GTKY- what are you most looking forward to about becoming a mom/adding to your family?

crabcake18

share yours here! 

I grew up in a family of three and loved my sisters. I hope my boys have a similar experience. I’m excited to watch them grow and teach them how to bake, love the beach and be kind. I’m happy that when I’m old and they’ve left home I’ll have three kids to check in on/visit/spend holidays with 

SmashJam

Seeing how different they'll be (or maybe how similar)! I told DH the other day I hope they don't both like hockey cuz that shit's expensive, lol. But my son is just such a little smarty pants weirdo that I wonder if that's just how we raise them and we'll have two awesome, smarty pants weirdos, or if Bernie will be different.

zande2016

I think I’m most excited to see if our family feels “complete” now (so I’ll know whether or not #3 is in the cards), and seeing how the two boys will interact. I hope they’ll be best friends and be super close. Also like @SmashJam I’m excited to see how they’re different. My son is blonde (no clue why...H and I are brunette) with blue eyes and he’s very sensitive/high strung but also super silly. In my head the baby will have darker features and be super laid back and chill. No clue why, that’s just how I’m picturing it. 

wildtot

Since we have no family in state (yet), I’m curious to see how the two will grow together and hopefully be good friends. DSs features have changed so much since birth that i have no idea what this little guy will look like. I didn’t want to be as strict and overbearing as my mom so I’ll need to find a balance with how free DH is. I’ll probably still be the “law” on most things which I’m fine with. I just want them to grow up to be smart decent men. Can’t wait for double the cuddles and kisses! 

And846

I’m excited to see how we are as parents, this is our first. And the first grandkid. We are also so excited to see what she looks like! We’ve even looked at those genetic charts online to see what features are dominant.
DH: tan skin, black hair, dark eyes
Me: fair/light olive skin, blonde hair, blue eyes.
the only trait that is 50/50 is eye color! 


@wildtot i love that! My sister is my bestie so I’d hope for that as well with further kids.

SmashJam

@zande2016 I am with you on wanting to see if the family feels "complete." I know saying I'm done would be hard for me but towards the end of my last pregnancy and now with this one and it is hard to imagine doing it again. I wonder if baby fever craziness will seep in, lol.

stillcozy

I am excited to watch DD be a big sister and have a playmate. I am also really excited for baby snuggles

KatyF0813

We are for sure done at 3 so I'm excited to have my body back again (minus the whole breastfeeding thing - but you know, to not have someone INSIDE my body).  I'm excited to see if this boy has blue eyes (I have blue eyes and my husbands and both boys are brown... .  Hubby's mom has blue eyes though so I'm holding out hope!) I'm also looking forward to seeing how the three boys will interact and hope that they are all best friends! My two boys personalities are night and day so I'm curious to see who this one will be! 

kbernal2021

I think I'm most excited to see my son love his little sister. How he will interact and protect her like he's talked about since knowing we were pregnant again. We suffered a MC 14 months prior to conceiving this baby and the grief was so strong for him so I think he will be even more protective over his sister for that reason. I'm excited to see how different things will be from having a boy to having a girl, how my husband will love her and fall victim to her being a daddies girl like he's so desperately wanted for so long. I'm excited to see if she favors her brother like the sonograms indicate, if she will look up to him and favor his behaviors/mannerisms, and just to overall watch her grow!

amdftw

I'm excited to see how DS is with the baby and to watch their relationship grow.  I'm also in the boat of waiting to see if the family feels complete or not as we decided that baby #3 is neither on nor off the table at this point... so we'll see how that goes.  I'm also looking forward to lots of baby snuggles.  And selfishly, looking forward to having some time off work.

kc1293

I'm similar to @KatyF0813. This our 3rd. Most likely our last biological child. We would love to adopt one day. But I am also looking forward to not having someone inside of me. DH and I are most intrigued about how the kids' relationships will work. DS and DD1 are bffs. So it will be interesting to see how they bring DD2 into their circle. We assume she will just be the baby. Love that DS loves his little sisters and hopefully will always watch out for them. My dream that I am holding out for on DD2...blue eyes. Won't happen, but I still cling to it! (DH has dark brown eyes, but I have blue eyes - all of his dominant traits win over all of my recessive traits...sigh)

SmashJam

I dunno about your DH's parents @kc1293 but I had resigned myself to my blue eyes disappearing from the family forever because of DH's dominant traits. But I guess his mom has hazel/brown eyes, and his dad had lighter eyes as well which I didn't know and he didn't know (I had to ask mom) so he actually had a recessive to pass on which somehow DS got and got MY Blue eyes! I was stoked. DH was all like, "He must not be mine...." as a joke (but like, not super funny) for I swear the first year of DS's life.

kc1293

@smashjam - sigh I wish. Nope. DH's entire family has dark brown eyes. My kids have a lighter brown color eye. Same for the hair. I have blonde, DH has black. Kids have brown.

nimmle

Just like @And846 I'm excited to see how we will be as parents. I'm also curious what features he will get from us as well since we are sooo different:

DH - Dark hair, dark eyes, olive complexion
Me - Light Hair, Hazel eyes, pale complexion

Hopefully he gets DH's long lashes (swoon). My niece from his side has blonde hair and blue eyes so I know there's a recessive gene somewhere .

