What do children symbolize for Andrea in the novel, All Grown Up?

Children symbolize an alternative life that Andrea could have taken, along with representing the pain that comes with having a child. Efraim and Sigrid are the two children that Andrea is supposed to have a relationship with, and she spends the majority of the book avoiding a physical or emotional relationship with either. Once she holds Sigrid for the first time, Andrea is finally able to connect with her pain, and her family as a result.