older children and ttc?

[jalilma]

I have 3 girls ages 16,13 and 10.. My stepson is 8. So they are all mostly self sufficient (when they want to be hahaha) my bf and I after much discussion decided we want a baby 'together'. Part of me is like "I must the 100% totally crazy for wanting to go back to diapers and sleepless nights " but the other part is like with so many older kids to help this having a baby around will be a breeze. It does help that my girls are TOTALLY stoked to have a squishy little one in the house to love on and help with... I'm sure their tune will change once the baby turns into a toddler! Anybody else in the same crazy boat with me?

 

[Isme]

My girls are 12.5 and 7. Not quite as old as yours, but I can understand where you're coming from. We weren't sure that we could even handle a third... We were very comfortable with our two (though I had been yearning for another for a while). But then, almost 2 years ago, we fell into a situation where a baby was almost literally dropped off at our doorstep. We ended up raising her for 8 months. When she left a year ago, we were pretty heartbroken. However, the experience left us with the knowledge that we actually could fit another little person into our lives. And yes, I found that with two big helpers things were a lot easier. (The stressful dynamics of our particular situation aside.) In any case, I don't think you're crazy at all. After all that, we decided to TTC six months ago, so I'm in the same boat.

 

[jalilma]

Whew! We have only told a very few people we were even trying and 2 out of the 3 think we are nuts for wanting to "start over when the end is in sight"... So I'm glad I'm not alone! That's amazing of you to take in a baby and heart breaking that you had to give her up (although I'm assuming you did so so her birth parents could get in a better position to care for her). I admire you for that. This will be our second cycle but first actually 'planning' fingers crossed! Good luck to you also!