KatyF0813

@kc1293 - what about your husbands grandparents  My mom and dad both have brown eyes, but mine are blue because THEY each had a parent with blue eyes and both must carry a recessive gene for light eyes! 

hillbillywife

Genes are so weird. I figured all of my kids would have blue eyes since both H and I have blue eyes (even though MIL always says I have brown eyes. I really don’t know what planet she lives on lol). BUT DS has brown eyes. DARK brown eyes. 

SmashJam

@hillbillywife that shouldn't even be possible! You need two recessives for those light eyes right? That's so weird, you would think light eyes all the way!

And846

Another cool gene in my family is every few generations, someone has gotten different color eyes. Like, the left eye is blue and the right is brown. I’d think that would be cool if she got that! 

sm05-2

I’m also excited to see how DH and I will be as parents. I’m also hoping I can take parenthood as a learning opportunity to be more patient. 

Most of all I can’t wait to meet our little girl and see how her personality unfolds over the months and years....

millpe

@hillbillywife I'm with @SmashJam how is that possible?? I mean my biology class probably over simplified genetics, but I was taught that wasn't possible. Someone please explain! 

gingerbride26

kc1293, @hillbillywife, and @SmashJam - yea they super over simplify genetics in high school and basically lie to all of us.  Pigment based stuff is not just 2 factor dominant/recessive like they tell us on those squares - there's like 8 factors for skin color and 3-4 for eye color.  Two blue's having a brown is SUPER rare but possible.  My dad is blue eyed, mom is brown but claims hazel, I have blue eyes.  DH also has blue eyes - but I have navy blue and he has ice blue.  DD has the most beautiful blue eyes which are ice in the center with a thick navy ring on the outside - she's also got my supposed rare 3 rows of lashes instead of 1 so first thing everyone comments on are her eyes. Can't wait to see what DS gets from us.  DD is my mini-me - there are aspects of her face that I see DH when he's holding her, but when you look at baby photos of me at the same age she's so me with less curly hair.

Mine's a little morbid but i swear it's positive - I'm looking forward to DD not being alone when she's my age.  I am an only child with no cousins, everyone always assumes growing up was amazing and yes, I got a lot of toys and opportunities, but now my parents are not doing so well and not only does it all fall on me, there's no one left to reminisce about when I was little or remembers what it was like.  I know it's not a guarantee that they'll be close or help each other when the time comes, but I hope they'll have that sibling closeness I've always felt was missing in my life.

hillbillywife

@gingerbride26 @MrsMiller8588 @smashjam yeah super simplified. I didn’t think it was possible but I think I have an incomplete blue that I get from my dad because he has green/hazel eyes. My eyes are a steely-er blue with a hazely ring around the pupil. I’ll be interested to see what DS2 has! So far we got one of each!

im also interested to see what color hair he has. Both of my kids have medium brown hair that I’m guessing comes from their dad. He was blonde as a child and it’s darkened up as he’s grown. I have SUPER dark hair. I’d love it if he got my super dark hair, or blonde hair. That would be fun too, but I’m not going to hold my breath on that one

kbernal2021

@gingerbride26 definitely not morbid. Crazy thing is my husband and I had almost decided against another child after we had a miscarriage in 2016. The more we thought about leaving our son an only child the more we thought about exactly what you said, seriously verbatim. 

zombiehoohaa

Thought this was relevant here...

BrittG13

@gingerbride26 So much that. All that. I grew up an only child and yes I was spoiled and I got to play whatever sport, have whatever opportunity but I also went through A LOT Of hard times all by myself and it would have helped tremendously to have a sibling, even just one...there’s also that lack of aunts and uncles factor. My husbands one sibling has been kind of a dud and...that’s all my son has. And of course taking care of my mom when she’s older will fall to just me. I have definitely joked that my desire for 3 children is a direct allergic reaction to being an only child. 

gingerbride26

kbernal2021 I can understand that struggle.  I always feel bad stating my strong desire to have DD not be an only child, I know a lot of families that are one-and-done for many different reasons.  There are definite advantages to being an only child; I am very grateful for the advantages I had growing up, but I think it would be a lot less lonely as an adult if I had siblings or even cousins so I know I'm a bit of an extreme case.

ETA: simultaneous posts crossing lol
@BrittG13 yes! I got to try any sport/activity i was interested in and go to Disney every year when my dad went for conferences, but by high school my parents were having me bring a friend because they didn't want to have to keep up with me.  My mom was really rough on me, and I think an ally would have helped with some of that.  Granted my dad pretty much took care of my grandparents alone despite having a brother and my mother barely talks to her brother - but both had parental baggage/issues that I don't foresee my kids having.

runsomewhere

I'm just overjoyed about having another family member/little one. While I know there are no guarantees in life I'm thrilled that my little ones will have a sister close in age. 

