Well, I haven't had mine yet, but only 3 weeks left to go until I do. This pregnancy was very planned, although perhaps not for the conventional reasons.

I really hadn't given having kids much thought until I hit 35 or so. My career has always been very important to me, and I really don't have many friends who have the "kid" lifestyle. But, at 35, I realized that my window of opportunity was coming to a close - perhaps not like the biological timeclock in a "feeling" sense, but just looking at the facts, I knew that if I didn't take the chance while I had it, I could regret it later. And it did take me about 2 years to get pregnant, so I'm glad we didn't wait until I "felt ready". I still wasn't "ready" when we discovered that we were expecting, but that all changed over the course of about a week - maternal feelings really kicked in quickly and now I am absolutely thrilled to become a mom - my career and lifestyle are still important to me, but by now (age 38), I don't feel as though I'm going to be giving up as much as I would have if I had started parenting at say, 23.

Actually, I was a stepparent at 23 as well, but it felt like less of a choice than part of the relationship package deal. However, over time it grew to be a very fulfilling relationship, although not so much of a fulfilling role.

Now, the reasons I am excited about having kids are:
- I feel that I have learned a lot about making the world a better place, and I would like someone to be able to carry that on
- I love my husband very very much and feel like our child is an expression of our love for each other
- I am not close with my family, but I have longed for that kind of family relationship since I was young. My mom died a few days after my 15th birthday, and my adolescent years preceding that were filled with angst. I haven't had a good family relationship since I was about 10, and I long to create it now with my new family
- I really can't picture myself at age 70 with no family to love. Work, marriage, and friendships are great now, but what happens in 30 years when your peers are dying, you are retired, and you don't have the energy for the party lifestyle of your 20s and 30s? I can think of some fulfilling activities for that age, but I don't want to miss having fulfilling relationships.

So, those are some reasons I want to have kids.