I was mostly struck by Nicole’s comment that giving birth is what women are put on earth to do … I think she’s brave for voicing that. Having a child is such a life-altering thing, Nicole’s statement reminds me of how I first felt when I became a mother – that as proud as I was of my previous life and previous accomplishments, everything else paled in comparison. I wouldn’t generalise to the point of saying that giving birth is a woman’s most important purpose, but for me personally it is easily the best thing I have ever and will ever do.

And your experience would be different at 40. I have 3 boys – 17, 15 and 8. As a person, I changed between my first two and my third, and I’ve heard that statement echoed from all moms who have a wide gap between their kids.

“I think when you have children at 25, you still have that ‘what will be, will be’ attitude. It’s such a different way of parenting.”

I disagree. I had my first child at 22, my second at 24, and I have the same fears and concerns for my children’s future as any mother of any age would. Just because I’m a “younger” mother doesn’t mean I have a flippant attitude to parenting.

I just read the Parade interview and I don’t know who wrote it, but that was kinda horrible. Nicole handled it beautifully and said nothing wrong. But the author felt the need to mention not once, but twice that Bella and Connor were adopted and that Sunday was her “first child.” I know these magazines are all about sensationalism, but really? We all know that the older kids are adopted. There is no need to mention it in EVERY article about Tom and Nicole.

It seems that in every article, the interviewer is always prodding for some big scandal and trying to prove that Tom and Nicole love their biological children more. I feel bad that these two have to constantly defend their choices as parents. Obviously they are different parents than they were in their twenties. But, Tom and Nicole don’t love their kids differently, no matter how much the media wishes they did. No wonder those kids stay away from the spotlight. The media has been pretty cruel to them.

Saying it’s different doesn’t mean she’s saying it’s better.

Just like having a boy is different from having a girl.

Nicole has never exposed her first two children as they were growing up.

It was more the whole circus that Tom created with Katie that made the Suri thing such a frenzy.

bleh. I just can’t get into her interviews anymore. It’s as if the other two kids are just side projects now or something.

Gina … I completely agree with you! I literally cringe every time I read in an article or hear the media refer to children as “their adopted child, etc.” It is so unfair and cruel to adopted children and it seems stigmatizing. Having said that, I don’t think Nicole meant it in that way – but I do hope she is still giving Bella and Connor the same attention now that she’s giving to little Sunday.

I wasn’t surprised when Nicole refused to take pictures with Sunday when she was first born. She didn’t with her other children – for YEARS Tom and Nicole kept their chidren out of the spotlight. I think that’s also why it didn’t surprise me when Tom didn’t have pictures of Suri all over the place. I think it genuinely shocked him that media coverage of Suri was so different than it was for his first two kids. I think he and Nicole (separately) underestimated how huge the demand for newborn pictures is now, and that the paparazzi will stake out until they get some. I feel kind of sorry for all the celebrities for having to push pictures of their kids early. I applaud any of them who say No until they are really ready (Halle Barry, for one).

I take it as less about a difference between the kids and more about the difference of being 15 years older. No matter how long Nicole lives, Sunday will have had several fewer years with Nicole than Bella and Connor have.