Also, similarly to what was mentioned above I am an only child and when DD was a few months old I realized how much I didn't want that for her. 

I am super close with my parents and I had a pretty good childhood but looking back now I feel a little sad about being the only child. My parents moved to the US when I was 10, my cousins and everyone else still lives in Europe. While we skype, email, talk and visit it's not the same. Two years after we moved to the US we moved again from NY to CA, then again within CA when I started HS. I had to start over on my own a lot and it would have been great to have a sibling by my side. 

I long for those huge family dinners and BBQs I see others have. It's definitely a void, especially on my daughter's birthdays and holidays to not have more family around. 

It's funny, I never gave being an only child much thought till I had DD and I actually surprised myself with how strongly I ended up feeling about it.  I also just really do enjoy being a mom, babies and toddlers, if I had the time and money I'd probably have 4 little ones. 

morethanamama

@runsomewhere I can relate, plus I was raised by my mom and her family lives in Rome so we were never around them on a regular basis. I do have great memories about holidays with them though.

I actually feel like there are lots of perks to being an only child but if you are blessed with being close and getting along with your siblings then that's great! I just saw my mom struggling with one of her sisters when it was time to discuss care for my grandma and that has been a nightmare. It always gave me food for thought.

I think and hope we can have a second one if we are lucky to fall pregnant easily again and hopefully finances will be enough to maintain a good lifestyle. I know it sucks to say but I would hate having a second baby and then constantly struggle with money because it's so stressful, I don't think it would be the case but we will see how we adjust to one.

Yesterday DH said he already has a name picked out for a girl and that kind of warmed my heart

SmashJam

@runsomewhere if I had the time and resources I would also have 4 babies running around, lol. Now that I have a kid its easily the most fun I've ever had/ best thing I've ever done, and I want to keep that going! I never pictured myself as done at 2, and I used to say I would love to have SIX (although my vagina shrinks away at that now) but reality is resources might keep us done at 2, and that makes me sad, especially since we would be able to do whatever we wanted if we didn't have debt that WE caused, and that's been super heavy on my mind lately, as we close in on the end of what MIGHT be the last time I'm preggo. Holy run on sentence. But I'm too lazy to fix it...

I just love seeing huge families with their kiddos playing and bonding and I would love to have that! 

zande2016

@smashjam I also kinda always wanted 4, but given our debt that we got ourselves into, it probably won't happen. I figure we will dig ourselves out of this hole in about 2-3 years and then reassess. By then I'll be 33ish so it won't be too late to add at least 1 more. But kids are such money suckers, and the whole working mom thing with just one kid is so exhausting, I don't know if I can do 3-4. We'll see how 2 is I guess. I am one of 4 siblings and really like being from a big family, even if we do have lots of family drama. 

runsomewhere

SmashJam said:

 that's been super heavy on my mind lately, as we close in on the end of what MIGHT be the last time I'm preggo. 

I just love seeing huge families with their kiddos playing and bonding and I would love to have that! 

This is SO me! While I definitely have moments of panic about what the heck have we done life with just DD is easy! I often ask myself if this is really it for me pregnancy wise. I think realistically it might be my last but I can't shut the door on the tiny chance just yet. 

I feel the same way about big families 

flockofmoosen3

Chiming in late:

This is my third (and final) baby. I am sad for DS to not be the baby anymore, but I am thrilled at having a little trio of kids who can band together. The dynamic of 3 siblings is kind of cool, imo. And while I have always worried about the middle kid (being forgotten) my DS will have the advantage of being the only boy. The girls can do girl things together and DS will get his own special attention by default.

Re: eye color and other traits--
DH and I both have brown eyes, but my entire paternal family has bright blue eyes and MIL and both SILs have hazel eyes. I was platinum blonde until I turned 8 and then my hair shifted to brown. DH has super dark brown hair. That said, DD has hazel eyes and medium blonde hair. DS has BLUE eyes and light blonde hair.
Personality wise, both kids are totally different so I am looking forward to seeing what #3 will look and be like. It's going to be crazy and fun.

julianne0

@zande2016 @SmashJam I’ve wanted 4 for the longest time! I’m 1 of 5 and love having so many siblings. I also can’t picture my lifestyle with only 2 kids... it seems so boring ha! But it can be hard to be pregnant, especially with all of my scares this time around. Ever since having my first and then going back to work, I’ve really wanted to foster babies (I work in the behavioral health field and I’m exposed to the system quite a bit). My husband has always been interested in adopting so I think in a year or so we’ll start exploring that and then maybe not have anymore biological kids.

i just can’t wait to snuggle her and kiss her