GTKY: What Inspired You to Be a Parent?

URMySunshine77

It has been so quiet in the board recently! I would love to hear what inspired you to be a parent. Have you always wanted to have a child, or did you make the decision later in life? 

latershrader

I have always wanted to be a mom. I knew that if by 35 I hadn't met "the one" I would go ahead and do something about starting a family of my own. I'm lucky I didn't have to do that...

I want to be a good parent like my own parents, but also improve where they lacked. Tough job but I know I'm ready for the challenge!

Samuelismomma

met my husband later in life. This sounds cheesy but as soon as I seen him and laughed I thought I want to have this mans children...was a profound moment for me:)

tlc35

I have also always wanted to be a mom.  I was thinking about doing it on my own before I met my husband.

lcwed

I always knew I wanted kids.  I've taught other people's kids for years, baby sat for friends who were parents, and have just enjoyed being around kids.  I always throught I would want to be married a few years before I had kids, but that was in my 20's.  Every few years the amount of time I would wait began to decrease.  By the time I was married in my 30's, the wait was under a year.  The only thing I regret is waiting longer to TTC # 2. I naively thought it would be as easy as the first time.

Radiantly

I have always wanted to be a parent too. However I was married for almost 7 years (together for almost 10) from age 20-30 and never wanted to be a parent with him. He was just wrong for me I guess but I didn't know.  Now that I am with Mr Right I know! He would make an amazing father. He actually reminds me of my dad, who was awesome. Really emotionally available and kind, patient. I wish he was around now. He passed away at age 54, 10 1/2 years ago.  It sounded young then, and now it is even more so young.  I look forward to connecting with the baby and thinking about my dad's genes and spirit inside him or her. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to do a little memory and touch to my father. hugs to all

mindaa

Samuelismomma I also had one of those profound moments when I realized I wanted to have his children - the ultimate expression of who we are as a couple. I'd never felt anything like that about a guy before.

 

When married, we were on the same page as far as having a family but weren't in any rush to start trying. Then eventually I found out that the stupid biological clock is a real thing... once it got loud enough I finally did something about it.

Davie813

Hmmm, that's a deep question for a Tuesday afternoon!

Except for a few years in my late teens/early twenties, I was always pretty sure I wanted kids one day.  DH is an excellent father, and knowing he would be was one of (many) things that drew me to him, but I knew I wanted kids long before I met him.  They were one of the main reasons I wanted to find a relationship/partner, actually.

As to why I wanted/want to have children, I always envisioned creating a happy family, passing on meaningful values and experiences, etc, but it's hard to explain the drive to reproduce in a way that doesn't sound egocentric and/or kind of neurotic.  I think this is true for absolutely everyone, though.  It's a good thing for the human race that we're not totally rational beings! 

mindaa

Davie813 said:
As to why I wanted/want to have children, I always envisioned creating a happy family, passing on meaningful values and experiences, etc, but it's hard to explain the drive to reproduce in a way that doesn't sound egocentric and/or kind of neurotic.  I think this is true for absolutely everyone, though.  It's a good thing for the human race that we're not totally rational beings! 
That's a good way of putting it. But funny because I've kinda been seeing the opposite way lately... at least for DH and I, not having kids feels like the selfish, easier path. 

As I've spent waaay too much time over-analyzing the realities of kids vs no kids, my rationale for having a family keeps coming back to the fact that I'm inherently selfish... and I want to be pushed to be that more generous and loving person that being a mom makes you. OK, so you're right, that does end up sounding egocentric!  Yep, not totally rational

URMySunshine77

*child mentioned*

I always loved children and was the neighborhood babysitter growing up. However, DH and I waited until I was 34 to decide whether or not we wanted children. DH has never been a "kid person," and I enjoyed being able to sleep in, work from home, and galavant around. I used to like to go dancing and watch movies in the theater.

We finally decided to TTC#1 because I was almost 35 and we knew we wanted at least one. 

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BeckyP005

I've always loved being around kids. Babysat in high school...worked at daycares...preschool and finally a nanny. I was always holding pp's kids at weddings or functions I didn't even know lol. I just had to hold them!! Maybe bit psycho...who knows. Parents never cared!!

I remember going to Ocean City with friends once and our first day on beach I ended up playing in the water with a young kid! Friends took pics too haha. Believe me... I DID enjoy rest of trip...I'm not that kid crazy Hopefully I can now watch my own child!!

hooligans4

Lol. A broken condom when I was 20 made me realize I wanted to be a mom.

Even though my first wasn't planned I always had a very strong maternal instinct and knew I wanted to be a mom. I took care of my younger siblings and started babysitting at 13.

sidey1

**child and loss mentioned***

I got married at 37 and really it was the furthest thing from our minds, we were really used to and happy with a childless life and most of our friends were (and still are) childless. I also watched my sister ttc for several years and just assumed we'd have the same struggles. We decided we wouldn't actively try and if it happened it happened. Well one epic winter blizzard and we found ourselves pregnant a month later, we were stunned and it took a while to get used to the idea but we of course fell in love with our DS right away, my DH didn't even come to my first OB appt with me, I had no idea they'd do an ultrasound and was so laid back about everything! When we lost DS, we were of course devastated and realized our lives wouldn't be complete without being parents again, we like to think that even though we tragically lost our first DS, that pregnancy happened for  a very important reason, he was our little angel and without him we wouldn't be where we are today..

thirtyninetoforty

I've wanted kids since I can remember.  Life got in the way and I kept thinking someday it will just happen but, well, it didn't!  So, I turned 40 and thought now or never...

bumpuser10258960

I always knew that I wanted to be a parent. It first happened for me a lot sooner than expected. But when things did not work out with my ex, I was almost sure that I would not have any more. By our third date, I knew I wanted to have his children. And as our love grew I just knew our love was just too awesome not to share. 

URMySunshine77

(child mentioned again)

I want to post again because I had a difficult time writing the first one. Sometimes I am nervous about speaking candidly about DS. I feel like my initial board introduction post was a bit careless because I didn't read the newbie welcome.

So we tried for #1 when I was 34. Neither one of us felt strongly about TTC. We just felt like it was the time to try. I thought that raising a person who was a mixture of both of us would be an amazing experience. I also thought that I wanted to leave a legacy behind when I pass away. I try to be a positive influence on the world, and hopefully my child(ren) can carry on the good that I try to do.

I don't know why that was so hard to express. Thank you for sharing your stories. Like @PrivateOne expressed, I do feel like you're my friends!