When did you know you were ready to take the leap again? Ready to lose sleep, look shabby, shower only occasionally, leak all over the place, eat on someone else’s schedule, let the house get messy/filthy, put a brake on your social activities, take the financial strain?

Ready to hold the gaze of a newborn’s eyes, feel their hands wrap around your finger and hold on for dear life? Ready to fall completely, with all of your heart, mind and soul, in love all over again? Ready to inhale that baby scent, feel the silky smoothness of a baby’s cheek, hear the kuh-kuh-kuh sound of the baby at your breast? So ready that you would willingly, lovingly in fact, wake up at odd hours of the night to inhale that scent, caress that cheek and hear that suck?

Have you started thinking about having another baby? If you want more kids, the best thing you can do now is actually plan for them. That means taking care of yourself; getting ready emotionally and physically for a pregnancy; checking in with your health care provider and spacing your pregnancies. Maybe you can’t actually plan exactly when you will get pregnant (as an infertility survivor, I know this all too well), but you can certainly ensure your newest addition has the best start in life.

I think we are getting there… And what makes it all the more exciting is the presence of our 18 month old daughter… How will she be as an older sister? It’s not just about my husband and I anymore, but it’s the three of us, making room for a fourth family member… Where will this fourth little person fit into our family? How can we possibly love another child as completely as the one we already have? In the words of Aerosmith, “I don’t want to miss a thing” – my little girl is growing, learning and changing every day. Ah, so much to think about and so much to prepare for!

What’s your plan??

To share your experience or to get more info about preconception and your family, you can get in touch with us by:

• Leave us a comment below
• Tweet us: @haltonparents
• Email us: haltonparents@halton.ca
• Dial 311 (within Halton) or 905-825-6000 to talk with one of the public health nurses. We’re around Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Read Andrea’s Bio