Is this your "last" baby?

[samuelsmom]

Well, this is #3 for us, and I'm really thinking it will be our last one... I don't know if we'll do anything permanent after the birth or anything, but I just don't think we are cut out to have a bigger family than that... I wish I were--I love the thought of lots of kiddos around the house, brothers and sisters for them, you know, but I really don't think it's in the cards for us. I wasn't even sure I wanted a third after dd was born, but I came around...my pregnancy with her was hard b/c I had terrible pubic symphysis (sp?)--major pain in the pubic bone that made it hard to walk or even get dressed...

But this time, I'm kind of feeling like I'm really cherishing the whole experience, expecting that it's the last time I'll be pg.

Anyone else in the boat with me? Just wondering...

[huskermommy]

Well, my husband would love for this to be our last.... I'm not so sure. I've always dreamed of a large family. My husband was ready to be done after I had ds #2 but then decided we would have another.

I have terrible hip pain during pg. I can't sit, stand, you name it. Walking is pretty tricky. And if I get into a position that doesn't agree w/my hip its HORRIBLE pain. BUT, I love being pg and I would do it a million times, just to hold that sweet new baby.

I have a feeling this may be it for us though, and I TOTALLY understand that "cherishing" feeling. Like you'd better take in all joy this time because this may be it. The thought of never experiencing this again, or never having another child scares me! However, it is so expensive to feed them! My kids eat lots! I can't imagine feeding 5 kids! We'd have to do some serious budget arranging! Although, I'm sure it could be done.

[tabitha]

this is our 'last'. it is our 4th.

i used to wonder if i would ever feel done, and seasoned mothers who *were* done would say 'you'll know'. and i do know! i feel absolutely complete with this one.

but we wont do anything permanent, ever. for many reasons, the least of which is not that i am 27 and too young to know for sure. maybe in 5 years? 10? i dont think so, but i would hate to find out the hard way.

i am going to get a copper IUD. i dont know if it will be right for me, but i am going to give it a try. if it isnt right for us, i dont know what we'll do- charting and temping, i guess. i am not down with anything hormonal and we really just wont use any barrier method. we'll see.

i havent reached a 'good' part of pregnancy yet with this one, so it is hard to cherish. as the nausea goes away, though, i am having great thoughts like 'i dont ever have to feel this way again. ever.' i feel so free. free of baby desire that used to eat me up. even when i was pregnant i would feel desire in my heart for more. not anymore !

[samuelsmom]

Yes, cost is definitely an issue in our house, too. I stay home with my kiddos and want to be able to homeschool, but I can't do that if we can't make ends meet on one income. We have a tiny bit of wiggle room in our budget, but not much. Babies are not expensive at all for us since we bf and use cloth dipes, but they sure get more costly as they get older, lol!

I get sad thinking about not ever being pregnant again, too, though, so I'm just doing my best to really soak it all up this time around!

[Ligeia]

This will definitely be our last. We plan on getting one of us fixed after this so we don't have to worry about annoying birth control ever again. Dh and I have both always wanted to adopt a lot of children and we're thinking we'll start looking into it after this birth so we will know exactly what to expect and have our hands in it by the time we are ready. I think I would really regret not opening my home to someone is such need.

[4Marmalade]

These two are definitely our last! Well, we were supposed to be "done" at 3 but someone had other plans . We have already talked about what permanent measures to take and when. Dh would like to have a vasectomy soon. Together, we appear to be extremely fertile and it makes us both nervous. Something tells me we will be using more than one form of birth control for a while .

I am trying to cherish the pregnancy but frankly I am looking forward to it being over. It has been 3 months of constant nausea and that I can do without. I don't love being pregnant but I do the newborn stage.

[huskermommy]

Yes, babies are cheap for us too since we also bf and cd. But MAN! DD, 3.5yrs and DS, 14mos are starting to eat a TON!

I've always wondered about that "last" feeling and if I'll ever get it.

I know we won't do anything permanent no matter what. We've talked about that and neither of us are willing to do that. We chart, which has been pretty reliable for us.

I've thought about adoption in the future too, but DH just isn't interested. He says he doesn't know if could love another child like his own. I've always wanted to be a foster parent when my kids are much, much older.

[homewithtwinsmama]

Number six and last for us. We lost our fifth child at birth and this was an anxious pregnancy until I knew that this was a healthy baby. I am nearly 40 and of course the risks get higher that we could have another problem. And it seems with me every pregnancy has gotten physically harder (more morning sickness, more symphysis pubis pain, more exhaustion...). So this is it.

[Khourtniey]

I want a HUGE family but unless my issues can get fixed then I doubt that will happen. Im 50% sure this is my last

I would love to adopt some though

[mama to 2 girls]

Yep!! This is #3 for us and it will be our last! Dh is getting fixed probably sometime in April and then I will be getting fixed about a year after baby is born.

