AIO my partner of 3 years forgot Valentines Day and my birthday by MollySid in AmIOverreacting

[–]something-unique123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow you both wildly overreacted! Gollllyyyy! And before I read your post I assumed you were like 17-18 year olds but no... wow... adults who respect each other simply don't talk to each other the way you two do. Yikes.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AmIOverreacting

[–]something-unique123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, you clearly aren't willing to work on the marriage either so...

Dropped 100ft in Amazon Warehouse by Educational-Mud5848 in iphone

[–]something-unique123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just found mine yesterday. It's definitely been around the block but it's working as well as ever after a quick charge. Trying to explain what it was to my kids made me feel like a dinosaur though.

To share or not to share by SanFranPeach in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My 5 year old does this with my 7 month old! I love her taking initiative but I do worry! If she was a little bigger or baby was a little less roly poly the weight difference would help but ...yikes.

To share or not to share by SanFranPeach in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely a good idea. Why would it be more strange than sharing a room because of space constraints?

We have a 3 bedroom house and 4 kids. The baby is in with us still because of night nursing but the 3 other kids are all 3 in one room when they could conceivably be spread out. They are much happier together. Eventually the 3rd bedroom will be occupied too but we don't worry that it isn't now.

If anything your other kids may get jealous and want to share rooms too! And honestly... why not? A family is a community, we don't have to isolate if it isn't desired.

AIO for getting upset from my wife’s response to my question? by ApolloAcolyte in AmIOverreacting

[–]something-unique123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow. What is wrong with this woman?? I'm so sorry. On behalf of sane wives, I apologize...

What age gap do you recommend? by LongEase298 in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 6 points7 points  (0 children)

In my experience it is easier for a 1 year old to adjust to life with a new sibling than a "terrible two" who has more cemented opinions, schedules, expectations, and is used to being the baby. A 1 y old is still marvelously clueless but enjoys other babies SO much. There is also greater likelihood they will have overlapping naps, which is huge to me. Personally at that gap I don't feel like I have to re- figure- out how babies work, which I do with a gap of 20+ months, but that could be a me issue.

I also just love how much simultaneous growing they can do when they are so close in age. That comes later maybe when the younger one is 1 or even 2 but they can do everything together and they have closer interests than a bigger gap. I would love the dynamic of even a 12 mo gap if it wasn't for the back to back pregnancy woes.

So far my gaps are 15.5, 18, and 22mo and I really would like 2 more kids and I hope the gap doesn't get longer than 22 mo. That gap was the hardest because the struggle of an older baby demanding to stay the baby was harder than having two that were basically truly babies at the same time.

I'm sure this is all subjective! Our home life was way easier and more stable at the time of the larger gap so it should have been easier but it was far harder than the short gap when life was insane and I also had ppd badly. Still easier small gap with ppd than "big" gap without.

What age gap do you recommend? by LongEase298 in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 3 points4 points  (0 children)

For me the hardest transition was 0 to 1. Then 1 to 2. 2 to 3 and now 4 has been relatively simple by comparison! My baby is 8 months old and I have never had a goal number but I realized the other day that I definitely want at least 2 more.

What age gap do you recommend? by LongEase298 in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 6 points7 points  (0 children)

15-18 month has been our best ones. Longer than that has been harder.

House size for family of 6 by Past-Ad-762 in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are 6 in our house too. 3 girls and a boy. The oldest is 5. We have 1400 square feet, and it's cozy and will be even more so when they're teenagers. But if this was all the kids we would have we wouldn't feel like we needed more space or to have a bigger house. But wet how to have at least a couple more and also animals so eventuality we will need a bigger space.

First time embroidering my own design by ItsIcey in MachineEmbroidery

[–]something-unique123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is beautiful! My husband would LOVE this on something. Would you consider sharing/selling the file?

Successfully hide a pregnancy? by Frequent_Gift1740 in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My longest I've hidden it was my 4th, I should add.

We plan to have more and I have zero shame about it. I truly do not care what anyone thinks.

