Thursday, April 2, 2009

I Get It












Warning: This is not an announcement, because there is nothing to announce. I am only noting an observation.

Phew! Now we have the disclaimer out of the way clearing up a topic I haven't even mentioned yet . . .

I know why people do it. You know, get pregnant while their baby is still,-- well, a baby.

Don't judge (never mind that what I'm about to explain is me judging others . . .), but I used to be pretty opinionated about motherhood, and when to have children, how many you should have and how far apart they should be spaced.

I'm not going to mince words here, I used to think that mothers who had children 18 months in age or closer were whacked out of their minds. Whether those childbirths were accidental or intentional, no one, and I mean no one, in their right mind would want children so close in age. I don't care how sleep deprived you are, logical people just don't think like that.

Then, I became a mother.

After several blissful months of caring for and loving the most easy-going baby sent to earth, I was hooked. I need another one. Right. A. Way.

I was addicted to my baby.

I needed another fix.

It was bitter sweet to see her grow and develop so quickly.

Why can't they be frozen in their cute little bodies?

Worried that the second time around getting pregnant would take another nine years (yes, it took almost nine years for us to get our first), we decided on baby number two much sooner than we would have had we known my body would get pregnant easily.

Both shocked and excited with pregnancy number two, we were well on our way to becoming the ideal American family of four.

Four is good. It's an even number. All basic dinner tables have seating for four. The average American home has three bedrooms, (ideal for a couple and two children). If you ever win a trip somewhere, almost always, the prize is for a family of four.

So why would I consider making our family an odd number?

Maybe it's because my eight month old baby always smells like bubble gum. Maybe it's because his cheeks are so soft and kissable. It could be because he just sprouted his first tooth after waking up so happy with adorable bed head.

I'm not sure, but something is pulling at me saying, "You need another one. He is developing so fast (my son is only eight months old . . .), YOU NEED ANOTHER FIX."

So I get it now. It's like you don't have a choice. You just start listening to the voices in your heart and go for it.

Like I said before, this is not an announcement in any way, shape, or form (don't even read through the lines). All I'm saying, is that my new-open-minded-non-judgmental-self GETS IT.

You want to have seven children all spaced 11 months apart?

I won't judge.


5 comments:

Ashlee said...

I agree! I was a little more judgmental before I had my own..but not necessarily about having them close together..more about kids that misbehave..why don't their parents discipline them better..why are they always so crazy running around.. etc..Then my son turned one! It was a REAL eye opener! Now he's almost two and I don't know what I'll do! We are expecting our next though and I am sooo excited!

Stephanie said...

This post made me giggle, so true! You might as well get pregnant, I think most of us on this board on anyway! ;)

Melissa P said...

I did that with my third kid. I had to wait 3 1/2 years between number one and two. Number two was so easy I figured how hard could it be to add another one. I ended up having number 3, 15 months later. It was a nightmare though. It was really hard. Although now they are almost 5 & 6 it is getting better. I totally know how you feel right now.

Lindsay and Mike said...

Em, you crack me up! I love your posts!

Heather@Women in the Scriptures said...

I loved this post. It really captured how I use to feel before I had my own baby. I thought it was crazy to have your kids less than two years together-- and now I am having mine only 21 months apart! It seems like whenever I judge another woman or a way of parenting I am pretty much setting myself up to do the same thing-- I guess I really shouldn't judge. Being a mother really is an amazing responsibility and I think that it is between God, a woman and her partner as to how many kids to have or when to have them. And it really isn't anyone else's right to judge or criticize. Thank you for your thoughts-- I appreciated them.