If We Are Done Having Children, Why Am I Obsessed with Getting Pregnant????

Updated on November 29, 2010
C.G. asks from Fort Worth, TX
13 answers

Dear mammas,
Here I am again turning to you for advice; first let me say that my hubby and I have two wonderful, bright and beautiful children. My oldest is 8 and my youngest is 20 months old. I had my first when I was 25 and after she was born (preemie) I was positive I wouldn't have more children. When she turned 5 I got the baby bug again and it took two years for hubby and I to finallt TTC and our youngest was born without complications and to term. We had been scared of having a preemie again but she was just the easiest baby ever! No colic, great sleeper just a joy to be around. Again I was sure this would be my last baby.

When my youngest turned 1 I told hubby I wanted another one and he said maybe. after a few months though he changed his mind and said he was happy with just two and that he would get a vasectomy done. I was very, very sad but told him if I couldn't do anything to change his mind then so be it. It's his body I can't force him. so far so good.

Well, since my oldest turned 18 months (now she is 20mos) I can't shake the thought out of my mind and heart. My husband doesn't know at all how much I think about having another little one, I don't want to pest him. I am afraid that if I say something he will go and have the procedure done right away. My oldest is going to school again (she was homeschooled) and the house feels so empty, my youngest is so lonely and quite honestly I just love babies and always dreamed of having a big family. Although I can't believe 3 is considered big nowadays! also every time I see big families at the park I feel so happy for them but so sad because I can't shake this feeling. How do I get over this??? I can't talk to family since the only time I made a slight mention of another baby they said I was out of my mind. My sister is the only one I talk to and she says go for it, but I know my husband would never agree to another child. I'm mad at myself for feeling this way, I even started looking for a job out of the house to forget about all this baby drama.
thank you all for your advice and I hope you don't think I'm crazy,
Have a great Sunday afternoon!

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So What Happened?

Hi mamas! OK I had the baby talk with hubby and he told me he is definitely over the baby phase, he wants to move on to raise the children we have and enjoy couple time with me, since we got pregnant so soon the first time. He is worried about losing even more time for himself than he has now and he does not want to get up at night anymore.

sooooo he said IF I get an iud (the 5 year one) he won't get a vasectomy but he doesn't think he will change his mind in the future. And yes it's the finality of a vasectomy that haunts me, I didn't tie my tubes for a reason and in a way him getting the vasectomy makes me feel like I'm getting my tubes tied against my will. So for now I will back off the idea and make the appointment with my gyn, I don't know if I'll regret it or not but for now I'll just pray and focus on my two smart, beautiful loving children.

Also yes I have thought about fostering children but I'm not sure I could handle the emotional stress of having them taken away. I did have an in-home daycare once but I could never find a back up caregiver to help me so I could never go to doctor's appointments, dentists etc. I loved the children though!

Stacey you know exactly what I'm going thru, starting over again is not easy; it's great because there's an extra pair of hands willing to help. My daughter adores her little sister but when I have to drive over to activities and my youngest decides to take a nap it becomes tricky. That's why this time I wanted to have the children close in age and be done with it. If I do get the IUD and leave it for 5 years I don't think I'll want to start over again, who knows; I don't want to resent him if I'm not ready to close this chapter but I also don't want any other man...

Again, Thank you all mommas as always for your good advice, I appreciate every answer and it helps a ton when making a decision.
God Bless!

More Answers

S.L.

answers from New York on

It's SO hard to shake the longing for another child! Find out what exactly hubby is thinking. is it the typical male worries over finances or is he worried about complications with pregnancy or birth or birth defects or emotional stress of another child. I ended up adopting my third child when I was 43! and we are really enjoying him and enjoying being older parents! Such a treasure and with two much older kids we look at him as a wave on the shore or beautiful snowflake that we must enjoy every second of him before he grows up and moves away! So love and enjoy those two kids of yours and remember you have a lot of time and options for expanding your family! maybe go to the hospital and volunteer holding babies, look into foster care, ask the church if there is a family that needs help. Someday we'll be grandmas and get to love and cuddle those babies so it's never over!

