It was for a moment -- a brief moment -- that the team of "Will & Grace" thought they would incorporate Debra Messing's real-life pregnancy into the storyline.

"Yeah, we thought about it for a second; we considered putting it in the show, but we decided against it," Messing says.

However, a baby has spelled the end of many a sitcom, and Messings says the NBC comedy isn't desperate for ideas. "The writers are still coming up with funny storylines, everyone likes being there and I don't see why it wouldn't go on for many years."

Expecting her first child in summer of 2004 with her husband, actor Daniel Zelman, Messing says large shopping bags, big purses and black dresses are being used to hide her very obvious weight gain.

"It's sort of a wink and a nod to the audience; they know I'm pregnant so the fans are looking for the creative ways we're trying to hide it," Messing says. "I know we're not going to be able to hide it entirely."

She's not breaking new ground on TV, pointing out that Julia Louis-Dreyfus did it during the run of "Seinfeld," as did Sarah Jessica Parker on "Sex and the City."