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Donna's Diary EntriesDiary Navigation: |
08/27/06 - Going away party, haircuts, and the sibling issue
August 27, 2006
Yesterday we went to a party for a friend's son who will be going to Army boot camp. We ended up staying for three hours and had fun eating and playing pool. There were several kids there, and Justin and another boy who is two were running marathons around the tables most of the time. We got home at the time Justin normally goes in his room for bed. He was tired from all the activity and had a little meltdown when we got in the house. When I tried to change him into pajamas, he lay down on the floor and started screaming. Finally though, I got him changed and ready for bed. Today Justin and I went to the mall and we both got our hair trimmed. His hair grows really fast in three months, and mine hadn't been cut since January so we both needed it. We stopped at McDonald's for lunch on the way home, and Justin got a Polly Pocket toy in this Happy Meal. I guess they didn't have any toys for boys left, but he liked playing with it anyway. Thank goodness he doesn't know the difference yet, and likes to play with anything. No nap today, but I just put him to bed and he was asleep in 15 minutes!
When we first got married, we had planned to have two children. Then when we thought about the fact that our child would have to be in daycare from the beginning, since there is no end of working in sight for me, we decided to have one and see how that went. Well, here we are with an almost three year old, and my husband does not want anymore for two reasons: because of the expense of school and because of how difficult Justin was (and still is sometimes). I on the other hand started thinking about babies again when Justin was 18 months old (when my period started again, so I think it is hormonal for me). And I have been thinking about it a lot lately because I have always thought that around a four year age difference would be nice. It would give me a break between babies and still not be too far apart. That would mean we would have to start trying around Justin's third birthday. Of course given how long it took for me to get pregnant the first time, they could end up being six years apart instead of four. But it doesn't really matter I guess, because unless something happens by accident, we are not having any more babies. There is no changing my husband's mind.
The truth is, when it took so long to conceive Justin, I hoped and prayed every month that this would be it, and knew I would be grateful to just be able to have one baby, to get the chance to be a mom. I did get that chance and I am thankful for him every day, so why do I think about more babies? I'm guessing it is a natural thing and most likely will pass. Both my husband and I have two older siblings from a first marriage that we are not that close to, and we are both the babies of the family from a second marriage. My sisters had moved out of our house by the time I was in Kindergarten, so I was actually more of an only child. It didn't bother me at all. I did not wish for brothers or sisters closer to my age like some of my friends had, and I had plenty of friends and also loved being alone sometimes to read or just think. My husband's brothers were closer in age to him than my sisters were to me, so they did live with him for a while, but they were not great friends growing up and now they do not have much in common. So I guess for us, we have not experienced the benefit of siblings that some people have. I do hope to be able to go off the birth control pills one day, if only to see if God means for us to have any more babies, rather than making that decision ourselves. Since I am 34 though, I'm thinking that would need to be in the next five years or so. I suppose you could say I am still open to the idea.
Challenge update: Last week I learned about priority planning. I am copying the unfinished items on my to-do list each evening, and the next step is to pick just three things from that list that are the most important to do the next day and put a star next to them. Then if I finish those three things, I can go on to others. This is much easier than other ways I have heard about to prioritize things on a list, by giving each a number or letter based on how important it is or putting them in order of importance. That seems like too much work when a list is long. I have noticed that during the week my priority items are on the work list, and on the weekends they are on my home list. Actually I don't do much at home at all during the week, but I'm hoping to change that eventually.
Thanks for reading!
Donna and Justin

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