by Rubab Hamdani

Created on: July 26, 2009

Marriage is one of the most major decisions of one's life, and the process of making life changing decisions does not stop here. Actually you are just getting started. Marriage usually is a roller coaster ride of one major decision after another, so fasten your seat belts and be ready for a bumpy ride, but there is always this consolation that you have someone sitting right next to you holding your hand, so you can relax a bit. You are not alone.

When you are single your decisions effect only you but after marriage there are other stakeholders involved. A decision taken after marriage is like throwing a stone in a pond, the ripples reach far and wide. This means all those connected to you will be affected by whatever you decide or plan to decide.

One of the most daunting and challenging decision for any couple is when to have your first child. Parenthood is a wonderful feeling. The unconditional love of your child toward you evokes, within you, feelings that you had never experienced before. How your heart bursts with love for your child, only a parent can understand. That first giggle, the first snort, the first tooth, the first step, the first word, the first time they call you mom or dad, all these form a kaleidoscope of cherished memories in your mind.

But things weren't always simple or easy. With the arrival of your first child you were thrust into a frenzy of chores and duties you did not anticipate. You never paid attention to what other couples were telling you, about parenthood, you just thought that they were whining and complaining for nothing but for the first time the truth of all those warning statements dawns on you. As you try to cope, as a couple, with this new found responsibility, you swear never to have another child. Believe me almost all of us have done this after an exhausting day, with falling patience and energy, we have all at least once resolved in our hearts never to have a second child. You comfort each other that one child is more then enough, and lets focus on giving him a bright future and a good life.

But as your child grows from a baby to a toddler you sometimes miss those baby sounds and gurgles. Those two toothed bunny smiles used to melt all the fatigue away. In retrospect, you erase the hard times and remember the heart warming gestures of your baby. This is nature's way, to give you a little encouraging push in the back to go for another one.

This is the time when you seriously start thinking about having your

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