Carrie Ann Inaba: I'm Ready for a Baby

Among the many things Carrie Ann Inaba has learned this year: She’s ready to be a mom.

“I really do want to have a child,” the Dancing with the Stars judge, 44, tells PEOPLE. “So I’m putting my energies toward that.”

Since breaking off her engagement to accountant Jesse Sloan, Inaba has been to see a fertility doctor on a monthly basis and has been in “good shape” at every checkup. While in vitro fertilization is not currently in the works, Inaba is keeping her options open.

“I’m hoping that it happens the old-fashioned way,” she says, “but I’m not opposed to trying new things.”

As her doctor has made her very aware, Inaba doesn’t have the luxury of time.

“My body is my timeline,” she says. “That doesn’t mean that there can’t be hope and there can’t be a miracle. A lot of miracles have happened in my life so I continue to believe in them. It only takes one egg!”

Meanwhile, Inaba (who recently launched a new foundation, The Carrie Ann Inaba Animal Project) is opening herself up to the possibility of falling in love again. (“Maybe soon,” she says.) She is single but remains close with Sloan and his teenage daughter Kristen.

“I feel like I’m ready for a lot of wonderful things in my life to happen,” she adds. “I have enough love to give and I feel confident enough in who I am that I can give that love.”