I forgot to mention what a nice weekend we had, as we got to spend some time with our new nieces, Caitlin, Trevor's (my brother's) first child, who is almost five months, and Mira, Katharine's third child, who is three months. Mira was in a particularly obliging mood on Sunday afternoon and I got to have a good long cuddle with her. I even noticed on Monday morning at work that I was sporting a spot of baby spit on my jacket. I had forgotten that aspect of babies!

There have been so many babies around lately - friends' and relations', and this, coupled with our definite move out of that zone (life getting too easy again!), has even had me entertaining serious thoughts of a fourth. The Downs Syndrome statistics by maternal age have brought me firmly back to my senses. What was I thinking!? I have to accept that that phase is well and truly over.

I always at some level wanted four children. Large families seem more strong and robust. My perfect family was going to be two girls followed by two boys, with two years between kids. I remember calculating, at age 28, that I could manage four kids that way by the danger age of 35. Well, the realities of life meant that it was not to be. I have to forget perfect and realise how much I have already - the three most amazing and incredible children in the universe.