How many for you?

Just curious to see how many kids everyone wanted or if you've completed your family. Did anyone think maybe you were done and then got a surprise?


MY ANSWER: I never thought I wanted any kids, but I got pregnant with Tristan just shy of my eighteenth birthday and I was in shock for about a month. Then, I was really excited. Jackson was planned as was this third baby, but 3 is my final number. I am excited to almost have my family complete, but also a little sad that I won't have any more babies (after this one) in my future. Anyone ever have any sad days thinking that your babies are getting bigger and there won't be any left to hold anymore? So, anyways, in conclusion, three is the perfect number around here! :baby

Although my husband and I knew we wanted kids (3 or 4), we weren't planning on having kids for a couple of years. Turns out we actually got pregnant on our honeymoon - Meredith was born on 11/22/03 ... exactly nine months to the day after our wedding!!! Talk about surprise!!! Needless to say it has been an interesting 11 months now. We are excited to celebrate our first anniversary but never dreamed we would end up needing a babysitter for the night! That being said, Meredith is such a blessing and we can't imagine our lives without her!

We had a hard time getting preggo with Zoë, twelve months of monitored purposeful trying. (with an ovulation monitor) My husband has always said 2, I've always said 3, now that his daughter is such a joy he says maybe 3. Hehe.

We want them closer together, rather than farther apart, in age. Soooo... we are going to let what happens happen! We will feel blessed with however it turns out.

Mara

We were trying to conceive #2 for 5 yrs before going to an RE for help and that took a little over a year. Now we have these 2 which makes 3 and we're one big happy family :) :) :) :) :)

WE are DONE!!!!!!!! Eli is going to get fixed on Feb. 12th!!! I have always wanted 3 and he has always wanted two so we both got what we wanted!!! We are happy to have our 3 plus this last pregnancy was hard on me I was sick a lot and then the delivery was too scary for me so I am glad we are done!!!

I second Nicoles response. I'm perfectly satisfied with my two. I haven't had my tubes tied or taken permanent measures yet, but my patch is working great and I know what I can handle - 2. My hubby would like three but I think he's starting to enjoy the freedoms we are starting to have again - date nights, eating out, family outings etc.. I'm enjoying the little me time I get thanks to PreK and looking forward to getting out of diapers next year.

I can't tell you now, Bonny. I just don't know what I'm comfortable handling or how complete we'll feel after two. We've talked about three or possibly four, but it's truly impossible for me to be certain at this point, when it's so comparatively easy with just one!

We are done as well. When i first got pregnant with michael is was a total suprise. See I met Steve and the first time we had sex about 2 weeks after we met I got pregnant. Had Michael and we got married a month later. Now with Jacob he was a total suprise we werent planning or anything like that. But as soon as steve calmed down after me telling him the first thing to come out of his mouth is your getting fixed after this one.. So i had my tubes tied and having my 2 boys makes our family complete.

P.s. I do have another son who is 12 but he is not with me I placed him for adoption when I was 18 yrs old.. I was not ready to be a mom and wanted him to have a better life then i could give. Best decision I ever made in my lifetime...

Four, but how you define that four is up for debate in our house.

I want at least 4 of my own, plus my step-son for a grand total of 5. Chris wants at least 4 kids total -- after that, he say's, "We'll see..."

I think we'd both go for 7 if it wasn't for finances and logistics (we don't want to take 2 cars everywhere!) ;)

Check back with me after I have this next baby --- Like Steph said, it's really impossible to know for sure at this point. All I'm sure of is that this is NOT my last pregnancy. I love being pregnant WAY too much!

Ironically, I couldn't agree with you more, Cori! I loved the last pregnancy and I love knowing I'm pregnant again (although I really could pass on the first trimester woes!). It's just a special time, and it makes me feel like I'm doing exactly what I'm here to do. It could be hormones, but I think there's more to it--just a deep understanding of who I am and why I'm here, and feeling really cool with it.

