Marla Sokoloff has posted a new blog entry over at People.com today!

Well hello there, third trimester!

Just when I thought this pregnancy was moving slower than molasses, week 30 seemed to appear out of nowhere! It feels like just yesterday I was dying for my belly to turn into an actual baby bump and now I feel as if I’m venturing out of the cute preggie phase and catapulting into the just plain GIANT phase.

This phase can be dangerous territory for your friends and family. They will still tell you how beautiful and glowy you are — yet the guy in the checkout line at the market will say, “Holy moly — you are ready to pop!” or my personal favorite: “Wow! Are you expecting twins?”

Now that the official countdown has begun, it seems like there are a million and a half things to do before our little one arrives. Our office has now been converted to a pretty pink (yes PINK!) nursery and most of the furniture is starting to arrive.

Even though my husband was very anti-pink from the get-go — the giddy look on his face when he saw it freshly painted will forever be etched in my mind.

Putting her room together has been my favorite part so far — to think it’s currently an empty space filled with baby essentials, and in just a few weeks there will be this new little person living in it. Truly a surreal and awesome feeling!

Sleeping is starting to become a wee bit uncomfortable and from what others tell me, it will only get worse from here on out. (And then it becomes non-existent right?)

Yes, I purchased the favorite pregnancy pillow that everyone swears by and to be honest — we have developed a pretty intense love/hate relationship. I’m either lugging it around the bed or I wake up in the middle of the night only to find it on the floor.

I just can’t figure out how to make this relationship work! My poor husband is really looking forward to putting my new sleeping partner in storage until the next go round.

I must say, one pregnancy plus that I will surely miss is the kindness of strangers. People open doors for me, hold elevators, and even let me cut in line in the ladies room! Definitely a nice little perk!

As our checklist got shorter, I realized that we forgot to plan the newly popular babymoon getaway. How many of you decided to take one before having your first child? It was something that I was kind of on the fence about, but I knew one last vacation with my husband would be such a fun thing to do.

I truly hate to fly, so we decided to drive to Santa Barbara for a few days of relaxation and spa treatments. It was absolutely perfect. We took those cliché long walks on the beach and got couples massages and I watched as my husband drank fine wine. (And by watched, I mean drooled.)

It was the perfect way to spend our last Thanksgiving as a twosome — next year will be sweet in such a different way and I just can’t wait for it.

Would love to hear about how you got ready for baby or how you spent your babymoon if you went on one! Send me a Tweet @marlasok.

– Marla Sokoloff

Marla Sokoloff has posted a new blog entry over at People.com today!

The moment I found out I was pregnant, I instantly felt different. Not physically different but mentally, I was in a newfound headspace. My brain was completely consumed with thoughts of BABY. (Let’s be honest — I had major baby brain way before that little stick told me I was pregnant!)

I knew our lives were going to change drastically, and I truly loved the thought of it. I walked around all day with a giant smile on my face, knowing I had this exciting secret.

The first four months were (thankfully) uneventful. I didn’t even have one second of morning sickness or nausea. I had the Preggie Pops and the Sea-Bands standing by, but they were never needed. (Ladies, don’t kill me — I have no idea how I got out of that one!)

I assumed the next few months were going to be filled with stretch mark and weight gain worries … when my pregnancy took a scary turn.

Around 17 weeks, I got a call from my doctor saying some of my second trimester blood work was looking a bit abnormal. Knowing that lots of women get a “false positive” on these tests, I tried to remain calm until further testing was done. (By calm, I mean hysterically crying until we got to the doctor’s office.)

The next morning, my husband and I sat in the genetic counselor’s office discussing our “options” if the test was in fact positive for a serious birth defect. They were throwing out everything from spina bifida to Down syndrome.

I was completely crushed. I was already so attached to my little girl. She has a name. I talk to her, I sing her songs … she has to be okay.

After a detailed ultrasound, our doctor recommended amniocentesis to investigate further. In that moment, I started to remember reading about amnios in all of my baby books. Wait — didn’t they say the needle was seven inches long?!

