Halle Berry is ready for another baby.

The 43-year old American actress, model and former beauty queen already has two children, a biological daughter Nahla Ariela (born March 16, 2008) and adopted daughter India (the biological child of her ex-husband, musician Eric Benét).

She had previously told the press that she’d like Nahla–whose name means honeybee in Arabic–to have a sibling right away. And in a recent conversation with Ellen DeGeneres on her TV show, she was asked about it. Berry confirmed “My mind says yes, but the rest isn’t up to me so we’ll see.”

Who is it up to? Her boyfriend, Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, also wants more babies. So when can we expect to see a few more Berry-Aubrys? He told In Touch Magazine in February, “I’d like Nahla to have a sibling in 2009.”

Berry is no Octomom, telling DeGeneres, “I hope I don’t have like 14 more.” Aubry is a little more open-minded, though. Coming from a man who is one of eight siblings, it means a lot to say, “I believe in big families.”

Before motherhood, Berry was focused on a dazzling Hollywood career, earning one of the highest rates for an actress (ten million dollars per film). She can command such a fee after winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2001 for her role in Monster’s Ball. Berry also has Emmys and Golden Globes under her belt. As a model, Berry represents Revlon cosmetics and has a fragrance line. In her younger days, Berry was also active in the pageant circuit, winning Miss Teen All-American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986. She finished runner-up for Miss USA that year, but won Miss USA World 1986. At that time, she knew she wanted to be an entertainer, telling the interview committee as much and winning that portion of the contest.

Whether sought or not, Berry has become a role model for many people, as the only black woman to win the Best Actress award, and for not just living, but thriving with type-1 diabetes.

I wish Berry and Aubry the best as they expand their family!

The decision to move your child from his or her crib to a ‘big kid’ bed is a big one. I’ve known people who move their children to a bed before their child turns a year old, or others who make the transition right before the arrival of a younger sibling. Still others keep their children in the crib as long as possible. For some parents, the transition to a ‘big kid’ bed means purchasing a toddler bed frame that can be used with a crib mattress. Other parents prefer to move their child from the crib to a regular bed. As with almost all parenting issues, there is no right or wrong answer.

Personally, I keep my children in the crib as long as possible! When they are able to crawl out of the crib, I’ll move the mattress down to the lowest rung on the crib to try to delay the inevitable. I’ve found that the crib tents and other items designed to keep your baby from ‘escaping’ the crib really don’t work. When your child is making a regular effort to get out of the crib, it’s time to make the move to a big kid bed, mostly I feel for safety reasons.

I’ve found that making the transition from crib to bed because of the impending birth of a sibling isn’t a good idea. The idea of sharing mom and dad can be a stressful change for some kids; adding more changes is not such a good thing. Then again, your youngster may be excited to make the transition. If that is the case, take your opportunity when it presents itself!

My son is so active and he gets into everything! Frankly, I worry at this point about making the transition to a bed mostly for safety issues. Just thinking about all the things he could get into after I put him to bed and before he goes to sleep really stresses me out. I usually transitioned my children to a toddler bed when they were around 3, but I am wondering if this is a good plan for my son or not. I transitioned the children again to a regular bed when they were around 4 to 5 years old.

My son is very, very different from his four older siblings, all of whom happen to all be girls. He’s much more active and perhaps because he’s the youngest of 5, he is really focused on being a ‘big boy’ and doing ‘big boy’ things. Nevertheless, he hasn’t made a regular habit of escaping from his crib just yet and so my husband and I have decided to let well enough alone. Perhaps he’ll spend a little while longer in his crib, or perhaps we’ll be making that transition to a big boy bed very soon. Only time will tell!

When my wife was pregnant, we made a concerted effort to encourage our daughter’s belief that he was her baby, that somehow he was a communal baby, the family’s baby, if you will. When she talked about the upcoming event, it wasn’t “Mommy is going to have a baby!” It was “I’m going to be a big sister!”

Well, our son is a little over a month old now, and as far as my daughter is concerned, the bloom is definitely off the rose. She was excited to meet him and hold him and give him a bottle, but now that he’s been here a while, she has replaced her excitement with acting out and attention seeking behaviour.

If one of us is doing something with her (reading a book, watching some television, playing a game, whatever) and the other needs to pass off the baby, my daughter becomes irate and will sometimes completely lose it and throw a tantrum. She seems to have lost the ability to play by herself, perpetually whining that “nobody wants to play with me“, instead of occasionally playing by herself. (This can happen at any time, even if I have just finished [what feels like] a marathon session of Dora Candy Land.) Her appetite for attention has become insatiable.

I have tried to reinforce the fact that she is still my special girl, and my daughter, but that now we have two kids who need us. I have tried to encourage the idea that we’re a family, and that families do things together. But most days involve at least one or two incidents where it is clear that she feels her baby brother is trampling on her turf.

For those of you with more than one child, how did you handle this? Did you just ride it out until they outgrew it? Did you have any tactics or strategies that helped deal with the situation?

When preparing for a new baby, one of the most important preparations, if applicable, is that of your other children. Life can become very confusing when a new baby is added to the mix. Children can feel out of place, less loved and sometimes even ignored. It is important for parents to take some preemptive steps in order to help their children feel a part of the whole process.

Pregnant mothers can involve their children in the pregnancy and pre-birth activities in order for the child to feel connected to the changes that are taking place in their house. The child can take an active role in helping the Mom have a healthy pregnancy by simple things such as eating healthy foods with them, going for walks with them and taking daily vitamins along side their Mom.

Here are some more suggestions for how to involve your child in the events leading up to as well as after the birth of your baby:

• take your child to the hospital prior to the birth of the baby to meet the nurses and get acquainted with where you will be when you are having the baby so that it is not an unknown place
• have your child buy the baby a gift that is just from them, let them wrap it, potentially decorate the gift bag and make them a card
• include your child in decisions like what sheets to put on the crib and what outfits to pack for the hospital
• make a list of how they can help out once the baby is born (e.g. pass tissues, wipes, diapers, get a receiving blanket or wash cloth, help burp the baby etc.)
• make a ?Helping Record? for your child (with your assistance) to record all of the things they do each day to help with the baby
• make a chart of all of the things a baby does so that you can check off how many times they occur in a day
• go online and print off activities for your child to do while you are busy tending to the baby in the first days (coloring sheets, dot to dots, paper dolls, puppets etc.)
• make up zip lock baggies with new activities for child to do when they are feeling a bit out of sorts and are in need of a good distraction
• have your child choose some special toys and books that they want to share with the baby when the baby comes home
• have your child decorate a onesie for the baby
• help your child make a book for the baby all about your family, your home, etc., try including photos!

By involving your child in as many choices, decisions and activities as possible leading up to the birth of your baby, you will hopefully make them feel more a part of the entire process. There will always be some bumps along the road, but that is to be expected, after all, a whole new person is joining your family!