Reactions to 3 u 3 or similar gap?

melaniedel · April 2014

Hi ladies. Well DS1 will be 3 years, two months when LO comes, so close enough. Anyway, we are sending little announcements (our family is growing by two feet with pics of our sandals on sand) to Family the end of the week (a couple of very close friends next week). I'm really excited about telling everyone. We told everyone right away with both of my boys. For some reason, I'm a little nervous though. I catch myself thinking of explanations, like we wanted them close in age, etc. Why the heck am I doing that?! Anyone else ever feel this way?

bookworm982 · April 2014

babywinks said:

You are coming up with responses because inevitably, people will ask - although it is none of their business. I have 2 u 2 - 18 months apart. I have had strangers at the grocery store tell me I'm a "brave woman". I wondered if I was brave for having children, going grocery shopping on what appeared to be AARP Tuesday, or for letting the man get that close to my children. Seriously. DS was sleeping and DD was quietly playing with a toy the whole time. Brave people fight in wars or rescue people from fires. I was just buying bread. Anyway, there will be many who think you are crazy, but there will be plenty who are truly happy for you. Try to focus on the good comments and congrats!

Babywinks: I love your responses. I've had fun coming up with my own for our 2u2, and now that we are ttc 3u3 I know that I'll have to get even more creative.

No matter what people do in life, they are always going to have other people who want justifications. For some reason the very personal decisions regarding family planning tend to get abundant commentary. My sister has to explain why she has such big gaps between her children. Some have to explain only having one or having a large family. My only advice is to be confident in the choices you have made for your family and ignore any naysayers. Congrats on #3!

JulyMomma2U2 · April 2014

So, when we were on our way to 2U2, I worried about this.. but, surprisingly everyone was really excited for us! Sure, some people made the "wow" statements, but genuinely everyone was happy. For some reason, when we announced baby 3 at 16w, we got a lot more mixed/semi negative responses from family. A lot of.. "Wow.. I don't know what to say" type responses, which really ticked me off considering we tried for this, and are extremely thrilled. My Grandmom actually said "I don't know if I should be happy or scared for you"... uh, what?

Sorry to be the "negative" response here.. but, at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter at all. Having babies close together isn't for everyone. It is what works for us. I do acknowledge that my families "not so pleasant" responses were mostly out of concern (are you sure that's not too much for you, can your body handle another baby so soon, etc), but it still caught me by surprise that instead of getting congratulations, I got.. crickets and some shocked expressions.. they're coming around though ;-) I think people can't help but put themselves in your position.. and, a lot of people can't imagine the thought of having 2 so close in age, let alone 3!!

In the end.. I hope you get absolutely positive responses.. but, if not.. (or even if you get just one not so happy response!) don't let it rain on your parade

Having babies close together is amazing.. it's challenging and requires organization and multi-tasking abilities, but it's so very worth it!! Congratulations to you!!

melaniedel · May 2014

Thanks for the responses ladies! It went well! Everyone seemed excited and since its the first girl on my side (after 6 boys on moms and 3 on dads) I think they are excited that I get to experience having a daughter-since they know that I want that. Who knows what people say behind closed doors, but oh well. PP, you are right. It is not for everyone, but we could not be more excited!

Reactions to 3 u 3 or similar gap?

Re: Reactions to 3 u 3 or similar gap?

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