I squeezed my husband’s hand for dear life and prayed it would be over quickly. (The amnio wasn’t my favorite activity of all time — but I recommend closing your eyes and breathing as if labor has already started to ease the pain.)

As the nurse wiped the betadine off of my belly, I started to feel like I had been punched in the gut. My positive attitude that I tried so desperately to hold on to went flying out the window and was replaced with complete and utter fear.

The next few days were spent on the couch covered in tears. I literally couldn’t function. The thought of something being wrong with our baby was just too unbearable to even think about. The only thing in the world that I wanted was for this little girl to be okay. Nothing else mattered.

After 10 agonizing days, our amnio results came back showing a perfectly healthy little girl. The abnormal blood work was, in fact, a false positive. I took my first deep breath in almost two weeks and then returned to my oh-so-familiar state of hysterical crying. Only this time, they were happy tears.

Being pregnant has officially turned me into a worrywart. My first worry was, “Can I get pregnant?” The next was, “How can I keep baby safe in there?” The list can go on … if I allow it.

The complete lack of control hasn’t been easy for this control freak. Every day, I try my best to be calm and stay present — prenatal yoga has definitely helped me with that. I know that this little scare is just the first of many parent tests that we have coming our way!

Whenever I start to panic or veer off track, I feel her little kick in my belly, and I know that’s her way of saying, “Mom relax … everything is going to be okay.”

Thanks for letting me share my story — would love to hear yours as well! Leave me a comment below (I’ve been reading them all!) or send me a Tweet @marlasok.

– Marla Sokoloff

I’m so happy to hear that everything is a-ok with Marla and baby! Thank you for sharing your story with us, Marla!

Great news! Lightning Entertainment has acquired a few new films, including “Scents and Sensibility”, so hopefully that means we get to see it soon!

Lightning Entertainment, the Santa Monica-based sales, production and distribution company, announced today that it has acquired international sales rights in all media to seven new completed theatrical feature films and will debut the new slate at the upcoming American Film Market. All seven titles will have their first market screenings at AFM, with three key titles making their World Premiere debut: BRAKE, COLUMBUS CIRCLE, and WRATH.

The announcement of the new lineup is part of the company’s ongoing drive to acquire and develop high profile titles that will satisfy demand across all distribution platforms both internationally and in the United States, where the company is expanding its presence as a domestic all rights distributor. For three of the films, BLOODWORK, THE REVENANT and BOY WONDER, Lightning has acquired worldwide distribution rights and will be releasing them in the US through their domestic distribution label, Lightning Media. In the US, Lightning is continuing to expand its extensive reach via its direct VOD and digital release platforms, which it combines with traditional theatrical and home entertainment channels.

The new films span a number of genres from horror to comedy and feature top international stars including Stephen Dorff, Michael C. Hall, Lucy Liu, Selma Blair, Amy Smart, and Giovanni Ribisi.
“We’re incredibly excited to bring this slate of films to AFM for our buyers,” said Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning Entertainment. “The reinvigorated marketplace is looking for compelling stories and cast driven theatrical feature films that will appeal to global audiences and we aim to satisfy that buoyant demand.”

Source

Gift of the Magi is a modern take on the classic O. Henry story. This movie originally aired on Hallmark Channel in 2010. It stars Mark Webber and Marla Sokoloff as Jim and Della Webber, newlyweds starting their life together and both working hard at their jobs to save money. They barely have enough to make ends meet. Della answers phones for a cleaning company and Jim is a bartender at the Magi bar. This year will be their first Christmas as a married couple.

The story is timeless. It is about loving someone more than anything else. It is about giving up something you love for another person. It is about true love. It reflects the true meaning of the season, which is not about material objects but about caring for someone else even more than you care for yourself.

Marla Sokoloff is adorable as Della. She’s a sparkling character who discovers true love then loses it, only to find it in the end.

