More Babies?

It seems like everybody has an opinion on how many babies one should have. I have met parents who are dead-set on only having one, many parents who like having two, and a few parents who are brave enough to have more than two.

My husband and I have always talked about having between 2 and 4 children. And right now we are very happy with our two. Even, I may say, a little overwhelmed at times.

I remember when Jack was born, thinking "please let me want to do this again, please let it not be too terrifying." And he was a delightful, charming baby. I wanted to have 10 of him!

And then we had Sarah not quite 2 years later and with the packing and moving and everything, it really hit me hard how much more difficult it was to have two.

It seems like people know if they are done having kids. I mean, I knew that I wanted to have one. And then I knew that I wanted to have the second. Do I know if I want a third? No, I don't know. At least not yet. I know I don't want one right now. I know I am ready to be thin for a while, I know that I want to sleep through the night for a while, I know I want the time to have a clean house for a while.

I haven't gotten rid of any of our baby stuff. I have full boy's and girl's wardrobes in tubs in the basement. I have their sweet baby crib bedding sets. I have my maternity clothes packed away where I can find them. I would love to use some of their things again. But not now.

I am not ruling out the possibility that in a year (or two or three) we might be ready for one last baby. I would be willing to put my body through pregnancy and birthing one more time. To put myself through the sleepless nights, the self-doubt, the long hours of crying (the baby's, I mean), and the pure and utter exhaustion of mothering an infant.

But then I would get this body back to myself. However, not my heart...that belongs to three other people now, and maybe, someday, one more.



I started thinking to write about this topic after reading Swistle's posts on Baby Spacing and then about having more than one (or two or three). I am fascinated to read Swistle's blog since she is the mother of almost five children. She has four children, including a set of twins and is pregnant with her fifth baby. I am amazed at how she gets up in the morning and keeps things running, taking care of four children and dealing with being untumfortable.