My son has recently been asking me whether I am going to have more babies that will get to come live with us. Apparently several of his classmates have new siblings - well, he does go to a Catholic school so I figured that would happen eventually. I just didn't expect him to start asking me if he is going to get one. I don't know what to say, because honestly I don't know the answer myself right now, especially since the medical mess that just happened to me two weeks ago.

My husband thought he'd argue with preschool logic, and said that not right now because there was only one child's bed in the house. My son's prompt reply was "I have three pillows, I could share my pillows with a baby." So much for that attempt.

Anyone else that has other children getting this kind of input? How do you deal with it?

After my son died, my daughter (then 3) would often say, "I want a new one. One that wont die." It ripped my heart out. After taking a deep breath, I usually empathized with her and said that that would be nice, but that my body needed time to rest and heal. Sometimes that explanation would suffice, sometimes she would persist, "but how long?" "Awhile, I dont know how long. It just takes awhile." "That's too long!" Having played all my cards, I usually then just tried some kind of distraction, "Hey, how about a snack?"

I don't really have an answer for you but I just wanted to say I understand that little kick in the gut that these questions bring. It is so hard to manage our own sadness and then the sadness and confusion of our other little ones on top of it.

My stepdaughter (in residence) is 10 and has a good understanding of what happened to her baby sister. And she also knows that her dad and I are thinking of trying again. But this week is baby's due date and she's not here and we are all really feeling it. And yesterday stepdaughter asked her dad if we can adopt.

Because we were going to have a baby right now. So adoption probably seems the quickest fix to her. Because she thinks we can just go out and pick up a baby. We're not really talking it all through with her. The question is just an expression of her sadness. We know how she is feeling. And if we could bring home Angel Mae to be with her today, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

I keep reading on here lately, I keep thinking about whether or not to have another child now we know what's wrong and that a simple series of injections will prevent it. I love kids, despite the stress and craziness. Can't afford it, financially, and otherwise I keep thinking of that film "Gattaca," you know where the younger brother is genetically engineered/corrected but the older brother wasn't? Also whether it's ethically right to go on and reproduce knowing that it's a genetic problem and my husband is a carrier, but also knowing that usually it's not that big a problem. As well as the possiblity that a pregnancy doesn't mean raising a child. I guess the answer I'd love to be able to tell him is "sure, when Mummy's body is ready to have another baby there'll be one" but there's so many things arguing for "no." Especially we were planning (due to finances, of course) to try a more permanent form of birth control after Aeryn since I seemed to conceive at the drop of a hat.

My son would be such a good big brother is the worst thing. He loves other children, I'm constantly getting comments from his teachers and other parents at school to the effect that he is very sweet to everyone. It's a decision I have the feeling I'm going to make the way my grandmother makes most decisions, by putting it off until the decision has made itself.