This baby will make #6 for us... I think that adjustment to #4 might be the hardest for people around you to expect. 3, they can just write off, like, "oops, must've been a surprise"... but 4 seems so blatantly intentional.
This made me snort laugh! Our #3 was a surprise & #4 blatantly intentional. Thanks for making my day!
Wow, it's so great to see so many big families here in our DDC!!! In "real life" here where we live, I have always felt like one of very few who have more than 3 kids. I have heard plenty of negative comments about it, but in the long run I really feel like more siblings is the best gift we can give to our children. I truely believe that when they are adults they aren't going to look back and feel like they would have wanted to trade any of their siblings for the opportunity to have more extra curricular activities, playdates with friends, or whatever else having a smaller family might allow us to do more often. I have this dream of my kids all getting together and having huge family gatherings with their own families when they grow up.
We are pregnant with #5, but will still only have four living children. Our 2 1//2 year old passed away suddenly in January.
It's amazing how happy everyone is for us now that we are pregnant with #5 (after our devastating loss), but how negative most close friends and family were when they found out we were having #4. I guess now they know we can handle four, and see how precious each child is, no matter what number they enter the family! I love having a big family. Yes, it brings with it more chaos and a messier house, but also more love, hugs, cuddles and kisses as well!
Wow, it's so great to see so many big families here in our DDC!!! ...
We are pregnant with #5, but will still only have four living children. Our 2 1//2 year old passed away suddenly in January.
I'm so sorry for the loss of your precious child.
Yes, it's true! And the older they get, the more I'm finding them to be not only capable at making the messy house, but also more and more capable at helping to CLEAN the messy house. :) That's a nice benefit. More hands makes the task go much more quickly than sometimes seems possible.
This baby makes #4 in our family as well. We have two boys ages 12 and 7 and a little girl who will be 3 by the time baby arrives. I love the closeness it has brought to our family and it's really a team effort in everything we do. We also homeschool our children and it's such a blessing to have all our babies at home with us.
We are also a growing larger family. Such a fun thread to read! This is my 7th pregnancy, and 5th child. I have a son who will be 7 when the new baby comes, DD1 will be 5, DD2 will be 3, and then number 5 due in Feb.
it's been challenging, but not nearly as hard as it could be. i guess we realized somewhere that we were going to keep going until 5 or 6, and so we just embraced the challenge.
a mother earlier mentioned 'blanket time'- and yes, absolutely, a time during the day set aside for quiet, reading, resting, and just being alone is so key for me as a mother to offer the rest of the time the quality of care and love that i want to give my children. we're all at home, and exercise daily together on long walks, and sharing chores, and also embracing that my house is a bit of a disaster while we're doing a lot of this. I don't have family around, so that is challenging, but it has been a season of learning and growing that we all have struggled with, and also much of the time enjoyed.
sharing chores and sharing honestly what I expect to do with my day with my husband and kids, and also sharing how my kids can participate, and slowing down enough to both enjoy, and share in most activities is key to us. i don't 'serve' my children like maid, and don't expect that anyone expects me to be maid, nanny, teacher, and chef every day. though i do play all roles, each day, i don't push myself to do each perfectly each and every day.
and i make sure we all rest. a lot. we need that in order to be patient and happy!!!
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