This movie is family approved by the DOVE foundation which searches out faith and family films.

* Gift of the Magi DVD
* Studio: Vivendi Entertainment
* Running time: 85 minutes

The DVD will be released on October 18, 2011 and you can pre-order it today at Amazon.com!

Marla Sokoloff has joined People to be a special guest blogger! You can read all her entries at people.com, but I’ll try to copy them here as well. Marla also just announced that her and Alec are expecting a baby girl! Lots of hugs to Marla, Alec, the bun in the oven and of course, Coco too!

Marla Sokoloff’s Blog: I’m Having a Baby Girl!

Please give a warm welcome to our newest celebrity blogger, Marla Sokoloff!

Since audiences first got to know her as Gia on Full House at age 12, Sokoloff has had many memorable TV roles — Jody on Party of Five, Lucy on The Practice, Claire on Desperate Housewives – as well as turns on the big screen in Whatever It Takes, Dude, Where’s My Car? and Sugar & Spice.

Sokoloff, 30, also sings and plays guitar and released an album, Grateful, in 2005.

She wed her husband, music composer Alec Puro, in Nov. 2009 and the couple — plus pup Coco Puro — make their home in Los Angeles. They expect their first child this winter.

You can find Marla on Twitter.

Hello and welcome to my very first pregnancy/baby blog!

I was super excited when PEOPLE.com asked me to contribute to their blogging section because I’ve been a big fan and an avid reader for some time now. I have really enjoyed reading about everyone’s journey and I’m so pleased to be able to share mine (so far!) with you.

I promise to fill you in on the good, the bad and everything in between. I’ll admit, being pregnant for the first time is a little scary, so stay tuned for my many anxieties and neuroses. (Let’s just say … I’m pretty sure my doctor regrets giving me her email address!)

Luckily she wrote an awesome book that I highly recommend for anyone who has a million pregnancy questions. Everything from “Can I dye my hair?” (Yes.) to “Is it safe to visit a volcano?” (No.) It’s called The Pregnancy Test by Dr. Emily Sikking and Melissa Heckscher. I reference it at least once a day. But I digress….

I’m currently 21 weeks along and we recently found out that we are having a … GIRL!

In all honesty, I had no preference in regards to gender; I just wanted the little peanut to be healthy. (Truly — I’m not just being politically correct here.) But I must admit, when I heard that we were having a girl — my heart skipped a beat.

Images of bubblegum pink and sweet little dresses filled my brain and I could hardly stand my excitement! (Side note: If you ask my husband, she will be a tomboy, so we are clearly on different pages as far as her style goes.)

Speaking of my husband … here’s a little background on the both of us:

ME: I’m an actress who has a hard time listing my credits because I’m a little shy about that stuff. Most of you may recognize me and think we went to high school together but I promise you, we didn’t. I just have one of those faces.

I’m so excited to be a first time mom and I’m ready for it all! Spit up, poopy diapers, diaper rash, sleepless nights — BRING IT!

HUSBAND: Alec Puro. Baby daddy and music composer extraordinaire. Some of his credits include Higher Ground, The Art of Getting By, and too many TV shows to list.

We’ve been married for almost two years and are currently in full-on nesting mode. Every weekend it’s a new project around the house. Anyone else experience this??

Fun fact about us: Almost eight years ago, we were set up by the lovely and talented Jessica Capshaw. Hmmm … should we name our daughter Jessi??

DOG: Coco Puro. Our original first-born and the love of my life. Sometimes I look at her and feel awful because I know her life is about to change big time. If anyone has any tips for bringing baby home to an only child/dog, I would love to hear them!

So that’s our little family. I can’t wait to introduce you to our baby girl when she arrives! I really look forward to sharing the rest of my pregnancy with you.

If you need to reach me in the meantime — send me a tweet @marlasok.

– Marla Sokoloff

Marla’s first blog entry

I have just added an additional 29 HQ photos of Marla Sokoloff at The Red CARpet Event from this weekend into our photo gallery.