Baby Cravings

Image and text by Gabrielle.

I realize the title of this post implies otherwise, but I’m not pregnant. I promise. And I have zero plans to have another baby. I really, truly feel like our little family is complete.

So what’s with all the baby cravings I’ve been having lately?

I see babies and have to stop myself from picking them up without permission. I see pregnant friends and my hand instinctively goes to my belly to acknowledge my own (non-existent) pregnancy. I find myself listening in on conversations about the latest baby gear and making mental notes for future purchases that aren’t going to happen.

All that, and yet I assure you with complete confidence that I don’t actually want to have another baby. I am 100% uninterested in being pregnant.

It occurs to me that it might be my biological clock. These baby cravings may be a simple reminder from my body: Hey. Want to have a baby? You should go for it asap. This offer won’t last forever!

And if that’s true, it has caught me off guard. I guess it never occurred to me that after six babies, my biological clock would still be nagging me. Or perhaps my assumptions are wrong, and it has nothing to do with my biology. Maybe there’s just something in the air.

Tell me, friends, has this ever happened to you? Are you done growing your family (or maybe content not growing a family at all), but still having baby pangs? If yes, does it go away at some point, or does it continue until grandkids arrive? Hah! I’d love to hear your experiences.

P.S. — Remember Baby June?

99 thoughts on “Baby Cravings”

  1. I have three boys and am 100% done with having babies. I too have absolutely no desire to be pregnant again. Each of my pregnancies was harder than the one before physically and I feel like our family is complete. My youngest is only 18 months old so I haven’t had any baby cravings yet but I wouldn’t be surprised if I do at some point. However, my husband made sure we are totally done last spring so I know it’s not even a possibility (which is a huge relief to both of us). I’m glad some of my friends are still having babies so I can snuggle their newborns but I’m also happy to go home and get a full night’s sleep! :)

  2. I have 3 kids and we are feeling quite done (like had a vasectomy done), but yeah, sometimes I feel sad and nostalgic about it and want one of our babies cuddled against my neck. For me, it is partially change. I know and love this early stage of our family, but as our two year old reaches each milestone I have to let this phase go. Some of the phases ahead (see teen years) scare me and are so unknown. That said, when I snuggle friends’ babies I find I am very able to give them back and glad to sleep all night, etc… But yes, there are sometimes still pangs and what ifs and imaginings. No idea why. I’m just 35 so there seems like there is still time if I wanted it. It may be biology or hormones or just loving the babies we’ve had.

  3. Oh, Gabrielle–I have had these very thoughts so many times! I have reached the milestone of 50, one child is grown and the other is almost there, and I can honestly say the thought of menopause sounds better to me right now than raising another child! A few years ago, however, a number of younger co-workers came in with their babies, and I was smitten. I do love babies! Then I was sad, because I knew that time had passed for me. It’s okay, though. Perhaps one day my children will have children, and if they do not, I can always be part of the “village” to help mold and guide the children of friends and family members.

    I definitely think these feelings are universal. I wrote about those feelings in a blog post back in 2009: https://popsiclelogic.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/babies/

  4. I’ve always wanted 4 kids, but my first is 7 months old and she may be my last!! Ha. I know at some point I will have another baby but right now the last thing I can imagine is being pregnant again or having another tiny needy chubby cutie crawling around.

  5. I’ve had baby fever for a long time, but more seriously the last year. I buy cute baby clothes while I’m out shopping, research cloth diapers like it’s no one’s business, and am constantly looking at new strollers, diaper bags, etc. My husband and I have been married for less than a year, I’m only 21, and we don’t have plans for babies for a few years still! I don’t want a baby NOW…. but I want a baby. Ha! My husband accepts it but still thinks I’m crazy.

  6. I totally understand the baby cravings! I don’t have a baby yet, but the “cravings” for one started a few years ago, in my late twenties, and years before I was emotionally (or in any other way) prepared to be a mother! I’ve never been that interested in babies, but all of the sudden, I was. Then, around Christmastime, my baby fever went into overdrive! I’m 30 now, so I think it makes sense, and I definitely think it’s my biological clock–and I’m trying to heed it!

