There's nothing quite like little kids: the messes, the sweet chubby cheeks, the tiny clothes and sticky jam fingers. If you're feeling torn about whether or not you're ready for a little one of your own, here are a few signs your biological clock is ticking a little louder and with a little more urgency.
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1. You're How Old, Now?
For some reason, most women report hearing the incessant, insistent ticking of their bio/baby clocks in their late twenties to mid-thirties. It's at this age you start considering how old you'd be when a baby you had in 10 months graduated high school. You're near the end of what we traditionally see as mommy years, though you've still got plenty of time left.
2. You See Them EVERYWHERE
No matter where you go, from the bank to the grocery store to shopping for new bras at Victoria's Secret, you're seeing adorable, chubby-cheeked babies EVERYWHERE. Don't open Facebook or Instagram, either, or you'll see all of your friends' magnificently adorable kids, too. There's no rest. Babies are everywhere lately!
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3. Tiny, Tiny Clothes
You can't help it... for some reason, you're just drawn to baby clothes, and the tinier, softer, and more pastel, the more irresistible they are. Boy clothes, girl clothes, it doesn't matter. You just get a deep satisfaction pawing at the baby clothes in Target all of the sudden.
4. Names?
We've all chosen baby names we like, and dream about the babies we'll have to bear these fantastic names. But now, you're intensely interested in baby names, and you get really upset when you hear one of your friends has "stolen" the name you chose for your firstborn. How dare she? That's YOUR baby's name!
5. Babysitting
Before, you couldn't really cope with kids, but now? You find yourself volunteering to babysit so your friends and their hubs can have a kids-free date night. You just want to cuddle them in your lap, play with them, huff their sweet baby hair, count their tiny baby fingers and toes, listen to their darling chatter...
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6. Careful Consideration
You're silently, invisibly judging your significant other on how wonderful or terrible a father or mother you think they'll be, mentally dividing up the baby-related tasks, trying to figure out whether they'll support the idea of you going back to work or staying home with the baby. You're also looking at genes -- will baby have mama's eyes, and daddy's smile? Your wit and his sense of humor?
7. The Ache
If you've felt it, you know it: that deep yearning, a real physical ache somewhere between your heart and your stomach, a manifestation of your desire for a baby of your own. It's powerful, sweet, and maybe a little sad sometimes, but it's the final and perhaps most obvious sign your clock is ticking, ever louder.
How many of these I-want-a-baby-right-now signs have you seen? Or was there another way you knew your body was telling you you were ready?