My New Heartbeat

You Want How Many?

Katie2014PhotoParents face the same boilerplate questions all the time.

During pregnancy, people ask about your baby’s due date and gender.

They later ask about your infant’s sleeping and feeding habits.

And when you are finally comfortable with this whole parenting thing, they hit you with this doozy: Are you planning on having more kids?

The answer for us has always been a big, resounding YES!

When we can afford it, I want to start popping them out like a gumball machine.

I’ve seen a variety of reactions when I reveal that I want a big family. My mother thinks it’s a great idea. Not everyone else does.

Here are some responses:

  • “Five kids will be so expensive, you wouldn’t be able to afford very nice things.”

This reaction assumes I expect to live in a mansion with my giant family. I am well aware how expensive kids are.

They steal your sleep and your money, but you somehow forgive it all when they say things like, “Mommy, you my best fwend.”

Maybe my plan is to teach my brood to sing, and we will earn money by performing like the Von Trapp family.

Or maybe I don’t need brand new cars and clothes to be happy, and I plan on passing that life lesson along to my kids.

  • “You can’t give each child attention with that many.”

I think that a family of three has the same amount of hours in the day as a family of seven. There are more people to divide that time among, but what matters is how we prioritize that time.

  • “What if you end up with multiples on what you planned to be your last pregnancy?”

Then to paraphrase my favorite line from Jaws: “I think we’re going to need a bigger boat.”

The bottom line is this: Please stop telling me I have too many imaginary children.

I respect the parents who choose to have only one child and the ones who have six.

We are not all the same, and our family structures work for each of us in different ways.

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