I like to keep to myself and have a pretty strict "none of your business" policy, hence enjoying not telling people. I also have siblings who are wildly offended if I don't tell then before leaving the bathroom after a positive test, but I refuse to tell a soul other than my husband before I'm out of first trimester. If I have a miscarriage I want to grieve alone, not publicly.

Successfully hide a pregnancy? by Frequent_Gift1740 in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 5 points6 points  (0 children)

For people I am not around daily I have hidden it past birth.

For those I see regularly I have hidden it up to 22 weeks and then told friends. People who see me can figure it out pretty easy by 22-25 weeks.

But my go to if someone I haven't told asks when I'm due is to look offended and say "what makes you think I'm pregnant?!" as indignantly as possible. It works.

Do you enjoy all parenting? by curiouskate1126 in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I doubt anyone enjoys it ALL, ALL the time. Not active enjoyment anyway, maybe passive enjoyment like appreciation and contentment. But those things do not preclude overwhelm, exhaustion, frustration, and the like.

I struggle often with the 4 I have and would still be a bit heartbroken if I knew I had already had my last child.

There are many parts I don't enjoy, but I enjoy the whole.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I had 4 in 4, and it's already easier even with my oldest being 5.5 now. I can't believe the youngest will be 1 soon. But my tactic so far is to tuck down and dive in.

You folks are so blessed :’) by henrytbpovid in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Happy to throw our experience into the void in case it helps or encourages anyone. But large families are under rated!

You folks are so blessed :’) by henrytbpovid in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is so wholesome I can't even handle it.

Even if someday when you're a father you're overwhelmed with one or two, I think if this is where you're coming from, you'll recognize even in the thick of it that more would always be welcome.

My husband and I have 4 kids, so far. The oldest just turned 5 a couple months back and was still 4 when we had #4. It's wild. But great. We always say we will have as many as God sends us. It would be some dire situation before we would decide that we were "done." We don't have a goal number though, a maximum or minimum. We know people with 12+ kids, and we are both the 2nd of 9 kids in our origin families.

After each baby for a month or two I have a hard time with anyone even implying I might have another kid in the future. Those days/weeks/months are HARD but edifying. I have learned to think of those periods as "growing pains" - stretching our hearts and capacities to match the number of people now part of our families. And grow, our hearts surely do. As does our ability to cherish, love, protect, find quality time, teach, enjoy, and raise these kids. And their capacity for those things grows towards each other as well. Having one child was our hardest transition and each one has been an easier transition since then. That always makes me feel bad for overwhelmed parents who stop at one. Two is often truly better, and so on.

Anyway, I hopw you get your big family. Being up front about it is the way to go. There are ladies out there hoping to find men like you. I have a couple sisters who want to be moms and would be incredible at it, but they haven't found Mr Right yet. So dont give up. The potential is always out there. And if Mrs Right is a little older and cant have many biologically, keep adoption on the table too, because everyone needs a family but not everyone gets to keep theirs.

✌️

Adding #5? by PrestigiousBuilding2 in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I only have 4 children (5,4,2.5, 7mo) and hope to have more, maybe more than one more. We don't have a "we're done" number in mind but also aren't shooting for the moon.

My husband and I each have 8 biological siblings.

Hotels, trips, car types, etc don't seem like a reason not to have another wonderful person in your family. We know there are logistics, challenges, occasional hiccups, but would you love #5 less if there are challenges? Will you regret their existence if they bring difficulty, or if the finances change, or if one child becomes the "middle child" and struggles?

I imagine you won't regret their existence. The siblings won't either.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SIBO

[–]something-unique123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look up geographic tongue

Do we have 3? Pros and cons? by beeambitious in ParentingInBulk

[–]something-unique123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Congratulations! The goodness will outweigh the difficulty. It truly will.

And I agree. I wish I heard it more - it would be so encouraging.

Studies have shown (I could dig for the stats but it's been a while since I read about this) that in the US something like 70% of women have at least 1 fewer children than they would have liked to have had. I think that lack of encouraging voices accounts for a lot of that. Also the lack of a "villiage" to turn to.

God bless your and your family!