Question for people with large families and/or more kids than you thought you'd have
Hope this is the right place to put this....for those of you who have either large families (I know that number is different for everyone--for me it's more than 3 where for some people that's nothing!) or have ended up trying for more kids than you thought you wanted....can I ask (while acknowledging these are quite personal questions):
1. Did you have to convince your partner? While I do know some men who want bigger families than their female partners, the most frequent story I see is of woman convincing man. Does that lead to resentment in places where the guy said "ok, but for you"?
2. How did you work out if you truly wanted another child or if it was about trying for a particular gender? Like truly deep down figure that out.
3. How did you work out if you truly wanted another child and not just another baby?
All premature as baby 3 isn't even out yet, finances are limited, and I'm pushing 40. But I hate the thought of shutting down the thought of another baby forever. However, I think deep down what I want is the experience of having another daughter, naming her, and enjoying her as a baby. I don't know if I can honestly say that I want to take on a whole other child--of any gender--and it would also take some major convincing for my DH and some major squashing into our home. There is a large gap between my older two and this one and the thought of two "sets" is nice. But do you consider a whole other child just out of desire for symmetry?! Just curious how other people have made these decisions and how it was either having more kids than you'd thought you would or stopping even though you'd have liked to try again. Also acknowledging that for some people it isn't a choice, and either a surprise comes along or nature decides no more. TIA!