have a little girl, and until I’m serious about someone, he’s not going to be around her. … The one thing that does get me excited is one day having that relationship. I look forward to that — I really do.”

– Liz Raftery

J.R. Martinez and Diana Gonzalez-Jones, who are expecting their first child — a girl! — in May, have narrowed the names to two. Expect something special – but nothing absurd.

“We won’t name her Apple Cider or Salami,” the Dancing with the Stars champ, 28, vowed to PEOPLE at Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards.

“It won’t be our favorite dish or our favorite getaway or favorite car or show.”

So, what’s left after that?

“It will be something really close and personal to us that feels like we’re giving something to her that is very special,” he says.

Martinez and his girlfriend want to wait to meet their newborn before deciding officially.

“She’ll probably come out and we’ll be like, ‘That’s the name,’” Martinez says. “We have narrowed it down to two names and we agree on it, which is good. I hear that traditionally, when it comes to the name picking, that’s when the disagreements occur. But I think it will be a nice flow.”

Gonzalez-Jones says she’s feeling good, and that the reality of becoming a mother is starting to set in.

“I’m six months now,” she says. “The first five months, I wasn’t showing, she wasn’t really moving too much. Now, she’s kicking all the time. She’s like, ‘I’m here, I’m coming.’ And it’s like, oh yeah, it’s coming soon!”

The couple, who are preparing to move from Studio City to Sherman Oaks, Calif., are also thinking about themes for the nursery.

“We don’t want to douse her in pink,” Martinez says. “That is the cool thing we agree on. We want, like, light pink, but not all pink.”

– Jessica Herndon and Tim Nudd with reporting by Jennifer Garcia

Sharon Osbourne has never been known to hold back — and she certainly won’t start when her first grandchild arrives later this year.

With son Jack and his fiancée Lisa Stelly expecting a baby in April, the giddy grandmother-to-be is already counting down the days.

“It just gets better and better, the thought of it, as we’re getting closer and closer,” Osbourne, 59, told PEOPLE at Guitar World‘s Rock & Roll Roast in Anaheim, Calif. on Thursday. “I’m getting more and more excited.”

Holding off on buying for baby until the big debut — “I’m very superstitious,” she reveals — Osbourne isn’t shy about sharing her future intentions!

“I am going to be the grandmother from hell because I am going to spoil this baby so bad,” she says. “My son and Lisa are going to be like, ‘Get her out of here!’”

– Anya Leon with reporting by Jessica Herndon

]]> http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/01/23/sharon-osbourne-im-going-to-be-the-grandmother-from-hell/feed/ 101 Anya http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/01/18/emily-deschanel-zooey-deschanel-golden-globes-red-carpet-body-after-baby/ http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/01/18/emily-deschanel-zooey-deschanel-golden-globes-red-carpet-body-after-baby/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:00:36 +0000 Anya http://celebritybabies.people.com/?p=153057 ]]> Rose Photo

Make no Bones about it — Emily Deschanel looks amazing after welcoming 3-month-old son Henry.

At Sunday’s Golden Globes, the new mom hit the red carpet in a draped midnight blue Max Azria gown while on the arm of equally-stunning sister Zooey Deschanel.

She complemented her dress with Stella McCartney black pumps, a Jimmy Choo clutch and Bulgari jewels.

And although Emily looked completely at ease while posing for photos, she admits the evening began with a rough start.

“It was hard. I was almost in tears leaving [Henry],” she told PEOPLE. “It’s the first time leaving him for such a long time, but I had to be my sister’s date tonight.”

As for New Girl Zooey, she wasn’t about to let her older sister completely steal the spotlight. The actress showed off her own bold sense of style in a custom Prada silk dress paired with a bright green clutch and quirky tuxedo nail designs.

– Anya Leon with reporting by Patrick Gomez

Who needs a stylist when you have a toddler?

“It’s funny – I didn’t try on that many dresses,” Sarah Michelle Gellar said on the red carpet at Sunday’s Golden Globes.

“My 2-year-old [daughter Charlotte] walked in, walked up this dress and said, ‘Mama, wear this!’ So I put it on and said, ‘OK!’ “

“She really went for it,” the Ringer star, 34, adds. “She chose the bag and shoes. I let her pick all of it.”

Being a mom means fewer movie date nights for Gellar and husband Freddie Prinze, Jr. — they still haven’t seen Bridesmaids, she admits.

“I have my stack [of DVDs] and Bridesmaids is at the absolute top,” she tells PEOPLE.

“With a 2-year-old, you start a movie when they go to sleep, and between work and [Charlotte] … I’m so tired.”

However, “I saw Annie five times today starting at 6 a.m., so if that’s nominated for anything, go Annie,” she jokes.

– Sarah Michaud with reporting by Blaine Zuckerman

For his first birthday on Jan. 6, Flynn Christopher received an extra sweet surprise from parents Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom: cake!

“It was the first cake he had ever seen or tasted. It was a gluten-free cake and organic, of course,” the model mama, 28, told PEOPLE during her debut as the Qantas airways ambassador on Thursday.

“He put his face in the cake. It was a healthy kick-start to his first birthday.”

The proud parents welcomed a few friends and family to celebrate Flynn’s big day, which aside from cooking courtesy of Kerr, also included plenty of activities for the little ones.

“There were a lot of balloons,” the Victoria’s Secret Angel says. “We had a balloon man come because [Flynn] likes balloons. That was a lot of fun.”

But, after spending time with “five little friends … about the same age,” the birthday boy was ready for some much-needed rest. “He was awake for a couple of hours and then it was nap time,” shares Kerr.

And with Flynn “doing something different” every day — he’s “almost walking!” — Kerr raves that her husband Bloom, 35, is always ready to tackle daddy duty.

“He has really stepped up to the role and is very hands-on,” she says. “It makes me proud that he is such a good dad.”

– Anya Leon with reporting by Mia McNiece

Let the fun begin!

Now in her fourth month of motherhood — son Xander Dane was born in September — January Jones is having a “blast” with her baby boy.

“He’s wonderful. Every day he changes drastically — he’s getting really fun and giggly now, and I can play with him,” the Mad Men actress, 34, told PEOPLE during the show’s party for the TCA press tour on Saturday in Pasadena, Calif .

“He’s not just a little bundle. He’s taking shape, which is really amazing to watch.”

But in addition to all the fun and games, welcoming her first child has also forced Jones to put the brakes on life in the fast lane — at least temporarily.

“Since I had the baby, [I] won’t be able to take off to the Middle East with the baby,” she jokes. “For a little bit, [I'm] just sticking around home.”

– Anya Leon with reporting by Susan Young

]]> http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/01/16/january-jones-life-with-xander-is-getting-really-fun/feed/ 25 Anya http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/01/16/peter-dinklage-gets-first-golden-globe-first-babysitter-for-daughter/ http://celebritybabies.people.com/2012/01/16/peter-dinklage-gets-first-golden-globe-first-babysitter-for-daughter/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:00:08 +0000 Sarah http://celebritybabies.people.com/?p=152950 ]]> Steve Granitz/WireImage

Peter Dinklage was a winner at Sunday’s Golden Globes, but he had other things on his mind while accepting.

After telling his fellow actors that he and wife Erica left their new daughter with a babysitter for the first time, the Game of Thrones star, 42, came backstage and told PEOPLE his nerves were calm about the situation – at least for the time being.

“Everything’s fine — so far,” Dinklage said, laughing. “She’s a baby. Crying never killed anyone. Well, maybe that’s not true.”

The key to staying relaxed while being apart from his little one?

Dinklage joked, “It’s all about the texting.”

– Dahvi Shira and Oliver Jones