Most of us ladies will be faced with the possibility of falling pregnant at some point in our lives, yet we all know how difficult this can often be.

With more women waiting until later in life to establish a family we have prioritised work commitments over babies. Whether you have waited, or are trying to start a family young, it is essential to understand our bodies fully in regards to conception.

Toni Weschler’s book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health is the complete guide to understanding ovulation cycles, fertility and our bodies in general. Basically, you can think of it as the ‘bible’ for all things concerned with women’s bodies.

Weschler presents a comprehensive guide on an easy-to-read level, which will ease any nerves and build confidence in gaining a comprehensive understanding of your body.

The main point of concentration throughout the book is the scientifically proven, yet little-known Fertility Awareness Method (FAM). The book offers a reliable guide to calculating ovulation cycles and peak conception times as well as including helpful charts to track body temperatures and details, allowing thorough understanding of when either conception and miscarriage occur.

"Taking Charge of your Fertility" is also a guide to understanding hormones, menopause, timing intercourse to determine the gender of your baby as well as fertility tests and treatments.

So if you are looking to start a family or add another little one to your clan, this book will answer any of your unanswered questions with easy to read references and a touch of humor.

Learn more about fertility awareness and visit the official Taking Charge of your Fertility website.

And whilst you're at it, you should also buy:

• a basal digital thermometer to keep track of your temperature every morning
• Pre-Seed personal lubricant (it replicates natural secretions and is sperm-friendly!)
• The Infertility Cure: The Ancient Chinese Wellness Program for Getting Pregnant and Having Healthy Babies
• Clearblue Digital Ovulation Tests, 20-Count Box

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For teenage girls and parents of teenagers, you may also be interested in her book, "Cycle Savvy: The Smart Teen's Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body"

And if you're in the zone of discussing periods, changing bodies, and the possible consequences of all those hormones, you should also check out website for The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

The National Campaign seeks to improve the well-being of children, youth, families, and the nation by preventing unplanned and teen pregnancy.

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CITY and SUBURBAN-BASED ACTIVITIES - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

"The Big Friendly Giant" by Roald Dahl
Performances until 22 January 2010 at 10.30am and 1pm at the Kaleide Theatre, RMIT, 360 Swanston Street. Ph: 03 9685 5111.

The Arts Centre, St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Activities for kids until June 2010 are listed here.

Melbourne Museum
For the Summer School Holiday program until 31 January, 2010 see their website.

Scienceworks
Visit their website for the Summer School Holiday program until 31 January, 2010.

Other good ideas for activities can be found listed by state  and suburb, as well as the Melbourne for Children website. 

Thanks to Natasha's mum, Colleen Wood (and grandmother of two!), for these fab suggestions.

Melbourne Zoo, Werribee Open Range Zoo  and Healesville Sanctuary
In addition to the normal activities, such as the safari bus tour, you can book for other special programs. Visit their website.

Collingwood Children’s Farm
St Heliers Street, Abbotsford. Open 9am-5pm every day, with cow milking at 10am and 4pm. Ph: 03 9417 5806 and see their website here.

River cruises around Melbourne
Such as the Maribyrnong River, Southbank to Williamstown. See Melbourne River Cruises and City River Cruises.

Badger Creek, Healesville
Perfect on a hot day as children of all ages love to play in the creek; take a stroll along one of the walking trails. Learn more about Badger Creek.

Your local library
Read and/or borrow a book (or several books) - see also our list of Beautiful children's books, below. Find your local library.

State Library of Victoria
Corner of Swanston and La Trobe Streets, Melbourne: exhibitions such as the Ned Kelly exhibit; Experimedia room; see their free children’s activities.


For more tourism advice, see VisitMelbourne and VisitVictoria.

Thanks to Natasha's mum, Colleen Wood, for these luscious ideas.

Helping your friends' children, or your own children if you have them, to enjoy reading and develop their imagination is a fabulous thing.

Here are some of our top picks. Obviously you still need to do your research to ensure the book/s you pick are appropriate for the age of the child you are buying for.

• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
• A Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
• A Little Princess, The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• Aesop's Fables by Jerry Pinkney
• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Anne of Green Gables series by LM Montgomery
• Arabian Nights or One Thousand and One Nights
• Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
• Blinky Bill by Dorothy Wall
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, The Witches, James and the Giant Peach and Matilda by Roald Dahl
• Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
• David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• Dot and the Kangaroo  by Ethel C. Pedley
• Famous Five series,The Wishing Chair and The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
• Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett
• Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
• Hans Christian Fairy Tales by H.C. Andersen
• Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
• Heidi by Johanna Spyri
• Hills End by Ivan Southall
• Just So Stories and The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
• Kidnapped and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• King Arthur and His Knights and The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
• King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
• Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Puss in Boots, and Cinderella by Charles Perrault
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Madeline series by Ludwig Bemelmans
• Mary Poppins series by P.L. Travers
• Meg and Mog by Jan Pienkowski
• Miffy by Dick Bruna
• Mr Men series by Roger Hargreaves
• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
• Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
• Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
• Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
• Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner
• Silver Brumby series by Elyne Mitchell
• Snow White, Rapunzel, and Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm
• Snugglepot and Cuddlepie series by May Gibbs
• Storm Boy by Colin Thiele
• Ten Little Ladybirds by Melanie Gerth
• The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
• The Borrowers by Mary Norton
• The Cat in the Hat by Dr Suess
• The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
• The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay
• The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
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• The Snail and the Whale, Room on a Broom and The Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson
• The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Rudolf Wyss
• The Tales of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
• The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
• The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
• Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Wicked series by Paul Jennings and Morris Gleitzman
• Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

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• Get them cooking such fun things like zucchini fritters and Alphabet biscuits
• Make up limericks about members of the family
• Learn to knit, such as make a scarf - see our Get Stitched story on the Lush and green page
• Create figures from plasticine or dough
• Plant a miniature garden
• Make string figures - see this site for ideas
• Play a game of chess
• Learn how to play marbles thanks to this website.

For more ideas, visit the Activities4KIDS website and see the book by Di Hodges, 501 TV-Free Activities for Kids (Dingley, Vic: Hinkler Books, 2001).

Thanks to Natasha's mum, and grandmother of two, Colleen Wood, for her support of Luscious!

Be prepared for children in your house by having a box of goodies ready to go:

• Jump rope
• Soccer ball, football, rounders bat and ball, baseball and mitt, tennis racquet and ball, badminton set
• Frisbee
• Coloured pencils, colouring books and plain paper
• Craft glue, coloured and textured paper, sticky tape, stickers
• Water pistols
• Chalk
• Face paint
• Kites
• Old clothes, shoes and accessories for dress-ups
• Bubble blower
• Totem tennis
• Wooden blocks or Lego
• Story books and pop-up books
• Old kitchen utensils or plastic toy utensils.

Picture: Argington Fuji Toybox

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Feeling domestically-inspired? 

Check out our other Domestic Goddess sections:

Fabulous foodie

Lush and green

What we're watching

Beautiful things

Hostess with the mostest