We haven’t broken the news of our impending addition to friends and family just yet (We’re thinking of taking a novel approach and letting the baby break the news himself/herself. Ha ha.), but once we do, I can all but guarantee I’ll be asked by at least half a dozen well-meaning friends, “Sooo, why DID you decide to have another one?”
That may seem like an obvious question not to ask an already-pregnant lady, but since I made it clear in the months following labor, I’d never be doing THAT again, I suppose it’s fair game. Plus, it’s a question I’ve already asked myself a time or two (dozen), usually when I’m in between heaves, huddled in a sad heap around the toilet seat.
There are lots of answers that could be true: My ovaries were aching for another one. I couldn’t stop thinking about babies. We were caught up in a moment of unthinking passion. But, it wasn’t nearly as romantic as any of that.
Fact is, I did it for the kid.
Yep, I figured Jacob had to have SOMEBODY to beat up on when he gets older. I kid; I kid.
Really, though, after weighing the question for a few months, I finally decided that even if I didn’t have any sort of personal baby-hole that needed filling, that Jacob ought to have another sibling. (Plus, Tom’s been pulling for another almost since the moment
Jacob made it out of the gate.)
There are no shortage of critics who say that’s a terrible reason to have a baby. (I know. I Googled it.) But, I disagree. And, so does our very own Pregnancy and Newborn magazine. In the latest issue, Jeffrey Kluger, author of The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us has this to say about adding a second baby to your brood: “No matter how good a playmate you think you are for your child, nobody’s better than a sibling.”
Having grown up with a sister, who just so happens to be the world’s best, I couldn’t agree more.
So, though I probably won’t have to face the question for a few weeks yet, I’ll be armed and ready when I do. (Thanks, P&N!) In fact, I may just have the article imprinted on my forehead.
Maybe I better post it to the toilet seat, too.
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