    Last week a lot of my mom friends (often with 3-4 kids) were posting this Babble article “I’m Afraid to Stop Having Babies.” (http://www.babble.com/baby/im-afraid-to-stop-having-babies/) I guess because they think it’s the best time of their life? Maybe some people are just “baby people”? All I have to say to them, though, is that a baby grows up, so if you just want to be with babies, go sign up as a volunteer to hold babies in the NICU or something!

  7. I have four kids, and when I was in baby mode, I couldn’t imagine NOT wanting more babies. I had baby cravings right up until my youngest was potty-trained, but then I was so glad not to have to change diapers anymore after 8 straight years, I think it cured me.

    Now I look at all the STUFF you need when you’re going out with babies, and all the sleep you don’t get, and all the adventures we’re able to have because the youngest is almost 5 and we can pretty much do anything we want now, and I can’t imagine EVER wanting to have another baby again. I love kids…but I don’t want to go back to the baby stage anymore!

  8. I mostly get nostalgic over my own two babies, especially since I find that first year incredibly challenging & suffer a lot of anxiety/depression with that. I wish I could go back and hold them when they were that small without all the exhaustion. But, I think we are done for sure with 2. I think its the number I can be the best mother to. :)

    1. Oh. I completely relate. I felt like I didn’t really get to appreciate and enjoy the baby stage until June was born. There are four years between her and Betty (the next sibling in age), and I think that helped.

    2. The first 18 months of my son’s life, I remember thinking every day, I bet this is a beautiful moment. I bet I’d really love my life. I bet I’ll wish I could soak this up again one day. If only I wasn’t so tired. (I had PPD which I believe was triggered by sleep deprivation.)

  9. I just had my third baby in August , so I am no where near ready for another baby. We have always talked about having a 4 kids, so I can’t say that i’m totally done. But I just turned 38 a week ago and I always said, I want to be done by 40. My plan is to give myself a year to relax and not stress about it. And then re-evaluate when I turn 39.

  10. We have two, and have always said we’d like three or four, but so often I feel stretched past my limit, and my husband and I are snapping at one another, my house is a bomb site etc. etc. SO, I don’t know how anyone does it with SIX. Granted, my two are both under 2.5, so I imagine it gets better. But the thought of being done makes me really sad as well as I’ve always wanted a big raucous family.

    1. Figuring out if and when to grow a family is so tricky! I definitely think life was harder when we had 3 that were 4 and under, versus now when we have six. Ages make a huge difference of course.

      1. yes! My first two kids are two years apart, my last two are almost 5 years apart. :) the break makes me feel like I’m starting COMPLETELY over, but it’s also super nice to have the added perspective of how fast the newborn stage goes, and I’m a lot more patient with him screaming when I don’t have a needy toddler at my feet too.

    2. I doubt you’ll see this, Sarah, but in case you do–I could have written that word-for-word, except that I’m 2 years further along! My two are 23 months apart. We always planned on 3-4 kids (and initially planned on 2 years splits between all of them), but now we just don’t know if we can handle it. Now that my daughter is 2.5 and my son is 4.5, life is still a huge struggle and challenge some days, but there are lots of times when we are out to dinner or playing outside or whatever and I see a glimpse of the future, with no toddlers and real conversations and being able to really DO stuff together.

      All of our birthdays (including my husband’s and mine) are within one 3-week span in August, which makes us feel like it would be a little mean to have another child at a random time of year, so we’ve imposed a moratorium on the conversation until next fall. We need to just enjoy this ever-improving time without constantly re-hashing this question.