I agree with Cori and Steph. I just fill so fullfilled while I am pregnant, like I am really fullfilling my purpose. I have a hard time with my pregnancies, so I am not sure how many more we can have, but I don't think that will stop us from having a ton more kids! We want at least one more naturally. I have a slight spinal defect that acts up HORRIBLY during pregnancy. Drew and I are both only 25, so we want a lot of screaming, running, goofy, fun, little ones close together. Drew has already been trying to convince me to have another one. I'd like to wait a couple of years to get my back (and the rest of me) back into shape, but I must say he is wearing on me. I just love kids. Drew says he'd like 6, and from what I hear after 3 it is not so hard to keep up with them. You have already changed from one on one to zone defense at that point, right. ;) When you are old, all you have is your kids and I am so excited that I will hopefully be a grandma one day. I can't wait to spoil grandkids! FUN!

Well for us, Scott wants 4 and I want 3 and will consider 4 after I have 2-3 running around letting me know what it's like! In my case its really hard to know since we don't even have the first one here yet! I suppose once he/she arrives I'll either want to stop at one or race for 4. :D Aside from the first trimester though, I can say that Ive loved being pregnant. There is nothing more amazing than feeling that life kicking (or karate chopping in my case ;) ) around inside you. We want to have them close together too so we will be letting nature take it's course after this baby comes. :)

Julie

We are aiming for 4! I am really excited about it. My parents are from big families and then they only had my sister and me. I see their interactions and fun and I want the same. I feel the more the better. I want to sit in a room surrounded by my kids. And now we're expecting number 2, I'm so excited to see how everything goes!!

Bonny, what a great question for discussion. I also have two children and we are done since I got my tubes tide on my birthday over a year ago. It was a grEat birthday present to myself. I never really had time to want children. I got pregnant with my son when I was 18 and had him when I was 19. I love my children very much and wouldn't trade them for anything. I wanted to tie my tubes after I had my son but my doctor said I was to young and he wouldn't do it. Then I met my husband and we dated for a while and then I got pregnant with my daughter. We went through alot of things and then ended up getting married after my daughter was born. My husband loves children and he would like more but I guess I being very selfish because thats all we are having. I do most of the raising of the children becuase he works so much. I think I would feel diffrently if I got to stay at home with my children. It is very hard to work outside of the home, raise children, get them to there ativities, cook, and clean house. I am not a strong enough woman to have any more. All that to say we are done

Honestly, I had a really hard time deciding how many children I wanted. I have considered four, but then feel selfish when I think, No, I want just a little bit of myself left over at the end of the day. However, I'm like you Billie, I'm 22 and think I have a lot of time to change my mind for more if I still want that after this baby. I was really scared before Jackson was born how the transition would be from one child to two and it was definitly harder, but I'm worried again now that it will go from 2 to 3 kids around.
I think my biggest problem is that I can be self-conscious about my looks (stupid, I know) and each time I get pregnant, I have a mini identity crisis thinking I'll never look like my old self again-however, a sweet little baby usually keeps me in sweet, ignorant bliss until I lose all the weight I've gained. But still, it can be hard...
Back to the question though: Great answers everyone! No matter how many kiddos you have or don't have, as long as it makes you and your family happy and complete is all that matters.:love

The whole time I was growing up, I always said I wanted four kids. After Alex's dad and I divorced, I didn't think it would ever happen. After Ken and I got married we decided to start trying immediately (mainly because of my age and not knowing how easy it would be). We had two miscarriages before Joseph. After Joseph we decided we would prevent it and whatever happened happened. Libby was conceived IMMEDIATELY after that decision. (they are 17 mos apart). We really thought we were done after Libby. Ken talked about getting a vascectomy the entire time I was pregnant. BOOM! I got pregnant when Libby was 6 weeks old, I was nursing her full-time and was on the mini-pill. I was in shock for some time after that. I was actually embarrassed to be seen with a little baby and be OBVIOUSLY pregnant. The first year was pretty rough, but now it is wonderful! Caroline is my sunshine and just goes with the flow.
I really think I have two "sets" of kids. Alex (14) and then the bumpercrop (Joseph, 3; Libby, 2; and Caroline 1)
We ARE done now though. Ken was snipped when Caroline was 2 weeks old (Caroline and I went and watched JUST to make sure!) I would recommend that the guys get it done while you are still pregnant...they tend to want to be babied and that is hard when you are recovering from childbirth yourself!
Teri

