closing shop

it's official. theMrs is having no more babies. we've gone back and forth on the decision multiple times in the last few years but we finally made it official. that's right folks, theMr has taken the plunge! by my estimation, i've given birth to five children so it was his turn to take one for the team. he was more than willing. he actually had it scheduled soon after esme was born and i freaked out and made him cancel. i know, it's crazy. it's just that i thought i didn't want any more babies before esme. then she came and i am so very enamored with her! i look at her and think "how can i not do this again?" but in the long run, we need to be done. specifically, if we intend to keep our kids in (very expensive) private school, then i need to return to the work force. that would require i stop getting pregnant. honestly, if that were not the case i'd probably have more. i never saw myself as a mom of lots of kids. i knew i'd probably have more than the average but i never thought i'd want a whole gaggle of them. and here i am! with my uterus aching at the reality that i will never give birth again! but as sad as that makes me, there are definitely perks.

i'll never have to lose baby weight again.

i'm almost done buying diapers.

i can go away overnight.

i only have to hang on to my sanity through one more toddler.

i don't have to preface every new prescription with "is this safe for breastfeeding?"

this is a family blog so i won't even go into the wonders of no birth control and only seeing my gynecologist once a year. it's a whole new world. one i've never lived in for any of my adult life. when i realize that i've been pregnant or nursing a baby for 11 years (one third of my life!) i know it's time to move out of that phase. it's time for a little bit of freedom. maybe a social life of some sort. bras that don't unsnap in the front. cute purses instead of giant diaper bags. the possibilities are endless...