When Your Baby-Making Days Are Done

My baby-making days are done. I hear a lot of women talk about those days with such nostalgia. They seem to miss the times of being pregnant and having a newborn with their whole hearts. They want to hold other people’s babies and get their baby fix. That’s not me. At. All.

Every single time I hear about someone being pregnant or look at a pregnant woman, I think to myself at least once, “Thank GOD I don’t have to do that again.” There are just one or two things I love about being done having babies. Ok, maybe nine…

9 Reasons I’m CELEBRATING being done having babies:

1. Clever Conversation

My kids talk to me. They are super interesting. I could not in a million years come up with the stuff that they imagine or think about and I love it. And, when something’s wrong or they are sick, they can tell me all about it. It’s not an endless guessing game while I try anything I can think of to make the crying stop. (Anybody else have a colicky baby? It’s really awesome when that’s over, right?)

2. Diaper-Free Zone

My house is a diaper free zone. DIAPER FREE. Let that sink in for a minute. It’s a beautiful thing. No more $100 a month on diapers, wipes, and Desitin. No more diaper bags or diapers stashed in my purse. A lot of the time, I can actually leave the house with my phone, wallet, and keys in my pockets and I don’t even need a bag. It’s great – it feels like freedom.

3. Morning Wellness (AKA No more barfing!)

I will never have morning sickness again. I was not one of those people who felt a little nauseous for a little while. I was full-on puking up to five times a day for at least 20 weeks with each of my three kids. I had to get up off the table at our 20-week anatomy scan with our first to go throw up. Not my favorite part of turning my body into a baby making machine.

4. Bye Bye, Baby Weight!

I will never again have 50 pounds of baby weight temporarily added to my body. I wasn’t one of those people who gained 15 pounds and looked like a basketball had been dropped inside my body. I was pregnant and puffy all over. I lost the weight every time, so no lectures on healthy pregnancy weight gain please. 50 pounds is just how my body does baby making. And I’m not a fan.

baby-making
This is the night before I had my second baby. Even my nose is puffy. My little ones are worth every minute of pregnancy, but I am so glad not to have to do this again!

5. My Body – All Mine!

It’s not so easy finding room for a second person in a body built for one. I will never again have a small person push against my bones and try to break me from the inside out. With my first, it was my ribs. I thought my left lower rib, where his foot was lodged for about 2 months, might crack in half. But, that was before I got to enjoy real damage inflicted by my youngest whose head was pushed so far into my pubic bone that she had a dent in her head from it for two weeks after she was born. She even managed to separate my bones in a way that required a lot of physical therapy to put me back together again – thanks, kiddo! I don’t think my body could handle one more of these adorable little pain makers.

6. C-section Horror Stories Memories

I will never again have a surgery where I’m awake and the anesthesia didn’t take and they have to just keep going anyway. My middle child had a heck of a c-section delivery!

7. Bathtub Cleanliness

I will never again have to clean a child’s poop out of the bathtub as part of my regular evening routine. One child, who shall remain nameless here, got really relaxed in the tub each night. Not so relaxing for mom and dad to go into poop cleanup mode every single night at bedtime.

8. No More Nursing

I don’t ever have to breastfeed again! There is a lot to love about breastfeeding and I did it for a little over a year with each of my kids. But, there’s a lot to love about being done with it, too. I won’t ever smell like milk, worry that I will start leaking at an inopportune moment, have fevers and body aches thanks to mastitis, or go through the constant feeding that goes along with growth spurts. I’m all done!

9. Sleep. Sweet, delicious sleep!

I’ve saved the best for last. I get to sleep through the night, people. This is AMAZING. I’m not going to lie, there are definitely times when the kids get sick or scared and I hear a tap-tap at my door or my littlest calling out for me on the monitor. But, most nights, I actually get to sleep all night long. This is something I have only dreamed of for the last 8 years of my life. It is just as good as I thought it would be.

I loved my little babies with everything I’ve got. And I will always remember with lots of love and fondness all my babies’ snuggles, first smiles, sleep giggles, and all the other things that make those baby days special. But, right now, when I see pregnant women or moms with young babies, I look at them and feel like I have made a lucky escape. Maybe someday when the memories of uncomfortable pregnancies and the exhaustion of the infant days have faded, I’ll put on my rosy nostalgic glasses, too, and go looking for that baby fix. But, right now, my littlest is not quite three and I don’t have enough distance for rosy nostalgia. Instead, I’m having too much fun watching my little ones turn into big kids to look back!

Are your baby making days done, too? What are you glad to leave behind as your kids get bigger?

Laura
Laura is a mom of three who works full-time from home as a Development Director for a children’s charity. Laura grew up in Maryland, spent her 20s living in Southern California and South Carolina, and has spent her 30s and now 40s in Iowa, moving to Iowa City in 2010. Laura loves dancing, reading, baking, and music. She and her husband Ryan started dating in college (gasp – over 20 years ago!) and they have been sharing life’s adventures ever since. Their biggest adventure is, of course, parenthood. With three kids, the action is non-stop - which is just the way Laura likes it.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Laura, you read my mind! I am SO DONE having kids, and I’m really enjoying my kids getting bigger. Newborn has never been my favorite stage — I prefer when they are old enough to explain some things in words. We chose to have our kids close together on purpose, so that we didn’t have to carry diaper bags to swim meets, etc. It’s a little intense for the first few years, but there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for sharing!! 🙂

  2. AMEN, SISTER!! The bloating, the pregnancy induced carpal tunnel, the heart burn, the hot flashes, etc…. plus, I LOVE my kids! So awesome!! But glad those first years are OVER! 🙂

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