My Decision to Have a Large Family

Having a large family was never part of the plan for my husband and I, we never discussed it, we never planned it, it just happened. We are the proud and extremely happy parents of four wonderful children, while four children doesn't seem large in respect to many of the large families you seen on television, who boast fifteen, sixteen or seventeen kids it is a large family by today's social standards.

When my husband and I met I was childless, and being the oldest of a family of six children I just knew I didn't want to have any children for a very long time, if ever. Then I met my husband. Here was this wonderful single father of two who had full custody of his two children, and his hands were full as he was busy raising them on his own. The oldest was four when we met, he is fourteen now, and his baby girl was only eight months old.

We were married within just a few short months of meeting, and I threw myself into being a full-time stay at home mom. I loved it in ways that I never thought I would. Then one day I decided I wanted another child. After much discussion and soul searching we finally decided it was time to begin trying to conceive.

We were ecstatic to learn we were expecting, a baby girl, and we were even more ecstatic when she arrived. My husband proudly proclaiming that if he knew it would be a boy we would have another one right away, much to my chagrin.

Then two years later it started to hit me again, I wanted another baby, again. This time there was a lot more soul searching and discussion, a fourth child, could we handle it? What about the emotional, and monetary aspects of it, was it really possible?

We decided it was, and quickly became pregnant with our fourth child. Those who were once happy for us for expecting our daughter, were not so happy this time, you would have thought we were telling people we decided to buy a polar bear for a pet the way they reacted. After all, it was our choice, our family, what right did they have to tell us that we were being selfish, and needed to get our priorities straight before having another baby?