Bonny - the transition from 1 to 2 was really hard for me, but 2 to 3 was a snap. It gets easier as soon as the defence changes :-) I'm telling you, once you go from one on one to zone, it's all the same ;) :D

We're taking the wait-and-see approach, too. Charlotte's birth was a bit scary, but the reasons for that ("crappy placenta" to quote my doc's technical term) shouldn't repeat. So I think it will depend on how the second birth goes; if it's also traumatic, I don't think I'll be able to hold my dh back from getting "fixed." If it goes well, I'd consider 4 my max. Of course, if we go past two my dh and I will be outnumbered!! :) I like Billie's answer to that, though--zone defense!! :D My dh has already said that however many we wind up with, he doesn't want to have any more after he turns 35 because he'd like to have all the kids out of the house by the time we retire for sure. :D So we'll have them fairly close together, maybe two years apart. I've got to wait a while anyway for full c-section healing, and though I'm sure I could do it I'd rather not jump right into another pregnancy after Charlotte weans.

DH and I don't have any children just yet, but we are thinking 4. He is the oldest of 5 and I am the oldest of 2. If my mother had not had so much trouble after my birth and my brother's birth 2 years later she would have had more. We hope to have 4 but however many God gives us is just fine with us.

We're pretty sure we are done at one. We adore Faith beyond belief, I had an easy pregnancy and easy delivery, but we just don't feel that we want another child. Our family is complete as it is.

We are currently saying we are 90% sure we are done, just in case we change our minds, but I don't really see it happening. And we'd want another girl and I don't think we can pick that. ;o)

Billie-Thanks for the reassurances. It was really hard on me to go from having one child to two. Tristan was 3 when Jackson was born, so I was so used to having just him around and we had a little schedule, but hopefully, since this baby and Jackson will be closer in age, it will be a little easier. Thanks again though-that has been something I've been stressing over these past couple of weeks, but I feel a lot better now, especially hearing from someone who's been there. :)

Shannon-I totally know how you feel. I was so in love with Tristan and we had such a great time every day when it was just me and him here, it just felt like such a comforting little cocoon with our baby. I was scared to get pregnant again after him also because I felt like we had such a good thing going that I didn't want to mess it up. (I'm not implying you feel that way, just that I did. ;) )
However, I know how you feel and sometimes, I secretly wish for those days back whenI had just one child around because it was soooo much more peaceful. But, shh!! <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_2_112.gif' border=0></a> Don't tell my husband or kid(s) I said that. :D

We would be happy with one more, but two is just fine too...especially since we have both a boy and a girl. I absolutely loved being pregnant with Austin, no problems at all. However, I had a lot of complications during my pregnancy with Taya and spent 3 months on my back in preterm labor, on complete bedrest. It was horrible having 15 minutes per day, to be in a sitting or standing position. It was extremely painful, having her head "right there" so low for so long. My OB/GYN says that all of my future pregnancies will most likely end up this way because of a weakened cervix, but I may not be so lucky as to carry to term next time, despite having my cervix stitched closed (which is what I would have to do). She encouraged me to have my tubes tied, but my sweet hubby is taking care of things on his end instead.

I was kind of the opposite of Billie. (Not counting Alex).
It was easier for me to slip into the two routine because Ken took a much bigger role once I had Libby. After having Caroline though, it was a lot harder for me. I would attribute this to having 3 in 2 1/2 years. It is much better now that the first year is done though!
I think the 3rd would not have made such a huge impact if Joseph and Libby were a little older.