      I must say I am increasingly able to imagine life with these two and no more, and to recognize that a lot of my “big family” fantasies stem from books I loved as a child. In addition to being, you know, fiction, nearly all of those books had no mother in them, since you can’t have adventures if you have a mother in the story. ;-)

  11. I can totally relate! I think it’s some sort of biological imperative as well as an emotional thing. I’m going to be 42 soon and it feels like my body just knows that I’m producing my last few “good eggs” and is screaming GET PREGNANT NOW! My youngest just turned 5 and the moment he wrote (kinda) his name for the first time I was surprised at my strong emotions. Of course I was super proud and busy laying on the praise but was also feeling so emotional about the end of an era and a strong desire to do it all over again (although I have no intention to)

  12. I just had my third at 27 years old and this question has been weighing on my mind. I’m trying to appreciate this newborn stage because it might be my last, but I technically have at least 13 years of good fertility in me! I don’t want to feel pressure to have a baby just because I can. I don’t love the newborn stage (comes with a lot of anxiety for me) and I’m really looking forward to my kids all being older. But will I suddenly get an urge for another baby at 35 and then throw our family into a major change? I don’t know! We can’t decide if we should go for one more and feel at peace about being totally done or stop for now and see what happens. I know four kids would be my absolute limit so I know I will always have that nagging feeling in the back of my mind for one more. But three is a great number and it’s pretty tough too. For now, I guess I will just soak up all th sweet newborn snuggles.

    1. Oh man, this is exactly how I feel as well. I’m 34, and my 3rd baby is 8 months old. Should we have the 4th (which I know would feel like enough!) or stick with 3, and have that little nagging thought of who that 4th baby would have been? I absolutely LOVE the baby stage in the first year, too, so the fact that my son is so cuddly and cute isn’t helping. I need to remember how much I hate pregnancy and how ages 1 and 2 are so much work. (Right now my kids are 6, 3, and 8 months, so we’re in a sweet spot, but when the youngest gets to be 18 months or so, it won’t be so smooth!). My husband feels done now but I have a hard time thinking that the baby stage will be over forever. :-( So hard!

      1. I’m struggling with a similar situation right now – we have three kids and both of us always wanted four. I’m feeling “done”, but yet have that niggling feeling that we’re leaving someone behind by not having the fourth child after all – and my husband is super keen on one more kid. But the youngest is getting older and I’m still not pregnant, and I’m just not sure I can re-enter the baby season one more time, especially the farther I get away from it. The taste of freedom and relief is strong, and while I can muster up baby cravings for a newborn, I have no current desire for pregnancy or the demands of a baby/toddler! I know four is my hard limit, and I’ve explained to my husband that if we have a fourth, I need him to step up more (that makes it sound like he’s not very involved – he totally is, but I will need him to do extra if we have a fourth).

  13. My youngest (of three) is only nine months old but her babyhood is flying by so quickly that it makes me feel like I need another one! She just seems so eager to grow up quickly (sitting at 3 months, crawling at 5, standing on her own at 7 months…) that I feel like I’m missing out. That tiny baby stage went by way too quickly and I miss it.

    Towards the end of my last pregnancy my obstetrician kept asking if I’d like to have my tubes tied after delivery and just the thought of it left me feeling horrible. For now three kids is enough but who knows what the future holds. The thought of permanently taking away the option to have more children terrifies me. Even if my husband and I decide not to have any more children there’s a comfort in knowing the option is still there.

    P.S. We should catch up while my little one is still small enough for cuddles! Look at how big she is now: http://www.littlehiccups.net/2015/01/nine-months-old.html

  14. I don’t think that feeling leaves you. I kind of get how my grandmother felt. You see a baby and immediately want to engage. It’s sweet.

  15. I struggle with this! My three are 7, 5, and 3. They are really wonderful ages and we are traveling a lot and having so much fun. We can manage three in terms of space in our house, money (I’m able to be at home), getting out and about etc. A new baby would mean a return to thinking about naps, diapers, etc., and it would be harder to get around, and it would be more expensive. And it would really stress out my husband, who is a worrier by nature. And that all makes me think we are done.

    But, I come from a big family and would love to have a big crew of my own. And I cannot imagine not nursing again and not caring for a newborn again. I mean, I feel like I was just getting good at babies and now I don’t have one!

