Tell us about your family. Where are you in the birth order? Were your parents young parents or older parents? How did- if they did- your experiences in your family influence your decisions in having your own family? (were you an only child and decided to have a large family... etc...)

[sarahlorrain]

I am an only child. My Dad is now remarried and my Mom is engaged. I did decide to have a large family because I was an only child. Now that my Dad is sick, I'm glad I made that decision. I really wish I had a sibling to go through this with. It's comforting to know that when something happens to dh and I our children will have eachother to lean on during that difficult time. My husband has two sisters and one brother, so I'm hoping this baby will be a girl so we'll have two girls and two boys also. My husband had a very difficult childhood, with abuse and neglect, so his goal as a parent has always been to make sure his kids have the childhood that he never did.

Also, my parents weren't "older" parents so to speak. They had me at 29 and 32. I did decide that I wanted to have my children young so that I can enjoy my grandchildren and great grandchildre as long as possible. My grandpa is 86 and while he can still come to family functions, he gives the kids a hug when he arrives and then that's pretty much it. He can barely move around ya know.

[RachelC]

Originally Posted by sarahlorrain

I am an only child. My Dad is now remarried and my Mom is engaged. I did decide to have a large family because I was an only child.

Also, my parents weren't "older" parents so to speak. They had me at 29 and 32. I did decide that I wanted to have my children young so that I can enjoy my grandchildren and great grandchildre as long as possible. My grandpa is 86 and while he can still come to family functions, he gives the kids a hug when he arrives and then that's pretty much it. He can barely move around ya know.

Wow, I could have written a lot of that myself! I too am an only child and always wished for a sibling. I think that being an only child has really influenced me in wanting a larger family. DH has two older brothers, one who is only 15 months older, and they have always been best friends. Even though I find his brother to be obnoxious at most times and the polar opposite of my DH it is still really nice to see such a great relationship between brothers. I just hope my kids can have that sort of relationship some day!

My parents were also pretty young when they had me... around 24, and both sides of my grandparents are still living and very healthy, except my grandfather on my mother's side who died last year of lung cancer. Before he got sick, he was very active and a huge part of my kid's lives though. I want to be a young grandma, able to run around and do fun stuff with my grandkids and great grandkids just like how my grandma spoils my kids now

My parents split when I was 18 (almost 10 years ago) - my dad remarried and my mom has really not moved on much. She has barely dated and makes poor life choices when it comes to work and money and life in general. I love her, she's my mom, but I do somewhat resent her in ways. My parents fought a lot when I was kid, I was very close with my dad and my mom and I always had a very volatile relationship. I do NOT want to be that mom to my kids! I already feel like my daughter who is 6 knows she can talk to me about anything and I will always listen to her and be there for her. I never felt like that with my mom and I could never forgive myself if my kids felt like that with me.

I am the oldest of 2. I have a younger brother. I have always wanted kids ever since I was a kid myself and I've always wanted a large family.

[Niamh ૐ]

Me and my siblings:

Me- October 1, 1984
David, Jr. (DJ)- August 21, 1986
Doug- February 22, 1999
Tory- December 25, 2000

My mom had me when she was 21. My dad was 20.

Doug and Tory are my half-siblings. My mom and dad divorced when I was about 7 and my mom remarried when i was 8. She had my brother and sister when I was 14 and 16.

My dad remarried when I was 15... but he and his wife did not have any children together, but not for lack of trying. They're still trying.

I've always wanted a large family. Mainly because it was just me and DJ for so long... I always wanted a sister (finally got one when I was 16, but by then I was more like her aunt than her sister). I also never want to have the huge gap between my kids like my mom did. For me, ideally, I like a 2-3 year difference between each child. Not a 14 and 16 year gap, lol. I was always really close to my brother DJ, and part of the reason was because we are only 2 years apart. Sure, we fought like cats and dogs growing up, but we were also always really close. I don't want kids less than 2 years apart though.

