Third Time's the Charm? Nope.

I've been getting asked lately quite a bit whether we’ll have a third (or more?) child. Right now, we’re a house divided – or at least uncertain. I have no idea if we’ll have a third one down the line (we’d probably stop there). And my second child is still a baby – it’s too early to be thinking about this! Let me enjoy her being a baby before I even think about adding a third! And yo, back off the current or future state of my uterus, dawg. That's not your business. 

But of course I've thought about it. Come on.

Chris is completely fine (and sometimes even adamant) about stopping at two. Me, though? I’m totally uncertain. I love larger families (I was one of four) and love a bit of chaos and love kids in general. But a third kid would be expensive (Three kids in daycare? Three kids to feed? Three plane tickets if we went anywhere? A new car to hold three kids [or all new carseats at the least]?? A new house???]. And a third kid would tip the scales in the kids’ direction – they’d outnumber us! And it’s not quite that critical mass number where adding another kid just doesn't matter (that happens at four kids, I hear). And in the back of my mind is a study that found that parents with three kids were the least happy. Although I can’t find that study now, so maybe I just made that up. And we’re in a good groove now. But….KIDS. SIBLINGS. CHAOS. FUN. I love that; I crave that; I thrive on that.

If we did, it wouldn't (ideally) be until Emmeline is at least two years old. I really like the age gap between Carys and Emmeline. But then, I've never had a four-year-old and a two-year-old AND a newborn, so who knows how that would work in reality (who knows, except, you know, all those other millions of people who have had that age combo). And maybe Carys will be a complete terror of a four-year-old or maybe Emmeline will be the most devil-y two-year-old ever and in two years I’ll tie my OWN tubes with a rusty spoon just to ensure that no more children enter our house, lest I spend the days covered in spaghetti sauce coaxing a toddler off of the top of the fridge and trying to trade her chocolate for whatever dangerous chemical she’s attempting to drink. Although that’s not all that different than my life now, I guess. And I kind of really love it now.

Can you keep a secret? I will admit to a teensy massive bit of baby fever whenever I see a pregnant lady or newborn. I love being pregnant. I love newborns. I kind of want one now. BUT NO LARA. BUT NO.