I love the fact that I can sleep in (and my kids are old enough not to bother me). They can fix their own cereal and/or toast in the morning, and they can entertain each other. I do not miss the days of them being three or four and running in to wake me up in the noisiest possible way at 7am. I don’t miss cooking breakfast when I’m half-asleep because I wrote until 3am.
Thing is, my husband half wants to have another baby. 
Our kids are 10 and 8. That would be a big gap, don’t you think? But he throws the idea out there every now and then, and I can’t tell if he’s kidding. I’m not sure it’d be a good idea. My career is just taking off, and I’m 37, for goodness sake.
What do you guys think? In my shoes, would you want another child?
ChristyJan, you won the free book!
The person who gives me the best advice wins a download of any one of my books. And yeah, it’s totally arbitrary, but you know you want to tell me what to do.
Just as a general note, it makes my job a lot easier in notifying winners if you enable your Google profile and click the box so your email is visible on mouse hover. ChristyJan did this, and I was able to email her myself, thus eliminating the somewhat iffy wait-and-hope-she-sees-she-won strategy.
September 16th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
ROFL, Ann. My youngest is 2.5. We just moved him to a bed from a crib. He comes into our room as soon as it gets light. I dream of the days mine are old enough to let me sleep in and get their own breakfasts so I can stay up until 3am writing.
That said…your older kids are old enough to be a huge help to you this time around. It would be a completely different experience.
September 16th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
I think that the new child will bring joy into your lives. The gap between your children will be an asset, like Elisabeth stated.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:38 am
Our oldest children were 8 and 6 when I had our next child ~ and then the next one 2 years after that. The older children were alot of help. But, in a lot of ways it was like having 2 families. Babies are a joy and I’m SO glad to have my younger two ~ but if it isn’t something YOU really want to do….because it is YOU who will be doing the majority of the work…well.
And thank you SO much for the book! I’ve e-mailed you.
September 17th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I have a 11 month old baby girl and a 4 year old boy. I am going to be turning 40 in October, Unfortunately, the baby is a poor sleeper and still wakes us up in the night. I just want to remind you since I am going through this now of the multiple diaper changes, the muliple feedings, the teething, the sleepless nights, packing everything but the kitchen sink to go out anywhere, the expense of formula and diapers, and the extra laundry. If you have a large group of friends and family who will help you with all of this then it will be great. Hubby and I do not have any family nearby. We are constantly exhausted since the baby is a poor sleeper and the toddler still wakes us up once in awhile in the middle of the night. We love our kids and would not trade them for anything but we both wish we could have met and had babies earlier. Having them this late in life is really exhausting. Hope that helps.
September 17th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I was so sad when we decided not to have any more in our current tax bracket. And now I’m getting into building my career and looking at both kids being in school, and he’s talking about more. Oh he’s still saying that we can’t afford more, but instead of it being said with a practical tone it’s being said longingly. And then comes that “If we hit the lottery…” Most recently it was “If we hit the lottery I’d keep you pregnant as often as your body could handle it.”
Uh-huh. Now I love babies, and yes, I miss having one, but um… I’d like to be more than a mom please.
(I think he did the man thing and said something before he’d thought about it. He did follow my look up with a “We could get nannies then…”)
September 17th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Wow, some really good arguments, for and against. Giving me a lot to think about! Keep the advice coming!
September 19th, 2007 at 11:25 am
My son is 12 and my daughter is 2. When he isn’t off with sports and the like, he makes me job so much easier! Of course, I am such a baby advocate, I would say a huge yes and plan to start trying for another myself soon. At the same time, from a writing standpoint, no matter how much help you have, that first year the baby is going to eat into your progress and ability to think straight.
Love the baby pict! Is he one of yours when they were little?
~ jodi