All my grandparents, except for my mom's dad are still alive. My mom's dad died when I was like 6. Heart attack. My Mema (mom's mom) got remarried and her second husband died a couple years ago from Mesothelioma (sp?). She's got a boyfriend right now. My Mema is a party animal type of person. My great grandmother (Mema's mother) died when I was 18. So she lived a pretty long time.

All the women in my family seem to have kids pretty young. Mema was 19 when she had my mom (who's also the oldest of her siblings), My mom was 21 when she had me (the oldest), and I was 22 when I had my first. I've always liked the idea of having my first child in my early 20's.

[*SamF*]

I have one older sister- we are about 2 years apart. My parents weren’t really young or old They were 26/27 with my sister and 28/29 with me.
I have always wanted more than one, I always thought it was nice to have someone to grow up with even though my sister and I were not close when we hit adolescence and teenage years- it got better as adults.
My being an older parent now is more due to a bad marriage choice early on, on both DH and me, we both married the wrong people and neither of them could have children. My ex played with my emotions for 10 years over adopting or donor sperm, dh’s ex did not (still doesn’t) have a maternal bone in her body. In many ways I would have preferred having children younger but we are both so ready now, both financially and emotionally.

[Nicole1110]

I am the middle child and only girl. My parents were of average age when they had my older brother, 23 and 25. They were older parents when my younger brother was born, 34 and 36. Had I started my family earlier in life, I may have ended up having a bigger family. But I will be 31 when this baby is born and I don't really want children close in age so I am not sure if I will have another.

[Fireandiceshay]

I'm the oldest of four. Two boys, two girls, one born in each season, each roughly 2 years apart....it's this "mantra" my dad had for a while. I think he's funny. My sister and I are a day off from 18 mo apart and I always wanted close kids. 25 months isn't bad.

My parents were pretty young. Mom was 19 and Dad was 21 I think. We teased my mom for years and years that if I did what she did, she'd be a grandma before she was 40. I got engaged just before my 20th birthday and the wedding was soon after, but she said we couldn't do it since her birthday was that year. Well, got pregnant with a honeymoon baby and my due date was 3 days before her birthday. Hehehe, and my son came EARLY!

Totally awesome.

[Marvelous]

I am the oldest of four. I am 33, my brother is 32, my sister is 24 and the baby is 20. I think that my parents are young. My mom is 55 and my dad is 54. They are able to do a lot with my children and they take them to a lot of places. This summer, my mom and dad are taking my children on a trip to the Grand Canyon. We also do a lot as a family. Last year my husband and the kids and my mom and dad drove to California and went to Disneyland and such.
My husband is the youngest of three and his parents are older. I think his dad just turned 70 and his mom is in her late 60's. They hardly take my kids anywhere at all.

I have a complicated family history. I am technically the oldest- by 2 years and 3 months. I have a younger brother. When I was 5, my aunt and uncle died leaving my dad sharing custody of my twin cousins- also 5- with my grandmother. They spent a lot of time with us and moved in full time when we were 11 years old.

My mom was 23 and I was 30 when I was born.

My younger brother and I really didn't get along when I was a child, but we still had a close relationship, that was even closer when we were teenagers. We may not have liked one another, but we were fiercely loyal. I was the only girl and was left out of a lot of things.

I liked the way I was parented, so I try to do the same things- with some changes. I grew up morbidly obese, due in part to the foods I was fed. I argue with my parents over the sugar they want to feed my children while they visit. I remember as a very young child having coke with my breakfast.

[Carrie429]

I'm a middle child - I have an older brother by 5 years (and is expecting his 2nd baby in Feb. 2010) and a younger brother (2 years). I also have an older half sister from my dad's first marriage (13 years) who is due 5 days after me. Lots of babies for us this winter!!!


Anyway, I don't think it has influenced my own family decisions. DH and I want 3 children so maybe that has been influenced in some way (I didn't really grow up with my sister, at least not in the same house) but I don't think so. We made that decision after Caden was born.

