The couple - who celebrated their third anniversary last month - are said to have agreed the time is right to add to their family and give three-year-old daughter Suri a sibling.

A friend of the couple told America`s OK! magazine: "She no longer feels like she`s just Mrs. Cruise. She`s her own person again. She and Tom have their disagreements, but deep down they love each other very much. That`s what is important."

Tom, 47, and 30-year-old Katie - who met in April 2005 - have been contemplating having another baby for some time.

It had been reported Katie - who recently finished shooting `The Extra Man Mary` and `Don`t Be Afraid of the Dark` - wanted to star in another box office hit before she expanded her family.

A source said: "Katie had to put movies on hold after Suri."

Katie`s last film `Mad Money` failed to impress at the box office when it was released in 2008. The crime comedy, also starring Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton, only managed to match its estimated $22 million budget when its cinema run ended.
sections: Celebrities