One mother explores the age-old question: How do you know when you’re done having kids — and how to come to terms with the answer. ParentingJourney MotherhoodMusings FamilyPlanning
for the past six years. I’m expecting our last little one this holiday season: the key word being last. It’s the end of a chapter, the bittersweet anticipation of closing the door on having babies and instead focusing on raising them.It’s a great question because there is no real answer. Some people know; other people will struggle with knowing — sometimes, the decision is made for us based on extenuating circumstances. But it’s a question often brought up because it matters. It’s important.
When people ask if this is my first, it’s both amusing and sad when I tell them the reality. Amusing because you can see the sparkle in their eye as they assume they have some secret knowledge you haven’t yet experienced. Sad because they often change their expression when they realize it’s the fourth. Sometimes it’s just a surprise. Sometimes it’s judgment. Sometimes bewilderment. With my first, I was free just to be excited, and strangers felt free to be excited for me.
There are also changes coming for my current children. Their roles will shift, as will their relationships with one another and with us as their parents. My middle will no longer really be a “middle.” My oldest will have yet another sister instead of his hoped-for brother. The youngest will get her baby title revoked.
While the baby’s siblings will go through a big change, there is so much goodness to look forward to. My oldest gets to solidify his special only-boy status. He’s the best big brother to his sisters, and it will only work to soften his heart and nurture parts of him that may otherwise be hardened. The middle child is a like a second mother. She’s already saying how much she loves the baby, and I can’t wait to include her in the day-to-day caretaking tasks.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Italy starts removing lesbian mothers' names from children's birth certificates | CNNThe northern Italian city of Padua has started removing the names of non-biological gay mothers from their children’s birth certificates under new legislation passed by the “traditional family-first” government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Read more »
U.N. expert decries the practice of taking boys from their mothers at detention camps in SyriaA U.N.-backed human rights advocate says hundreds of boys - some as young as 11 - held in detention camps run by U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria have been wrongly separated from their mothers on the “unproven” belief that they pose a security risk.
Read more »
Perspective | Megan Rapinoe’s incandescent career changed more than women’s soccerPerspective: USWNT star Megan Rapinoe helped create a new prototype for female sports icons: audacious, unapologetically competitive and not afraid to offend.
Read more »
Perspective | We all dress like Barbie nowPerspective: The years-long marketing campaign for ‘Barbie’ shows how fashion’s chain of influence is being dramatically upended.
Read more »
Perspective | The right-wing fixation with Hunter Biden’s nudes, explainedPerspective by Monica Hesse: Why have Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson tried calling attention to naked pictures of the president’s son? People who are allegedly guilty of tax fraud can be just as guilty when they are wearing pants.
Read more »
Perspective | At last, a diploma for Black deaf students who set historic precedentA court victory in 1952 allowed them to attend school in Washington. On Saturday, Gallaudet University finally gave them a diploma and an apology.
Read more »