[Ooh_lala]

Me- July 7, 1988
Ethan- September 17, 1991

I am the oldest of two, My brother and I are 3 years apart.

[brandywilson]

Well I am the middle child i have 2 brothers and no sisters (LOL) My parents where very young when they got married and had my oldest brother steven when my mom was 16, I was born when my mom was 18 and my youngest brother was born when my mom was 26! My parents did the best the could with all 3 of us kids and raised us with respect! I thank them everyday for how much the put all of there effort into all of us turning out the "right way"! I guess i am following in my moms footsteps lol i had my first at 16, 2nd at 19, and third will be at 24! Only difference is that it was boy, girl, boy!!! Im hoping that mine is boy, boy, girl lol!

[stlgirl]

My husband and I are both first children of early 20s parents. He was planned, I was not, but both of us grew up feeling very much loved and wanted. I only have one brother, and he's got three sisters, so we are compromising and shooting for a family of 3.

[Glimmering Girl]

I am a middle child. I have one older brother and one younger sister. My mom was in her mid 20's when I was born. Having three children in my family influenced my decision to have three children in our family. I just had a really loving childhood and I wanted that same experience for my kids.

[~Sandy~]

I am the oldest of 3. My parents played favorites a lot, and very much catered to my little brother. As we got older, I got into trouble for everything, and I always got the "why can't you be more like your sister" baloney. My dad was/is and alcoholic and my mother ignored it. My mother was also a very selfish and keep to herself person, she never talked to us about anything and she also never punished us, we always waited for our father to get home.

Don't get me wrong, we had a good childlife, we did a lot and we had a lot. But as far as relationships go, there was none. I have a relationship with my dad now, but my mother is still just as cold as she was. As a result, I am a completely different parent than they are. I am always there when my kids want to talk, I try to stay very involved in their life and I limit the amount of alcohol they are around. DH was a drinker when we met, and after a while I made it clear that I would not live with someone who drank like that, and he promptly slowed down.

Sorry this was kind of depressing LOL

[.H.e.a.t.h.e.r.]

Only child. My mother has some fertility issues which I always feared I inherited but clearly I did not.
I have a million and one cousins though.

[Kerrie782]

Youngest of 6!

By the time I was a teenager, my parents were too tired to check up on me, so I got away with tons!!

I want 5 kids, this will be number 3 in January!

[amholb0]

I am my mother's baby and the the 2nd out of 5 for my dad. My parents divorced when I was 6 and I was 8 when my first stepmom had my baby brother. It was great, like a lifesized doll! She had two more, my little sisters. We close but, more in a I take care of them kind of way, which I love. They'll be so excited to be aunts! My husband was the baby of his family with only one older brother but, they started fostering his cousin when we were in HS. She a real sweetheart and will be starting her senior year of HS in the fall.

I have a very closed off relationship with my parents. I love them but, I really don't feel like I can talk to them about anything important. Michael had a very close relationship with his mom who passed in 2001 and has a very rough relationship with his father. I really just want to be the kind of parent that kids feel comfortable coming to with anything while at the same time not allowing them to run around with no rules.

We wanted btn 2 and 3 children but had to put it off for this or that and now I'm 30 and he's 32. Right now, all I can concentrate on is this baby. I really just can't imagine having more.

My two grandfather's are living and DH's maternal grandfather is alive. I'm not sure how much the other two will be invovle but my maternal grandfather (Pop Pop) lives close and will love having a great grand baby so close. So far all the great grand kids live out of state.

[Kansascity kitty]

I am the eldest child and the first Grandchild etc. My parents were 18 (mom) dad was 24. I have always been the go getter and the fearless one out of my sister and brother as well as the caregiver. I don't think that my preference in the number of children had anything to do with my parents but I can say my mom told me to bear my yolk young. I have always had the comitment of not wanting any more children after 30. I am dedicating my youth to my family but still want to enjoy my later years. My husband and I love traveling overseas on vacations and would like to travel at will when our children are young adults.