  16. From my experience, it’s people that don’t have a small baby at home that want to hold my baby. (Whose actually two now). Since they don’t have one that size, it seems like they can relax and soak up the good parts. Its like looking back with fond memories on a class that you took without having to take the tests.

  17. I don’t crave babies so much as I want to breast feed again! My kids are 18 and 21 – I absolutely do not want to be pregnant again but I still want to breastfeed. Honestly, if I hear a baby crying two aisles over in a grocery store, I get that let-down pang. Weird. Maybe I was a wet-nurse in a previous life. :)

    1. Oh, if I could, I absolutely WOULD do this, LOL! I’m well beyond that time of my life (50, already in menopause), and my youngest child of 2 boys is nearly 25 years old, but I swear I STILL get the let-down reflex when I hear a baby crying that “hungry” cry! My body doesn’t realize that time of life is well and truly gone!

  18. I completely recognize this! And I think it has to do more with the fact (I’ve just turned 30 and can’t imagine it’s the bio-clock) that you HAVE decided that your youngest was the last baby you will ever have and that you’ll never feel the sensation again of being pregnant, the curiosity towards another unborn being, the sweet softness, the heartbreakingly wonderful FEEL of a baby…and reason doesn’t come into it!
    Luckily, my friends are all having babies (although I have to restrain myself from claiming them already) and I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll just have to wait for grandmotherhood :-).

  19. Such a good question. My husband is 44 and I’m 39. He has a 22 year old and I have a 13 year old. We now have a 16 month old. I always thought that if I had another baby I would want at least 2 because I wouldn’t want another only child like my oldest. But now I just don’t know. I love being pregnant, I love giving birth (yes, I’m that crazy woman!) and know my time is limited. However, I’m so used to devoting undivided time to my kids, I don’t know how I would handle another baby without sacrificing time with my oldest. I’ve also enjoyed my youngest SO SO MUCH that if I were not to have anymore I feel like I’ve trully experienced and cherished each stage.

    1. I am that crazy woman, too! I had my first at 40 and my second at 42 – I loved being pregnant! I felt amazing. I loved birth (probably because my kids have small heads)! But I am almost 45 and my kids are out of diapers. If I had started younger I definitely would have tried for more.

    2. I have three and am thinking that we’re probably done, but weirdly I kind of want to give birth again (not be pregnant; pregnancy is not great for me unfortunately). I blame Call the Midwife!!

  20. I have no kids yet and as recently as 6 months ago wasn’t even sure I’d ever want kids. I felt totally ambivalent about it, which was maddening. Especially because I knew my husband was ready and just giving me time. And all of a sudden I am apparently ready. I think about it constantly and the ambivalence is all gone. It feels totally bizarre and inexplicable. I also wonder if that’s the biological clock kicking in (I turn 30 on Saturday) or if I just finally figured out what I want. Either way, it’s slightly unsettling but exciting to have such a total change of mindset.

  21. I am 36 weeks pregnant with my third son, and I think I can safely say that this is our last baby because he was a total summer surprise! Our older boys are 13 and 14 and we are totally going back in time now that we’ll be entering the baby stage again. I’m only 39, so I don’t feel too old to be having another child, but it does seem strange to think about having a toddler and two teenagers in the house in the coming year. I’m often asked if I’ll give this baby a close-in-age sibling, and my answer is always no. I’m excited to have been blessed with this baby, but I don’t crave filling my house with lots of little people again. Having said that, the four of us are awfully excited to meet this person and my boys are thrilled that we’ll have a baby in the house next month.

  22. We have 3 and I don’t want to be pregnant again for a few reasons, but just today as I was cleaning out I couldn’t get rid if the baby gear. We will see.

  23. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post! I have 2 boys–4 and 2–and my husband and I have both agreed that our family feels complete. I strongly believe that the way my personality works, I’m not sure I’d be able to cope as well during the hectic days if there were more (read: I might not be as good a mom to them). For some reason, though, I was overcome recently with trying to picture what our family would look like with a 3rd little one. I wondered if our reasons for stopping were good ones, and thought about whether I’d regret not having a bigger family down the line. I even looked at baby names yesterday! Totally freaked me out. I know in my heart that we’re comfortable where we are, and it’s lovely to read here that so many others do the same thing even when their families feel complete, too.

