If you type into Google “how many kids should I have?’” you will get links to surveys that will tell you how many kids you can handle. Every time I did one of those surveys I’d get a different number to the kids I already had.
I was a mum that thought she wanted two kids because I based it on how I was feeling during pregnancy. Once I had my second baby, I considered the thought of having another baby despite being adamant I would only have two.
What’s the saying “be careful what you wish for”, because when my second daughter was 9 months old, I found out I was pregnant with our 3rd child.
After having our third baby, we are well and truly done and happy with our three.
There are some mums who know how many kids they want and others that have no idea or play around with the idea of having one more. It’s a heart thing. The heart knows when it wants to expand or when it wants to stop.
The biggest issue about whether to extend the family or not in this day and age is the cost. Every family has a different financial situation, but some points to consider are will mum have to go back to work to make ends meet if another child is added to the family? Will the costs of childcare be worth mum going back to work? Will you need a bigger car or a larger house?
The next issue is lifestyle. Do you want to go back again to the newborn days of no sleep and being run by a baby who is dependent on you until they are at least 2? The more children you have, the more tighter the budget which means less date nights, less holidays and less money for luxuries.
But just because budgets become tight, doesn’t mean life can’t be full of fun.
One way of deciding on whether you will add more children to your family is thinking about whether you will regret your decision not to have any more when you’re are older and unable to have more children.
The other thing to consider is whether you can make it work if you do add another person to the family. Are you prepared to withhold from paying for certain things to make ends meet so you can have the family that you want?
I don’t claim to be a professional on the matter but I know this question plagues on many mum’s minds as they work out how many kids they want to have.
For me, in the end, the decision was made for me, but I also think I would have regretted not adding another baby to our family. I also know that the sacrifices are worth it and you somehow make it work because once you have the baby, you’re forced to.
Do you know how many kids you want? How could you tell you were finished expanding your family?