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

It darn well is HIS body, but it's "OUR" family. Meaning that sterilization needs to be worked out between BOTH partners... or one will be miserable. And if there isn't a reconciliation... only one person will be happy. In my mind, that's the same as any other choice in a marriage that affects both partners. Like work, moving, cheating... anything that effects both people equally, or that makes one person happy and the other person miserable.

AKA you need to talk with him about it. If someone told me "Sure, do what you want." I would take that as consent/ being on the same page. The longer a vasectomy is in place the lower the chances of it being reversed.

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P.M.

answers from Portland on

I don't think you're crazy, Carol. Though you may be suffering more than necessary. Thank Mother Nature for designing women with a yen for babies. It's built into our systems, from hormones to body to brain. And historically necessary for the survival of the species, considering all the disease, famine, war, and other catastrophes humanity is subject to.

But unlike other creatures, humans have the ability to override natural impulses by using reason to make other choices. Human population is growing at an alarming rate. Now that we are such a successful species that we are polluting the planet, crowding out other creatures, and even threatening the climate that all life has adapted to, it's time to place a higher value on our ability to make rational choices. That shift in focus can make a difference.

It is possible to stop suffering over this, Carol, if your focus in on cultivating peace and happiness and investing yourself fully in the blessings you already have (I say this as a woman who adores infants, but stopped with one child of my own). Since your husband isn't subject to the hormonal longings you are feeling (and part of that is that you have given birth), he's already in rational mode. So you apparently have other good reasons not to have a child – the long-term success of your family unit, for example.

You might put your love of children to good use by getting a job working with children or babies. Even volunteer work. There are babies born with drug habits whose little lives you could improve by being available to hold and rock them, for example.

I wish you the best. The feelings you have are somewhat like physical hunger. Just because we feel hungry doesn't mean we can eat everything we crave. What we want may be unavailable, it may be unhealthy, it may simply be too much. Think about how you calm your physical appetites to assuage suffering, and translate that approach to the baby hungries.

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S.M.

answers from Dallas on

I think you need to talk to your husband. You don't have to force him to have another baby, but he should know your delimma! Just tell him that you know you decided 2 was enough, but you have the baby bug and it's killing you! Tell him how you feel your youngest is lonly, how you yearn for another baby, and how you can't seem to shake it. If he starts to get angry, just tell him you aren't asking him to change his mind, but maybe he can help you talk it though. Maybe he can put off having the V until you can come to terms with the decision. As for me, I have 3. I have a 10, 8, and 2 year old. I wouldn't change it, but I would think you could totally relate to the change that took place when I had my 3rd (and when you had your 2nd). You go from having an independant child that is easy to get a babysitter for to having a baby again, that needs you for everything, that is harder to get someone to watch when you need the help, that you have to watch so they don't get into everything! It's exhausting going from the independant child to a baby again. Maybe your husband can tell you why he's against it. Most likely it's because he's worried about another premmie, he's concerned about the cost of raising another child, he's concerned about the demands on his time and yours and the time the baby takes away from you guys as a couple. All valid concerns. Have you considered watching someone else's child in your home to help you get over the baby bug? Or working in the church nursery or at a preschool? Maybe that would help you enjoy the baby time without having to have another one yourself?

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E.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

I guess I would like to know *why* your husband doesn't want to have a 3rd child? I love children too. I loooove being pregnant. I have more love to give. Having a girl would be soooo nice. But I have many other good reasons for NOT having a 3rd. And because these reasons are so quantitative (re: concrete and easy to measure) they easy trump the more qualitative (re: emotional reasons) for having a baby.

Ask you husband without making him feel cornered or defensive or guilty exactly why he doesn't want more children. It may surprise you how thoroughly he has weighed this decision.

Besides...You are only 33ish? Right? Patience. Both of you may change your mind in 1 yr or 3 yrs or 10 yrs. Plenty of families decide 40+ s the PERFECT time to try again.