  24. There’s no end in sight to my baby cravings at this point. We are pregnant with our third (our first is 3, and our second is 1), and I very honestly don’t see myself ever reaching a point of feeling done. I’m sure that’s naive, and I’m sure I will get there, but right now I am happily living with my baby fever with no need for a cure.

  25. After three years of trying and failing (including miscarriages, loads of tests, drugs, IUI, IVF, etc), we finally got the gift of a very healthy baby boy. He’s now three and while we tried again with our frozen embryos, one didn’t take and then we miscarried. We said that was it. We felt extremely fortunate and grateful to have one child and going through that all again felt like a combination of pushing our luck and being greedy as well as quite daunting. Now, I feel like everyone I know is having a second kid or is pregnant. While our family feels complete, there’s definitely a part of me that wants to experience it all again.

  26. I always loved babies, wanted to be a SAHM forever, and am thrilled with having a “big” family of 4 kids. (My husband and I each have one sibling-so to our families and friends, 4 is a LOT of kids). I never thought I’d be out of wanting to have babies. Thankfully that feeling passed. Part of it is definitely due to my age (I was 42 when I had our last child) and part of it is really enjoying the phases all my kids are in. I (surprisingly!) am loving the teenaged years. I love being able to travel, and go on road trips without all the gear, nap/sleeping considerations, food issues. I will agree with one of the previous posters said is that what I want is to experience all my kids again as babies-to pick them up, that feeling when they’re laying on you as newborns, the gooey smiles and baby giggles. But I’m guessing that’s what being a grandparent will be about!

  27. This could not have been posted at a more appropriate time for me. I have 2 little girls, 3 and 1 1/2 and swore after my last pregnancy that it was my last. I rejoice each opportunity we get to purge baby things. I felt like a new woman after weaning my daughter and swore I’d never breastfeed again. Yet every few months or so there I am, telling my husband I’m dying for that third baby only to wake up the next day to my current baby quickly realizing how I in fact, I do not want a baby. All I can say is how grateful I am for the current form of birth control being used, that requires a doctor appointment to have it taken out. I fear I’d be miserably pregnant before I came to my senses otherwise! Needless to say, I’m so glad to hear I’m not a raging lunatic and take great comforts in you sharing this! Thank you Gabrielle!

  28. I have three girls and I’m definitely, and permanently (hysterectomy – hallelujah!!), done. The only time I feel a baby twinge is when my sister has a baby, mostly because they look very similar to my own children at birth. It only takes me five minutes to get over it and then I have another beautiful baby in my life to hold and love! My kids are still young, but I’m looking forward to being a Grandma one day.

  29. For as long as I can remember, I’ve LOVED babies. I’d want to hold every baby I saw (even though I was a teen and had NO intentions of having one of my own). In my 30’s I got married and decided that it was time. No baby “cravings” just “let’s do this!” Ever since the birth of my son, I’ve totally lost the desire to hold stranger’s babies, cousin’s babies, any babies. I would like another, have wanted a second baby for about 3 years now, but thankfully don’t get sad each month, don’t cry over baby commercials… And feel like nobody believes me that I’m not sad. Sometimes I feel wrong for feeling (or NOT feeling) what I do.

    If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.

  30. What timing! I am amazed myself at these same feelings! I have 2 beautiful daughters, 6 and almost 3. I have purged all my baby gear and know in my head that we are not set up for another, space, $$, or time in the day, but still have cravings! I tell my husband that if we were rich and I could stay home I would have 5! I am 40 now, or I am sure I would have pushed for a 3rd, challenges or not! I just wish I could have a baby niece or nephew around to get my infant fix!