I think I am with you Shannon. Although I had always wanted a house full of kids, now with Ellie, I have changed my mind. She is all that I need. We feel so very completed and content with her. I know in theory, that you have enough love for any additional children that you have, but I just can not fathom that. I love Ellie so very much that I would not want anything to take away from this amazing experience. For her sake, we will most likely have another. My sister is my best friend and I have such great relationships with all of my other siblings and I don't want Ellie to miss out on that, but I just can not imagine sharing my focus. Then again, I share my attention all day between Rachel, Ryan and Ellie, but when I come home, it is Just us three. In bed, she cuddles in between John and I. Our life seems to perfect too change. Mom things that I will get the ich in a few months or year. We often talk about the next, so I know we will have another.

Hi Everyone!.. I am still learning the ropes in the boards. :) this is an interesting topic though... I have 3 girls and well, one more baby on the way (in may).. I think after my last baby, we didn't really "want" anymore for a VERY Long time.. However, it happened (with protection nonetheless) and we are happy and excited about it.. I mean, after the initial "shock" of it all.. lol I think we have been in denial for quite some time.. Honestly, though.. I still would like ONE more after this one.. for some reason 5 seems like the perfect number around here.. and it might happen shortly after this one.. OR i may just wait.. It seems like as SOON as i get my body back I get pregnant and gain about 70lbs... (first baby i gained 90).. sooooooo I think whenever the time is right for another, it will come.. :) and I am ok with it, but 5 would be good for us!.. I know a few women who have 6 and more and am AMAZED at how they run things..lol.. Hoping I can get more experienced in 'organizing" and whatnot.. My parents though, they never seem excited for me when I get preg again.. They say I am too young to have so many (i am 23).. my theory of it is that the younger I am, the better energy to keep up!.. (have no energy these days though :cry ) ..

better go--gotta start homeschooling (we start at 10:30).. and the little one is eating paper with the naughtiest look.. :eek

take care ya'll!

We are done after baby #2. If something happens unplanned we will be excited but we really only want 2. I am with you though. I had a great pregnancy with Brittany and it is kinda sad thinking about never being pregnant again after this one so I am going to really enjoy this pregnancy. Husband will get fixed after that :o)

Melissa,
If you REALLY want him to get fixed, you might want to think about doing it while you are pregnant. My husband was going to do it with Libby, but never got around to it, and we were blessed with Caroline (I got pregnant when Libby was 6 weeks old, while I was nursing and taking the mini-pill).
2nd, He did get fixed when Caroline was 3 weeks old. That was rough. He had complications, so it took a lot longer to heal that it should have (like weeks!). And here I was with a newborn, a one year old, a two year old and a husband that couldn't lift or do anything AND I was only 3 weeks post-partum! (He did't ask my opinion about WHEN to get it done!)
Teri

Wow, Teri!! Talk about having your hands full !!! :eek

That sounds like it must have been a very trying few weeks with hubby out of commission and so many little ones! Hopefully you were able to get others to help out...

Good advice about the timing of hubby getting fixed. My husband and I aren't finished yet but I will store that away in my brain's "very important to remember" file!!! That's the kind of advice I love to get that lots of doctors, books, etc. don't tell you !!!

Wow, this has been a very interesting post to read. It is pretty cool to see the different ideas have for the size of their families. It also makes me giggle to read about all the men getting 'fixed'. It sounds like we are referring to the family dog!

Anyway, I would love to have 3. I have one now and am trying for the second. No luck after 5 months, but I am still hoping and keeping my fingers crossed that it happens soon. I don't want to be too late into the 30's by the time the third comes so I think after the second, we will just have the third right after (if at all possible). I would like more, but hubby wouldn't and I am too old to keep going. I don't want to be having kids in my 40's. I don't have the energy and I want to be around for their weddings and my grandchildren.

Teri, you amaze me. 3 kids in two and a half years! I know I could do it if I had to but not without a lot of breakdowns!