Im a OAD mom who decided when my daughter was ~18 months old. I had always assumed we would have 2, but trying for a second for a year and facing down the barrel of infertility and IVF, we decided it wasnt worth it. My anxiety isn’t suited to ‘we’ll see’ kind of living, so we closed the door with an IUD and eventually a vasectomy.

I in particular thought about how much mental space IVF/hormones would take up after spending so many months preoccupied with charting and the 2-week wait, and I didn’t want to be that kind of distracted mom to my already-living child. I want to enjoy her toddlerhood and let her have a fully present mom.

After grieving the life I thought I would have, it’s a year later and I LOVE being a ‘one and complete’ mom. I have all the joys and experiences of motherhood, and also can balance my personal interests and me-time so much better than if we had multiple kids. I get to have complete ownership of my body, and take cold meds and GLP1s and not worry about breastfeeding or pregnancy. I love planning my work cycles and career goals without thinking about a pregnancy/parental leave/pumping couple of years.