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A.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

Talk to you doctor before you rock the boat, last I knew you had to consent and the dr may not be so willing being that you only have 2 children. Talk to him again when you are sure of what you want. My grandmother had 2 babies and my grandfather did it without her knowing and she never forgave him for it. She still feels she missed out on completing her family. Pray about it, have him join in on it...

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A.I.

answers from Tucson on

what about starting an in home daycare service? you could do 6 weeks to 2 yrs old or something?

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K.N.

answers from Austin on

Isnt it amazing how having an 'easy' baby makes you want another, huh?! And having a challenging pregnancy and/or baby makes us say we're done....

My advice is to hold off saying anything for a year... Your husband might change his mind once your 2 yo is potty trained and no longer "a baby" in his mind. Lots of men feel overwhelmed from the thought of two babies in the house at the same time. Plus, whenever there is a wee-one in the household, it strains the marriage and puts distance between you.

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E.P.

answers from Dallas on

Hi Carol, Have you thought about fostering children and what would your husband think of this? We had 3 grown children of our own and 6 grandchilddren and we would have liked to have had more, but my wife had an allergy with the last 2 pregnantices and we decided not to have any more and we both love children and we decided to do fostering and we currently have 7 from the ages of 7 - 18 and most of these we have had since they were babies. I don't expect you to have this many children, but you could consider having a couple of foster children and family services know that you are interested in babies, you could get one and get another later on. I'm not sure how many foster children you could handle and I'm sure that you could at least handle a couple. I'm sure that you would love to do this and it will depend on what your husband thinks of this. You will have some problems when fostering children as they wouldn't be in care otherwise. Children that have been neglected are a lot easier to handle than those that have been abused emotionally, physically, or sexualy. We have 4 high needs kids and 3 have aspergers and the other is fetal alcohol and they are very challenging. The aspergers children were very good babies, and we didn't realize till they were older that they had problems. I'm not trying to put you off fostering, but it could be something that could help you out and give a couple of children an opportunity that they may not otherwise have. I wish you all the best in what you decide to do. Regards Ed

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G.S.

answers from New York on

I have two, not really by choice. I always thought that i'd have at least 5! My pregnancy with my first was difficult because we buried my mom 3 weeks prior to my first daughter being born and my oldest has had many health issues. I am diabetic and my 2nd daughter had a bit of a fight at birth and we were pretty much told by the ob/gyn to be happy w/the 2 beautiful girls we have. It was hard and it got harder, especially this past school year. Kindergarten wasn't so bad because here it's half day but first grade............I was in the dumps for quite some time. It's kind of like the final chapter of so many things, but I'm trying to look at them as just the beginning of many more things to come! There are times that I would love to have another one, but I know that it's not something that is possible. Perhaps your husband could have a change of heart in a few years, who knows. Well good luck!

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T.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

If it was me, i would try to talk to your husband again. Explain to him how badly you want another child. Ask him what his reasons for being done? Hopefully you guys can talk this out together and he will see your side :) I love big families, i know how you feel. I have four kids and always wanted 6. My husband is done though and with my health i should be too. It is hard to shake the baby feeling for some of us. I think there are only a few of us that love the mommy thing to this extent....lol! ((hugs))

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G.B.

answers from Tulsa on

It's always best to be honest. The thought of having no possible chance of pregnancy may be the issue that is haunting you. After the vasectomy, that is. I think if you sit down and talk to him and tell him you really want to have another child that you really are having these sad feeling he may be able to help you get to what is really at the heart of it. Communication is always the best way in any relationship.

Most of my friends have 3 on up to 12 kids. My BF in high school was one of 12 and several of my friends, that I have made in my older years, had 10 kids each. Lots of other friends have 4-6 average. Large families are awesome and not tons more work than 3 kids. One of my friends had a toddler and he came up to her one day and said "Go potty". She took him to the bathroom and he peed, she didn't even realize he was being potty trained by his bigger brothers...it was really funny, she was dreading potty training another boy.

Be honest, talk to him, bare your burden with him.

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J.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

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