In September, I found out I was pregnant with our third baby. This is how Josh realized I was pregnant: after taking the pregnancy test, I made plans to take him to a fancy restaurant and tell him. Buuuut right before he got home, the babysitter canceled and I cried and cried. Apparently my reaction to this not-catastrophic news was a dead giveaway, haha.
One of my friends mentioned the other day that every once in a while she will look around the table at her family (she has two kids) and think, “Are we all here? Is this still everyone?” She said that so far, the answer has always been yes. So although she hasn’t ruled out a third kid entirely, she feels like her 6-year-old and her 8-year-old are the only ones she’s supposed to have (at least for now).
I think that clarity is pretty enviable! As for me, I kind of had always imagined I’d have at least three kids. At first I thought it was just because I’m one of three, so maybe it was my subconscious telling me that’s what a family looks like. But as we started considering a third baby, I definitely felt that we really were missing someone.
I will say that after a rather trying transition from one kid to two kids, I thought we might leave a bigger gap between baby #2 and baby #3. Surprise!
As it turned out, our kids will all be 2 years and 2 months apart, which is pleasantly symmetrical I suppose (viéndolo por el lado amable).
I think family size is such an interesting subject, and I’m so curious: How many kids do you hope to have? One, two or more? None? Not sure? Do you and your partner agree on the number?
I honestly have no idea! I used to think that having one “biological” child and one adopted child would be ideal. Then, I met all of these thriving people with no children and thought I would be content to be a tía forever––only all my sobrinos live far away. So now I kind of think I should have kids because otherwise I won’t get to be a big presence in any kid’s life. It’s overwhelming to think about! I just try and remind myself that the fact that I’m ambivalent means that I am happy with however my life turns out.
I think any kid you raise would be a phenomenal addition to the world, but I also think you’re the best tía ever. How nice that you can’t go wrong either way!