China has just announced that it is relaxing its decades-old one-child policy, allowing most couples to have two children so long as one parent was an only child. Whether this will result in a baby boom has yet to be determined, but it is progress to see the government loosening up its family-planning policies. The original policy was set up to control population growth, but it has also resulted in a generation of only children, a shrinking labour force and an aging society. For some of these only children, the burden of caring for their elderly parents can be overwhelming. I couldn't imagine being told by my government how many children I was allowed to have. And yet, that was nearly reality in my family. If my parents had not emigrated to Canada, and stayed in China instead, I would likely not have been born, given that I am the second child. My two younger sisters certainly wouldn't have seen the light of day. Such a strange thing to consider the "What if" in these scenarios! Now, I'm pregnant with my second child, and I always knew that if I had kids, I would want more than one. I always felt siblings were important, having grown up with three. Having to share your parents of all things is an important lesson you just can't learn otherwise. For me, I think baby #2 will be the last. I had to convince my hubby to go for #2 so I don't see more in the future. Probably a good thing since I sometimes wonder how I'll get through the day with just the one. Ha! What about you? How many kids do you have or do you envision making up your family?