When weighing all the pros and cons of having more kids, does money play a role? For some of my friends, the costs of daycare, transportation, extra-curriculars, vacations and so on were just too much for them to have a second (or third) child.

It is expensive. Today's Parent reports that each child will cost you $240,000 until they reach the age of 18. And that doesn't include post-secondary education which is it's own financial headache.

Three kids are the most stressful number, says a survey by the Today Show.

I have three kids. I win the mommy stress competition! Phew, I knew that something good would finally come out of my multiple progeny.

According to the 7,000 women surveyed, moms of three kids have more stress than mothers with less kids, and even more stress than mothers who have four or more. The Today Show called it the "Duggar Effect". As if 19 kids are less stressful than my three.

One million babies die on their first day of life -- making their birth day the most dangerous day of their life.

Save the Children has come out with their State of the World's Mothers Index and the results are startling. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most dangerous place to give birth. If you are pregnant in the Democratic Republic of Congo you have a one in 30 chance of not living through the birth. Finland and other Nordic countries are ranked the best places to be a mother. 

I  have recently returned from a trip to Dominican Republic where I toured three SOS Children's Villages. A number of the orphaned children that I met ended up in care because their mothers had died in childbirth. It sounded outlandish to me that dying in childbirth is so common. There must be a way to make it better. And there is. 

When I was in labour with my second, there wasn't too much for my doula to do -- so she picked up the camera and took photos. And they are amazing. There is a black and white photo of my doctor catching my son and she looks so happy. 

I love them. But I don't show them to anyone (including my son). But they really do show the miracle, the teamwork and moment of his birth. (My doctor, however, has a framed copy on her wall.)

The fact that these beautiful black and white photos exist is a fluke. As much as I love them, would I hire a professional to take photos during the birth?

If there is a mother in the world who doesn't feel guilty, I would like to know her secret. If you ask enough questions to any mother -- no matter how old her kids are -- you will find the nugget of guilt somewhere.

The media, of course, doesn't help. We are supposed to feel guilty about helicoptering, and ignoring; disciplining too much, and not disciplining enough; the list goes on. But most of all, we are supposed to feel guilty about the time we spend away from our children. 

And we do.

Even Victoria Beckham, "Posh" to us children of the '90s, admitted recently that she feels guilty being a working mom.

A study out of Britain is claiming that light drinking during pregnancy does not harm the baby. Up to two alcoholic "units" did not harm the fetus and had no affect on the behaviour of the children, says the study.

Okay I can't stand it any longer. I have to address the Kim Kardashian fat-shaming pregnancy issue.

I have stayed out of the fray on this because I think that everything KimmyK does is to get publicity and more money -- including getting pregnant. 

But since announcing little North West, Kim has been wearing tight and oddly-shaped outfits that don't do her lovely body justice. And the tabloids have been judging her heavily for it. We loved her curves before, but only within reason it seems. 

In some ways, her body is the product that she sells and she knows that every bizarre get-up she puts on will be commented on, so I do think she is not oblivious to the silhouettes she has chosen to go out in. (And I do find a leather minidress a bizarre pregnancy outfit - no breathability.)

She has been criticized and fat-shamed for months about her clothing choices as well as her expanding body. The tabloid and psuedo-tabloids have been selling magazines off of her body for years and now it is has ramped up with headlines like: "I Can't Stop Eating" and "Pregnant Kim's Nightmare". And then there was this. 

News is that Kate Middleton (side note: why do we all still call her by her maiden name? You would think a woman in the throes of an extremely traditional family would be referred to by her married  name) has plans to move home to her parents after having the royal heir.

The Duchess of Cambridge is (gasp!) allegedly dispensing with the services of a maternity nurse and choosing to have her mum help her out with for the first 6 weeks.

According the Daily Mail: "Kate says she ‘just feels safest and most secure’ with her family and believes that no one could be better placed to teach her about bringing up a baby than her mother, who has three children of her own."

To complicate matters, Kate and Will's apartment at Kensington Palace won't be ready for a few months because they've found asbestos in the walls. So the new family has to choose whether to stay in their temporary home, or to move in with Carol Middleton.

We've all done it.

Told a little too much about our kids online. Not just me as a blogger, but anyone who is on Facebook or Twitter. There is a very fine line between providing information, broadcasting great moments and oversharing. So, I have a little empathy for the updates that cross the line, once in a while. 

But sometimes there is something so egregious, so ridiculous, that I stare at my screen in disbelief. There are the braggers and the sanctimommies, the oversharers -- they are the parents who believe that the world revolves around them and their children's small achievements. 

STFU Parents is for them (yes, stands for Shut the F*ck Up). Or at least it is to make fun of them. And in doing so it also reveals a little bit of ourselves. 

Blair Koenig is a childless writer who has been keeping up the blog for four years. She gets over one and half million views per month and has just released a book, STFU Parents: the jaw-dropping, self-indulgent, and occasionally rage-inducing world of parent overshare.

Emma Willer has three boys, a dog, husband and a full-time job. She recently returned to her government job after her one-year maternity leave. Emma writes the honest and lovely blog: Where There's A Willer...or five. Never sentimental, Emma admits that there is no perfect answer to the universal question: "Can women have it all?" I asked her for her tips on returning back to work after maternity leave.

Guest Post: Tips For Moms Returning To Work