Anderson Cooper Talks Having More Kids: 'It Would Certainly Be Nice for Wyatt to Have a Sibling'

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Anderson Cooper is leaving room in his heart for more babies.

The 53-year-old CNN anchor is dad to son Wyatt Morgan, 16 months, and in this week's issue, Cooper tells PEOPLE about the possiblity of welcoming more children into his family someday.

"Would I want to have more kids? I would, definitely. It would certainly be nice for Wyatt to have a sibling. Yeah, it would be," Cooper, who co-parents Wyatt with ex Benjamin Maisani, says.

Cooper tells the story of his family in the new book Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty (out Sept. 21), and, as he shares with PEOPLE, raising his baby boy has made him aware of the connection he has to late loved ones. His mother Gloria Vanderbilt died in June 2019 at age 95, and his brother Carter died by suicide at 23 back in 1988.

"I've started to realize how much Wyatt looks like Carter, who looked my mom," says Cooper. "It's just this extraordinary feeling of connection to people who are no longer here and connection to the past. I really didn't expect that."

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RELATED GALLERY: Anderson Cooper's Most Adorable Pictures with His Son Wyatt Morgan

Cooper says Wyatt is "so happy and giggly" these days.

"He does this thing where we go to a coffee place and he'll walk around and look at people, and once they make eye contact with him he'll laugh," the proud dad continues. "I love how he interacts with strangers and takes joy in them. I'm charmed by everything he does, annoyingly. And being there when he wakes up and taking him out of the crib, it's just the best."

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"I suddenly think like, 'Oh my God, there's going to be a time when he won't let me kiss his face all over or hold his hand even.' I just want to rub his tummy right now as much as I can, because I know at a certain point he'll be like, 'Just get away from me,' " says Cooper.

For more on Anderson Cooper and his new book Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands nationwide Friday.