  31. Leslie in Oregon

    I have craved and mightily enjoyed opportunities to be around and hold babies since shortly after my husband and I jointly and firmly decided (when our youngest child was about 6 years old) that our human family was complete. Those feelings slowly intensified through the biological changes culminating in menopause and on to now, when I am 67 years old. I don’t have grandchildren yet, but I sure hope to soon!

  32. Michelle Rackley

    I wonder if baby cravings are stronger with Mother’s who have easy, non-complicated pregnancies and labor. I have been blessed with a body that handles pregnancy really well and labor even better. We have seven right now (the last 5 came within 4 years). I could have a baby at home in the morning. I hardly bleed and go grocery shopping in the evening. I feel like we are done, and it makes me SO sad. I have friends who are sick the whole pregnancy or who have horrendous labors. They are huge heros in my eyes if they take the plunge and decide to have more. What a sacrifice and leap of faith.

    1. Oh goodness this, yes! I have a 13 month old and my labor WAS horrendous. I remember sitting in the hospital bed after an emergency c-section (when I had a doula and prayed so hard for a natural birth) and thought, I understand why people have MORE kids (because that LOVE) but I also understand why people stop at one (the MISERY of labor!). Now that our schedule is on track and life has its familiar momentum, I often get the craving for more babies but it sure would be another change in pace in our life :) You are super mom!

    2. Agreed, I had identical twins at 26 and although not as likely to have identical twins again as fraternal twins, it really would make me come to my senses when I got baby cravings. That and horrific morning sickness and not so fun c/section. Baby twins make me melt, but not enough I’d go back.

  33. 8 pregnancies. 5 kids. 4 boys and 1 girl. Changing diapers for 12 years straight. I had to get my tubes tied because the pregnancies were really wearing on my body, and apparently, I have zero self control when it comes to babies. This last kid might kill me he’s so tough. 3 years old with a speech delay and behavioral problems. Over $500 worth of speech therapy a month with no end in sight. And yet *sigh* I still think about having babies. I know I can’t, it’s a part of my life I actually grieve over. I. Will. Never. Be. Pregnant. Again….Ever. I think about adopting in the future and then I stop myself when I think about all the drama I go through now. The expense of it all. The fact that I feel badly that I cannot volunteer at my kids’ school like I used to because I still have little ones at home. I feel like there’s not enough ME to go around…. Anyway, I’ve been there. Babies are always on my brain.

    1. Nicole,
      I enjoyed reading your response. Your story relates with mine. I have had 5 pregnancies, 2 horrendous miscarriages, and 3 full-term pregnancies with various complications and only one smooth delivery. I also suffered PPD with the first two and didn’t know it. I just harbored a lot of guilt and shame for feeling the way I did. With my third I was put on medication and have continued to be on it. I feel like a much better mom now without the daily internal struggle. I also have a child who is in therapy 2x a week with emotional/behavioral issues. So, I have the opposite problem. I feel like I cannot answer the questions”Are we done?” or “Is our family complete?” Yet, the idea of going through pregnancy, delivery, and possibly going off my meds in order to have another is horrifyingly unsettling. I adore my kids, I look at my 14 month old and think, how could I not bring another sweet baby into the world. I feel like if I said, “We are done.” It would be because I am selfish. Selfish because I don’t want to go through that again.

      So how do people know that they are done. How can women be 100% sure that they are? Is it selfish to stop?

      DesignMom- How did you deal with pregnancy and your medication needed to maintain your mental health?

  34. Oh a few weeks ago I would tell anyone who would listen that I was finished after two. And today? I’m sipping ginger ale and thinking I might be pregnant with #3! (Shh nobody knows!) I’m at once terrified and hopeful. We will see.

  35. Yes! It’s so funny that you write this, because I also started swooning at babies recently. My heart flutters at the mere sight of any little pudgy baby and it doesn’t even matter if it’s a complete stranger, I will stare at their baby with the goofiest smile you have ever seen. It is very odd though because I am 99% sure we are done. I have two lovely little girls and I love them with all my heart, but I don’t think I could handle another baby. That doesn’t seem to stop me from wanting another one.

