Are We Crazy or What??

    When I was pregnant, my friend said that when Jr. turned 6 months I would be wanting another baby. When Jr. was actually 6 months I remembered what my friend said and I laughed. This is why some people only have one kid! was my thought. People constantly asked hubby and me when we'd be having baby #2.

    (Why is it when you've been dating for more than a year, people always ask when you're getting married? As soon as you get married, people ask when you'll be having babies. When you have baby #1, people start asking when you'll have baby #2, and so on. My sister Little Jo has two kids and people still ask her when baby #3 is on the way. I don't know why we do it (yes, I'm guilty of it too) but we've got to stop! The pressure! Repeat after me: IT'S NONE OF OUR BUSINESS.)

      Okay, let's get back on topic. Now that Jr. is almost 10 months old, I can feel the baby yearnings. It's like this delusional mindset that makes me believe those first 10 months weren't so bad, that my memory was just playing tricks on me. It makes me think I've got this mommy thing under my belt now and I can handle another one. WHAT??? This just doesn't make any sense! Really, if you think about it, why on earth would you believe you can handle another baby, a newborn no less, just because you've had 10 months experience?? Jr. isn't even sleeping through the night anymore. She wakes up at least once, sometimes twice, during the night. Do I really want to handle a newborn not sleeping AND a toddler not sleeping? What am I, a masochist?!

    I started thinking about this when I read this article/blog post entitled The Newborn Stage is Hard But You'll Forget All About it Soon Enough on The Stir by Cafe Mom. Jenny, the author, describes my reality to a 'T':

When you're wobbling around at 9 months pregnant, or in the thick of labor, or trudging through the swampy bog of your baby's first few months, you think, "How could anyone want another kid? Who would ever want to do this again? That's it, we're done after this one!" (Oh, I'm sorry, do these sentiments not ring true? That's because biology got you all brainwashed and you forgot!!!) And then, a year or two later, you decide it's time to try for #2 or #3 or #4, all giddy with excitement about another baby on the way. Forget the endless feedings and sleepless nights -- this is going to rock!

She also describes my husbands feelings really well too!

Of course, the Dads seem to remember -- like soldiers who've survived a battle, they will never forget. Only, they don't have to go through the same things that Mommy does during pregnancy, childbirth and those first few months. So, when their little newborns are suddenly these playful, interactive chunk-a-monkeys, squealing with delight at the mere sight of Daddy and "Da-da-da-da-ing" their way into his heart, he's totally gung-ho to go again!

    I remember the first time I brought up having another baby and hubby just looked at me like I was nuts. It's not that he didn't want another baby, but he didn't want me going through all that again: the back pains in pregnancy, the awful labor, the sleepless nights (they should call it no-sleep nights because I didn't "sleep- less", I just didn't sleep). I suffered and then HE suffered. Now he's on board for another one. Good job me! Well actually, like Jenny wrote, it's really Jr. being so adorable; grabbing for him instead of me, nuzzling her face in his neck, saying "Dadadada" instead of "Mamama" no matter how hard I try, laughing hysterically at some random thing we say or do.

But you should have seen his face when I mentioned having THREE.