The upside to carrying your 7th kid

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Expecting baby #2. We were so young, so…sane.

I realize that the decision to have 7 kids isn’t really an idea the majority of people will ever entertain (well, sane people, anyway). But just in case you ever wondered if there’s any benefit to being pregnant while there are 6 diminutive maniacs running around your house (all. day. long.), there ARE! Read on.

1. You’re too busy to think about being pregnant. If you’re an OCD planner and dreamer like I am, then a first pregnancy literally feels likes it’s 27 (thousand) months long. Researching cribs and strollers and baby baths, panicking about what baby carrier is safest and having meltdowns about the nursery theme filled every minute of every day of that first gestation. During THIS pregnancy however, I generally abide by the following motto:

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

6th baby, 5th baby bump. That belly felt super tiny after carrying twins!

2. Your body’s pretty much seen it all. If you’re gonna be prone to stretch marks or varicose veins or horrible morning sickness, you’ve probably already gone through it. Chances are slim that you’re gonna find any MORE stretch marks than you did during your first half-dozen pregnancies. For all intents and purposes, your body’s a seasoned baby-making pro at this point.

Ah, yes. That first magical pregnancy where I walked around holding my belly all day so no one would think I was just fat. Also, pre-LASIK surgery. And before I learned that I needed to straighten my bangs, apparently.

3. No agonizing over birth decisions. After 6 births, you’re fairly confident that you know what’s coming and how you want to handle it. Especially if you’re fortunate (?) enough to have delivered a baby under every possible scenario like I have (c-section, induction, epidural, drug-free, water birth, twins…you name it, I’ve tried it :). Bring it on, birth.

Some weirdo carrying her 3rd baby.

4. Having a baby = mini vacay. People think I’m being facetious when I say this but in reality, at this point in a person’s mothering career, having a baby is guaranteed paid time off. You get to lay in bed, cuddling and cooing over a precious newborn while other people clean your house, feed your children and bring you treats. Ok, it’s generally my freaktastically amazing husband that does most of these things for me but considering it takes me pushing out a tiny human to get him to take any time off work, it’s totally worth it.

Babies #4 & 5: Whoa.

5. You’re better at appreciating the little things and letting the rest go.
This may just be a byproduct of having a bunch of kids, period, but regardless of the reason, it’s really nice to allow yourself to let go of some of the incessant but non-essential daily stresses. Of course these stresses are different for every person (see this post for more about deciding what to let go) but there comes a time in every mom’s life where she just has to give something up. For me, I generally end up forgoing house cleaning. Oh, I know, it’s a big sacrifice to not scrub toilets as much they need it. And sometimes sitting down in front of a movie while there’s laundry to be done just PAINS me, but hey, my sanity’s at sake, so…

Baby numero 7. Crazy.

It’s a rough job taking care of a lazy high-needs pregnant lady, but I’ll take it!