So, I don't really know if any of you caught my undertones of it, but I consider myself "childfree". My viewpoint on the whole deal is kids are great, just not for me.
Now, though, I'm kind of starting to understand what it is that makes some people absolutely baby-crazy. I'm the oldest of three girls, and my just-slightly-younger-than-me sister had a baby back in March. Because she works and her husband is in the military (getting sent to Fort Hood after Thanksgiving), often my mother, other sister, and I help out with the babysitting. So in a sense, I'm almost a sort of part-time mom for my niece.
So although I've seen my niece in the throes of a screaming fit, I've never had to put up with the getting up at three in the morning for feeding. And honestly, it's an experience I'm glad to do without. I enjoy getting to help spoil her, and there's a certain satisfaction in getting her to sleep when she's been fighting it.
But I cannot imagine giving up my entire life for the 'joys of motherhood' because although there are joys, there's also plenty of tears, screaming, poo, and vomit. Some people accept this and harbor no illusions that everything will be perfect all the time. These are the mothers I respect. But some people want to have a baby as a fashion accessory, not understanding it's not as easy as some parents can make it look. There's a domineering pressure in the media that the only way for a woman's life to be complete is to have a baby. I wish that more people would just think before they have a baby. Let it be something you do when the time is right...if you even want to at all. I refuse to have a baby of my own because, at least at this point in my life, I would only resent him or her and that wouldn't be fair.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is....THINK. It won't kill you.
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