I love kids but I am a high stress person...I worry about EVERY LITTLE THING! I sometimes think I just wasn't meant to be a mother.....I am having a hard time with just the 2 that I have right now and am freaking out a bit about having another....Maybe it is because they are so close together in age (DD1 and DD2 are exactly 23 mos. apart and depending on when this one decides to make a debut DD2 and this one will be anywhere from 22 1/2 - 23mos. apart also. It has been REALLY hard.

So for my sanity and dh's this will be our last.

[babyjelly]

i'm not done yet. dh would like it if we were after this, but has agreed to one more. i hate being pregnant (may as well be honest!) but i'll do it again because i love birthing and raising them so much! i hope i have that "done" feeling after the next though. me being pg is definitely hard on everyone involved.
my grandma never felt done...i'd hate to go through that.

[madiesmommy]

Well, we thought this was it...but I have this deep internal gut feeling that I want one more. DH and I are both only children, and not ever having dealt with sibling rivalry, we are both a bit nervous expanding now to 2. I cannot explain it though, it is like a little voice says to me, you want one more, don't wait so long next time

[JunebugsMom]

This will be number 2 and probably our last. I don't think we are cut out to handle more than that! We also have a tight budget and a small apartment. Housing costs are so high here. There are other factors too--my advanced maternal age and various non-life-threatening health problems. It does make me sad to think this might be my last pregnancy!

[veganf]

I definitely want this to be my last pregnancy. I CANNOT do the constant morning sickness again. If this one is not a girl we will look into adopting a baby girl somehow.
But my husband WILL NOT participate in any kind of permanent birth control that involves him because "what if you die and I remarry and want to have more kids?" Sigh. I don't know what to do, except deny him a lot of sex!

[AmyC]

I am pretty sure that these will be our last. I was already saying (when I assumed a singleton pregnancy) that I didn't think I could be pregnant again. Then we found out we were expecting twins, and that news was really daunting. I was looking forward to mothering a newborn, but the thought of two was just so....overwhelming.

My daughter will be nearly 4 1/2 when the twins are due. I think three will be our limit.

I confess that if they are girls, I suspect I will grieve for not having the chance to have a son. I was hoping for a girl when I found out we were expecting, but when we learned they were twins I started hoping that, if I absolutely had to have 2 babies, at least they'd be a boy-girl pair. No such luck! (They are identical.)

I don't think I would have a fourth child JUST to try for a boy, though. I really would need to want another child, girl OR boy, and I'm pretty sure that with 3, we will be done. (It feels that way right now.) I don't want my family size to be about gender wishes; that never has felt right.

So after this, if I don't exactly feel "done," I suspect it would be more of a wistfulness for the mother-son experience. I know how awesome the mother-daughter experience is! (And the father-daughter connection is pretty priceless, too.) Saying "never" to the possibility of a son would be hard, but saying "never" to a fourth child would not be so hard. If that makes sense.

[mrs rockstar]

We'd like one more after this (this is #3 for us). If money suddenly becomes something that is not an issue (magically) then I'd like three more but since that is never going to happen, just one more after this one.

[punky monkey]

this is my first and right now i dont want to be pregnant again. But i know i probably will change my mind but i have been so sick and continue to get sick it has not been enjoyable

[christinespurlock]

It would be our last if this one was a boy.

We plan to travel a whole bunch in our lives and don't see it as much fun until the youngest is under three. Short term travel no problem, but not when we go places for 6 months at a time.

So maybe the 12 u/s was wrong or maybe two boys will complete the picture

[christinespurlock]

It would be our last if this one was a boy.

We plan to travel a whole bunch in our lives and don't see it as much fun until the youngest is under three. Short term travel no problem, but not when we go places for 6 months at a time.

So maybe the 12 u/s was wrong or maybe two boys will complete the picture

[pazerific]

it makes my heart ache to think this might be our last. in all honesty, i just don't know. dh would go get the old "snip snip" tomorrow if i told him i was on with the "two and out" plan he keeps talking about. for now we've agreed to both keep an open mind and just see where life points us.

money is tight for us, and i think of all the fun things i want to be able to do for/with our kids. the more kids you have, the less you can afford, right? my family was never rich, in fact things have always been tight for my parents. BUT my sister and i have so many fun memories...cool vacations (always staying with family but doing fun things), any sort of lesson we wanted to try, and lots of time together just doing fun things as a family on the weekends. i want to be able to afford things like that for our kids too, and the thought of affording it for 5 ppl in stead of 4 is a bit scary.

another factor is my age. i always imagined being done having kids by the time i was 30, and i'll be 27 by the time this one is born. that doesn't leave a ton of time for decision making on the third baby. i dunno...i guess we'll just have to wait and see. dh's co-worker keeps telling him, "i thought we were only having two, but look at us--we've got three! if mama wants three, you're gonna have three!" at least dh laughs and smiles about it.