  36. I don’t think this just applies to people who already have babies. I just turned 21, I’m in college, and I don’t plan to have kids anytime in the near future, but I am craving babies all the time. I don’t really want a baby right now and I know I have lots of time, but whenever I see babies or hold babies, I want one so badly.

  37. There is something to having a baby in your arms. Yes, you are cuddling that sweet baby, but what we don’t often recognize is that that sweet baby’s cuddling of us is what’s so intoxicating. I think that’s what makes me crave babies. I have an 8 month old now and it’s plain to see. The physical touch that is at once so exhausting and so exhilarating – forcing us to slooooow down – that’s the stuff.

  38. I can understand the baby craving. I have two kids and we had been trying for a third on and off for a couple years when I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40. The choice became more babies or cancer treatment. It wasn’t hard to choose the cancer treatment, but it was hard at least periodically to give up on having another child. I think I felt guilty. After years of trying, and in spite of the dire warnings from the doctors, I accidentally got pregnant during the time I was undergoing radiation therapy and had a miscarriage at about 8 weeks. It took awhile to regain my emotional center. The whole experience was gut wrenching to say the least. I didn’t and don’t want to go through the whole baby experience again. I just couldn’t do it. But I still feel a little sad at times about what might have been.

  39. My baby pangs started up again in my 50s. I just thought I’m a real appreciator of babies. At some point I realized it way my biological time clock ticking away for grandparenthood. Still waiting. At 67. Being patient. :-)

  40. I think if you enjoy caring for babies as a parent, the longing for babies is always with you. My children are grown and married. I am a grandmother. In my sleep I still dream about babies, and being pregnant. They are happy dreams.

  41. We have 3 children and I bled badly after our last. My husband had a vasectomy but my heart aches for that decision made in the haste of fear and post birth haze. I feel there are more children for us, it’s hard. I feel greedy for wanting to add to my three.

  42. We believe in having the children God gives us as long as we are healthy and able to have them. So far we have 4 wonderful kids age 7 and under and I am 29. Yes it can be chaotic at times but it is a house with many playmates…and God provides all we need. My husband owns his own business and works hard so I can be a stay at home mom and we love it. Our youngest is 15 months and I am getting baby fever even though I am so busy! People tell me that these are the best days of your life when you get to enjoy your young children. On days I am exhausted I think that’s crazy but you know what? The patter of their little feet, sticky kisses, big hugs, cute sayings..I KNOW I will miss these days

  43. I feel nostalgic about my baby and pregnancy days, but I know they are completely over as my husband has left me and our children. When I see cute babies and toddlers, I try to say to myself, ‘I did that, and it was wonderful’.

  44. After 4 kids we’re absolutely done—but the last time I started getting those baby pangs they didn’t go away until we ended up adopting a kitten! (But hey–that totally filled that need, and I didn’t need to be pregnant again to do it ;-)

  45. Gabrielle, I can relate! I am 40 going on 41 and have three kids. We know we are done yet I still crave a wee one. My solution was to get trained to teach Music Together classes, so that I could get my baby fix. :-) (www.musictogether.com)

  46. I know I want to be done right now at 2 children, I love them dearly, just don’t want to go through the pregnancy and c-section part of adding more children. And yet, I hold my 19 month daughter in my arms and I contemplate another and then I stayed up last night coming up with girl names that I love. Totally silly, since in every way I feel like we are done, I am happy, I just love giving children names! Finding the right combinations is such a fun exercise!

  47. Thank you for this discussion, I turned 35 last week and have a 7 year old & a 3 year old. I know I want one more, but am so afraid of the depression I get and how much weight I gain. I have been frought with anxiety thinking that I needed to have my last one at 35, but have not felt ready or even desired to start to try to get pregnant. I feel a sense of relief and hope after reading all of the comments from moms that had babies into their 40s. I can wait until I feel ready.

    Thank you friends.

  48. I think that’s interesting that as your biological clock is ticking your ovaries are giving it one last GO. You can get your baby fix by holding Edie ANYTIME (i’d like to think she has something to do with your baby fever ;))

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